Sunderland’s New Season: Europe, Ambition & a Whole Lot of Unknowns

So here we go, then.

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Another pre-season is done and we’re all set for one of the most exciting seasons for a generation of Sunderland supporters.

With potentially up to fifty games, a chance of three cup runs, European nights under the lights and some of the world’s best coming to the Stadium of Light, this is something that seemed almost unimaginable in the days of League One.

15:00 on Saturday down at Portman Road can’t come quickly enough, so let’s take a look at what might be in store ahead of the new season.

A largely positive pre-season

There’s usually not a lot to take from pre-season, but we’ve had a very positive campaign this time around.

Although results are almost irrelevant, we have had some very promising results against a level of opposition that we will be up against this season.

Two wins against two fellow European competitors, alongside two very dominant performances, have left us in a very good place going into the opening weekend of the season, and Régis Le Bris has done very well to manage the lads’ minutes – particularly those who were away at the World Cup.

Despite only having a core of first-team players available at the start of pre-season, he’s slowly re-integrated those who were away in America for the World Cup.

The majority of Le Bris’ first-choice starting eleven have had two lots of 60 to 70 minutes, with those on the fringes getting three lots of 30 to 45 minutes. We should therefore be in a very healthy position to attack the first few games of the season and get off to a good start.

Changes to the home matchday experience

Whilst the eagle-eyed among us might have noticed slight changes at the Stadium of Light to comply with UEFA regulations – such as slightly larger dugouts – one thing I did pick up was a very small change that’s been a long time coming.

Le Bris and his coaching staff have decided to swap dugouts, and the ‘home’ dugout is now closer to the Roker End. We’ve often seen that we favour attacking the Roker End in the second half, and particularly last season, this seemed to have a positive effect and helped us get over the line in games.

Swapping the dugouts also gives us a slight advantage in regard to officiating.

I’ve noticed on many occasions when sitting in the North Stand that opposition managers are regularly in the ears of the fourth official and the linesman, and this is due to the away dugout being positioned closer to the linesman on that side of the pitch.

Although this is not something that should influence officiating, I would be very surprised if the outcome of some decisions is a coincidence.

Something else I’ve noticed, and that I’m a huge fan of, are the new graphics on the screens of the Stadium of Light. This might seem insignificant but will certainly help to create an even better atmosphere for home games.

In the pre-match build-up during the Rennes friendly, the screens showed replays of all of our goals from last season. Accompanied by the pre-match message from Granit Xhaka, which I’m sure the club will look to rework in some way, this could have a positive impact on the home atmosphere.

The aesthetic of the graphics matching the patterns of the home shirt for substitutions and the line-ups is something very minor but shows attention to detail. It’s also a great way to link everything together and build on the positivity and excitement created by the three new kits.

A step into the unknown for Sunderland

Of course, the most exciting aspect going into this season is the Europa League campaign we’re set to embark on, and for many Sunderland fans, unless you were around in the days of the 1973 FA Cup final, this is a once-in-a-generation experience.

To even be in contention for European football going into the final five games of last season was something we’d never thought we’d see so soon after the dark days of League One, yet during the past four years, we’ve ridden a constant wave of positive momentum.

There were many times last season when I found I was pinching myself at seeing some of the players we were up against at the Stadium of Light, and we’ll now have some of the European elite coming to Wearside to showcase their talents on a cold Thursday night.

Of course, there’s no guarantee that we’ll go deeply into the competition, but to have at least four European nights under the lights at home is something we’ve all dreamed of ever since we fell in love with the club. This is something that should’ve happened far sooner and will be the kind of occasion the stadium was built for.

What an opportunity we have ahead of us, and with English teams getting to the final in all three European competitions last season, there’s no reason we can’t give this a really good go and see where it takes us.

Let’s enjoy the ride, as we don’t know how many nights like this we’ll have.

Sunderland’s priorities: the league or the cups?

This, of course, begs the question of how seriously we take the cups, as something that’s been really frustrating of late is how we always seem to disregard them.

Every first-round League Cup tie is played in a half-empty stadium, and we usually play a second-string team that loses on penalties to lower-league opposition. Although this is somewhat understandable when we’ve either been going for promotion or prioritising staying in the league and want to avoid a fixture pile-up amid an already hectic schedule, it’s something I’ve always wanted us to take more seriously.

We took a decent stab at the FA Cup last season but knew we were going to be comfortable in the league by the time the FA Cup journey had started – would this have been the case if we weren’t as comfortable in the league?

With Thursday night games followed by Sunday away trips in the league, it wouldn’t be a surprise if we decided to disregard the cups once more.

It’s been over fifty years since we last won a major trophy, and although it’s unlikely that we’ll go all the way in the Europa League, it would be really good if we could make a stab at winning one of the major trophies, especially given we get a bye into the third round of the League Cup.

Of course, avoiding relegation must take priority, as we can’t afford to ever be in that position again, but with the squad we have and even with fifty-plus games to come, we should have more than enough to be comfortable in the league, so why not give it a go?

A slightly concerning lack of squad depth?

A slightly concerning lack of squad depth?

A concern going into the season is a lack of depth; as it stands, we’ve only made one signing.

The current group of players are the same that started the opening-day demolition of West Ham last season, so there’s no immediate concern there, but with so many games to come, a lack of movement is a point of concern.

We need another three or four additions and are being knocked back on targets we’re interested in – if reports in the media are to be believed.

I’m sure that, come the end of the transfer window, we’ll have a much healthier squad to compete on all fronts. We’re bound to pick up injuries with so many games to come, so having quality and depth is imperative going into the new season.

Whilst last season’s summer transfer window has probably changed how quickly we expect to operate, I’m surprised at how slow we’ve been to move this summer – albeit the World Cup will have played a part too, and making signings earlier would’ve allowed us time to bed them into the squad and build up their fitness.

There’s no doubt that next season will be a long old slog. But whatever happens, let’s get the stadium bouncing, back the lads through it all, and enjoy the ride!

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