Sunderland Till I Die

[leckuno]

December

Blackburn Rovers v Sunderland

Bennette was in a league of his own after coming on with half an hour to go and winds the game for us

Sunderland v Sheffield United

A bit of a mixed game as we manage to throw away the lead 3 times here and with conceding right at the end as well

Sunderland v Bournemouth

We got a small fright when falling behind but it seemed to spur us on as we rally and get a huge win for us

Brentford v Sunderland

The sending off really cost us here as Brentford were able to take full advantage of the extra man

Sunderland v Hull City

We bounce back with one of our strongest performances all season as Scarlett bags a hat-trick as Brkljaca gets 2 assists and a goal for a great game as well

Sunderland v Wigan Athletic

Scarlett has certainly found his form again with another 2 goals here

Bournemouth v Sunderland

Sadly the return fixture was not as easy while playing them away as of course it an ex-player that scores the winner against us

Watford v Sunderland

Brkljaca scored a screamer to get the only goal of the game. It was a nervy finish to the game thanks to us going down to 10 men but we managed to hold on this time for the 3 points.

League

We've grown our gap at the top to 5 points and our gap over 3rd is up to 7 points as well

January

Just the 5 games this month with a horrible FA cup tie against Spurs for us and it also brings with it another transfer window as well​

 

[leckuno]

January

Transfers

We had a bit of an odd transfer window for a number of reasons but the first one was us selling 4 players. 3 of which were defenders who have all been used over the course of the last season and a half but I have decided that with us top of the table its time to try and start building a better squad so let them all leave to bring new players in. We managed to bring in nearly £25 million which we then spent

We then brought in 4 new players. This is the first transfer window I found that I didn't really need to worry about people getting work permits as with me sitting top of the table then it seems to be a bit easier than it has in the previous windows.

First through the door is a new defender with so many leaving so we had a look to see who's contract was expiring at the end of the season and sign Ethan Ampadu from Chelsea for the measly fee of £350,000. He is still very young and is a key defender for his national team so brings a lot of experience with him.

Next we noticed that Adam Lafont's contract was also going to expire at the end of the season so we were able to snap up a Premier League quality keeper for only £2million

With letting 2 of our 3 players who can play LB go then we needed one and I wanted one who was a dedicated LB and we splashed the cash and spent £7million on New Zealand international Liberato Cacace from Empoli who is a big improvement for us.

With us selling Bennette then I wanted to spend that money on quality RW who is capable of growing into a world class player so I gambled £8.5million to bring in Roony Bardghji from FC København

Sunderland v Cardiff City

A nice solid start to the month as we make light work of Cardiff here.

Burnley v Sunderland

Bit of a ping pong battle with Burnley but thankfully we got the all important 3rd goal meaning we still get the 3 points

FA Cup 3rd Round
Sunderland v Tottenham

Its our best performance yet against a Premiership team as we really deserved to win this game but Sadly Kane got brought on and was able to find a way through our defence.

Sunderland v Peterborough United

Peterborough gave us a bit of a fright but thankfully Clarke pegged right back and then we were able to finish the job from there

FA Cup 3rd Round Replay
Tottenham v Sunderland

Sadly we couldn't repeat our performance away from home and are made to pay for it here

Sheffield Wednesday v Sunderland

Thankfully a quick fire double in the league lets us bounce back and keep our promotion charge on the go

League

We're slowly growing our lead at the top of the table

February

With being out of the cups we can fully concentrate on the league as we have the joy of facing Brighton again this month​

 

[leckuno]

February

Sunderland v Coventry City

We welcome all our new signings into the team here and Bardghji hits the ground running with opening the scoring but Scarlett keeps his run going and could be on to break records this season

Sunderland v Swansea City

Bardghji is certainly looking like he's going to be a beast for us as he's got 3 goals in his opening 2 games.

Sunderland v Brighton

We steal a narrow win thanks to Mvuka cutting in from the left hand side to slot home from just inside the box

Huddersfield v Sunderland

The sending off was key for us here and we took full advantage and ran away with the match

Sheffield United v Sunderland

What an opening 9 minutes with 2 goals being scored from wingers but sadly Sheffield scored a well worked set piece 20 minutes later for the win

Blackpool v Sunderland

This was disappointing we should of had enough to get the win here but our heads dropped after their 2nd equaliser and we couldn't get the important 3rd goal

League

Promotion really is ours to throw away now but we're closing in in guaranteeing a play off spot at the worst

March

Looking like the game against West Brom will be the toughest one but we can't afford slip ups for our title challenge​

 

[leckuno]

March

Sunderland v Millwall

A nice easy win here against Millwall

Sunderland v Luton Town

Alex Scott was unplayable here as he scored two well worked goals with great finishes from outside the box. He's been amazing for us all season and he'll be a big loss next season once he goes back to Man City

West Brom v Sunderland

To be fair neither team really deserved to win this game and was probably a fair result in the end

Sunderland v Fleetwood Town

Scott was key again here for us with another 2 goals but we really deserved more from this match but we did get very lucky with Clarke getting the final equaliser.

