1st – Sunderland
The common approach to judging teams ahead of a new season is looking at where they finished in the previous campaign as a benchmark, before making a prediction based upon improvements made through positive recruitment or a managerial appointment.
In this case, Sunderland finished 16th last year. Nevertheless, our prediction isn’t primarily based on signings nor, especially, the appointment of Régis Le Bris as head coach.
So, why do we have them as our Championship title-winners? The answer: the anticipation of rapid, seismic developmental growth.
Let us explain.
Under the ownership of Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, and the guidance of technical director Kristjaan Speakman, the Black Cats have adopted black kittens, employing an uncompromisingly youth-led recruitment and strategic policy.
This policy has helped them attain, and retain, the prodigious talents of Dan Neil, Jobe Bellingham, and Chris Rigg.
Neil has recently added a defensive reliability to the control and creativity he’s demonstrated since coming into the side as a teenager. Jobe is making a name for himself in his own right after snubbing Spurs, while Rigg plays with a fearlessness that suggests the 17-year-old could become anything he wants.
Furthermore, Sunderland also boast recent France U20s prospects in Pierre Ekwah and Adil Aouchiche, both now 22. The former brings an infectious energy while the latter possesses stunning vision. And that’s just in midfield!
The Wearsiders also possess two of the best wingers in the Championship in Patrick Roberts and Jack Clarke, if the latter were to stay. They equally boast one of the top right-backs in the tenacious Trai Hume, who also has the intelligence to invert into midfield.
The potential in this squad is through the roof, to the extent that it might only take a few subtle tweaks and shifts for them to go from being bottom half dwellers to one of the greatest second-tier sides of all time.
One of those tweaks is having a more settled environment under a good coach. After the chaos caused last season by Tony Mowbray’s dismissal and Michael Beale’s appointment, perhaps Le Bris can live up to his reputation in France as a respected developer of talent.
A second can be the young players, themselves, having had a couple of seasons of development under their belts, beginning to learn how to translate their glowing youth reputations into the senior game.
It’s common for elite youth talents to underwhelm in men’s football in their first season or two, but to then enjoy an enormous spike in their progress.
In Sunderland’s case, just three teenagers remain in their 27-man first-team squad. 17 are now into their early 20s, at an age where they can be relied on to consistently influence games at Championship level.
The third is the influence of Luke O’Nien, who’ll be their most important player: even if he doesn’t start a single game.
The 29-year-old never had the natural ability most of Sunderland’s squad possesses, but he’s overcome his technical limitations – and every other challenge that’s come his way – with the same relentless positivity, infectious exuberance and sheer determination.
Having signed as a midfielder in 2018, the utility man has also filled in at both full-back and wing-back spots, operated as a pressing #10. More recently, he has established himself at centre-back in the last two seasons.
In fact, O’Nien initially covered central defence in 2022-23 due to injuries, but he played so well there that he started 43 league games in that position last season: an extraordinary mentality.
So, if the former Wycombe man can rub off on natural centre-backs like key man Dan Ballard, who himself has now played 61 games for Sunderland, Nectarios Triantis and Jensen Seelt, as well as the rest of the squad, that will make a transformative difference.
If this young group adopt that same mentality as O’Nien, with greater ability, they’ll improve exponentially and hit some incredible heights.
The O’Nienification process will be helped, further, by the addition of midfielder Alan Browne, who plays every game with a unique urgency.
Browne is 29, while Simon Moore has signed at 34 to back-up an outstanding goalkeeper in Anthony Patterson. Evidently, Sunderland have been prepared to compromise their policy this summer to fine-tune the balance between youth and experience.
So, why do we have Sunderland as champions?
This is the highest-potential squad in the league by a country mile. The Black Cats have already had two years of exposure, with most players about to hit their peak. This, alongside a few experienced heads now to lean on, with perhaps a more stable coaching regime for guidance.
Add the right striker and it could be a perfect storm…
