Obviously it’s impossible to predict the future, but with the club seemingly at a standstill it raises the question; how will we fare next season?
Right now, the squad is down to its bare bones, releasing names such as Grant Leadbitter and Max Power amongst others. It’s down to Kristjaan Speakman to build a new and improved team to suit Johnson’s needs. As long as the recruitment team don’t have a total nightmare, Sunderland should remain competitive and be aiming for first place in League One. Promotion is an absolute must, as this is our fourth season in League One and a club of this size should be nowhere near the third division. We need players who are athletic, technically gifted and most importantly, we need players with the mental strength to cope with playing in a pressure cauldron of 30,000 fans every week.
The three relegated teams from the Championship are Wycombe, Rotherham and Sheffield Wednesday. Both Wycombe and Rotherham have recently had success in League One, whilst Sheffield Wednesday remained competitive in the Championship down to the very last day. This perhaps means the league will be more difficult to escape than ever, with at least eight so-called ‘big’ clubs who could legitimately be favourites to win the league.
Wycombe seem to have forced a strange rivalry with us, so they will be up for a return to the Stadium of Light and Gareth Ainsworth’s side are always a physical team that will try and bully their way to the Championship once more.
If Sheffield Wednesday can keep him, they’ve got by far the most talented player in League One, Barry Bannan. He’ll be pulling the strings in midfield, and we’ll need to play to our highest ability in order to match his quality when up against the Scotsman. At times Bannan has looked too good for the Championship so imagine how good he’ll be against the likes of Cheltenham Town. Despite their off the pitch problems and ownership difficulties, they’ll be a force to be reckoned with, especially considering the ability of Jordan Rhodes, Adam Reach and our ex-keeper Keiren Westwood.
Rotherham are the stereotypical yoyo team, floating between League One and the Championship. Although they finished 23rd last season, the Millers had the best goal difference in the bottom 7 with minus 16. That resolute attitude and tight defence will be huge in League One, where clubs often have to grind out results and fight for every point.
The other teams that missed out on promotion in May have all shown potential to improve drastically. The team which worries me the most are Portsmouth, looking more progressive and dangerous under the Cowley brothers. Danny and Nicky turned Pompey’s fortunes around, reaching the brink of the play-offs. They were so impressive that after arriving in March, they earned new deals in May which keeps them at the club long-term. They have been linked with Championship players in Jayden Stockley, Shane Ferguson and Wales international Joe Morrell.
Moreover, Lincoln City will be looking to bounce back after falling at the last hurdle, and Sunderland have shown how hard it is to rebuild momentum after losing a play-off final. However, Lincoln are in a totally different position to where they were in 2019. They are a young, direct side which only look like improving. Michael Appleton has utilised the loan market well, bringing in the likes of Brennan Johnson last season. If the Imps’ owner is willing to invest, Appleton may be able to take Lincoln to the next level and turn Sincil Bank into something of a fortress. They showed Sunderland what the atmosphere can be like, and the intimidation of the air raid siren might overwhelm a lot of teams when the stadium is bouncing.
Ipswich Town are one of the strangest teams in League One, and have been ever since they were relegated in 2019. Once a promotion-battling, top Championship side, the Tractor Boys have seen decline year after year which cumulated in a 9th place finish in League One last season. They have recently replaced Paul Lambert with Paul Cook, who knows this division like the back of his hand. A sleeping giant like Sunderland, if they make the right signings they could absolutely challenge at the top of the league once more. They are set to table an offer for Rotherham midfielder Matt Crooks, which signifies the beginning of the Paul Cook era. However, they are still a very far cry from the good old days when they were winning the European Cup Winners’ Cup!
Sunderland will face four promoted teams and a few interesting away days to Cheltenham Town, Cambridge United, Bolton Wanderers and League 2 play-off winners Morecambe. The lads have only faced Cheltenham Town once in their history, winning 1-0 in the League Cup in 2005. Certainly an unknown quantity, Cheltenham were promoted pretty comfortably, even giving Manchester City a run for their money in the FA Cup! With the experience of Alfie May and former Newcastle man Ben Tozer, they will be tough to break down and remain solid defensively. They are comfortable in possession, and like to build up attacks from the back. If Lee Johnson adapts a high press, this could be exploitable for us to win the ball high up the pitch. Manager Michael Duff makes sure that Cheltenham utilise Tozer’s long throw which makes every throw in feel like a corner. Teams like this are the hardest for Sunderland to beat, and it wouldn’t surprise me if we were held to a draw when playing against the Robins.
Bizarrely, Derek Adams earned promotion with Morecambe before leaving them three days later to join League 2 side Bradford and Morecambe recently replaced Adams with ex-Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson. He is yet to manage a match for the Shrimps, but at Motherwell he deployed an exciting and efficient style of play in which the wingers stayed high up the pitch and the whole team pressed hard. In the play-off final, Morecambe didn’t look anything special. However, they were extremely defensive and ground out a 0-0 draw going into extra time. It’s likely that whilst Robinson will want to keep the winning formula that suited Adams so well, he’ll want to put his own spin on the system and tweak the tactics. He’ll also look to sign plays to suit his style in the coming weeks. They have a secret weapon in Carlos Mendes Gomes, coming through the Atletico Madrid academy; the winger is hugely talented for this level and showed great composure to slot home a penalty in the final. At the bottom of the division, one special player is crucial in gaining an edge and Gomes could help them survive single-handedly.
Similar to Morecambe, Cambridge United have a great talent in Paul Mullin. The striker is out of contract in the summer, he still seems open to negotiations to stay with the U’s. Mullin finished with 32 goals, which is an unbelievable 13 goals more than joint-second top scorers Eoin Doyle and James Vaughan. If United manage to tie Mullin down, they should be comfortably mid table with his phenomenal track record. Mullin has a great connection with Wes Hoolahan, who was competing with the striker for League Two player of the season. Cambridge manager Mark Bonner has built an attacking team that is designed to get the best out of both Hoolahan and Mullin.
Finally, Bolton Wanderers have transformed into a friendly, community-centred club after being sold and staving off administration. Manager Ian Evatt has outlined his ideas to involve the fans more, including manning the phones himself this week, during a mass season ticket surge. Evatt was able to create a similar community spirit at his former club Barrow, where he turned an unfashionable National League side into a team that was nicknames ‘Barrow-celona’ by locals. He has already put his print on Bolton’s style of play, focusing on a possession-oriented philosophy. Wanderers’ fans have always seemed similar to Mackems, with their blind loyalty during the darkest of times and ownership struggles. The new ownership group, Football Ventures, have already started planning for life in League One, making three signings already. They’ve made one loan deal permanent, confirming Oladapo Afolayan from West Ham. They have also brought in centre-back George Johnston from Feyenoord who spent last season on loan at Wigan Athletic. The third signing is Wales international midfielder Josh Sheehan, who has had a successful three years with Newport County. These proactive moves put the Trotters in a good position to solidify a place in this league next season.
In conclusion, I believe that this season will be the most difficult that we’ve faced in League One, and the top spots could go right down to the wire. I think on the last day of the season, it will be between Sunderland and Sheffield Wednesday to secure the number 1 spot. Purely out of blind optimism, I think Sunderland will edge it and finally escape the perpetual torture of third division mediocrity.