League

A playoff spot has now been confirmed at the least but with only a 5 point gap over 2nd and 3rd its going to be all to play for over the final 7 games.

Youth Intake

We had a decent intake this season with one stand out player who looks like they could make the first team soon and hopefully Rees Rasmussen can hopefully have a bright future at the club

The Run In

A big game against Brentford this month but fingers crossed the rest of the games will be ok and we will secure the title​

 

[leckuno]

The Run In

Stoke City v Sunderland

Sadly Ross Stewart was able to score against us this time but thankfully it was on loan striker Delap that sealed the game for us

Sunderland v Rotherham United

Its Delap who pops up again towards the end of the game to grab us a big win

Preston North End v Sunderland

A bore draw that we were lucky to get away with in the end.

Sunderland v Brentford

We couldn't of got off to a worst possible but Brklijaca hit right on the whistle of half time to get us back in the game and it gave us a huge boost as we were able to go on and win the game

Hull City v Sunderland

What a game as it was our wingers that took all the plaudits here getting the goals which sealed the title for us with 2 games to go.

Sunderland v Blackburn Rovers

We really should of done better in front of our home fans to celebrate the title.

Wigan Athletic v Sunderland

Again we should of done better here but at least we won in our final game to go up in style.

League

We only won the title by 6 points in the end but we did just enough to be going up as champions and will be going up with Bournemouth and Brighton

Budgets

I feel we have a decent budget to start with to bring some players in as they double our wage budget as well. We're going to still have to be smart with it though as we'll need to look to bring in some quality players to help us avoid relegation next season​

 

[leckuno]

Season 3

Transfers

Out

We have a lot of players leaving the club to try and bring in a bit more money for us to play with and also clear out some of the players that were causing problems in the dressing room about new contracts or not being happy with their playing time but we did add a decent amount of money to our transfer budget with it

In

We started our transfer business very early to find the players in the positions we wanted before prices became inflated when the transfer window opened. We have signed 9 players in total with 5 of them joining on the day the transfer window opened. We have also managed to secure Dane Scarlett on loan for a further season as well.

Guille Rosas

The RB joins us from Sporting Gijon for £5.5million and will help add some depth to the position

Anders Borset

The defender joins from Molde FK for £3.2million and is a player I've tracked for a while and finally been able to sign him 3 seasons in

Alberto Moleiro

He still had a minimum release clause of only £6m so we snap up the young player from Las Palmas who can play down the wing or AMC

Dion Drena Beljo

We needed to sign a permanent striker and we didn't want to pay over the odds for one so Beljo fits that space perfectly and to only pay NK Osijek £6million for him its a steal

Harry Souttar

I wanted another CB in and when you can sign a 6'6 CB with international experience for only £5.25million then we jumped for the Stoke CB

Elia Caprile

We sign the young GK from Bari for only £6.5million and he will provide plenty of competition to Lafont for the No.1 position

Harvey White

White joins on a free transfer and he did well for us last season so it was a no brainer

Ainsley Maitland-Niles

Another free transfer but his versatility at both RB and LB so it makes perfect sense to bring him in to cover both positions

Andre

Finally we sign our most expensive player in the save so far with the Brazilian midfielder from Fluminense for £13.5 million and it looks like he could be a very special midfielder for us.

Friendlies

We lost our only friendly against decent opposition but it was more about players gelling and getting fitness than taking on big teams this time

Expectations

Well with the players we've brought in the board expect us to be an established team this year and not be involved in a relegation fight. We've still got a bit of cash to spend as well if we feel the need for any other players but I fully expect that I'm settled on the squad until January.

August

Not the kindest of months here as we have to face Chelsea in the opening game in London before also travelling to Liverpool a few games later. Games against teams like Middlesbrough will be key for us though this season​

 

[leckuno]

August

Chelsea v Sunderland

Well this was certain a welcome to the Premier League as it turns out we're still a good bit off competing against the big teams

Sunderland v Leeds United

Bardghji scored a cracker here coming in off the right wing to get us our first win of the season.

Sunderland v Aston Villa

Beljo had a great game here with 2 goals in injury time of both halves to rescue us a big point we probably didn't deserve/

Liverpool v Sunderland

We knew a tough game was coming here and it definitely was that as Liverpool put is firmly in our place.

Carabao Cup 2nd Round
Sunderland v Wycombe Wanderers

A nice change of scenery here in the cup as facing Wycombe let us play more attacking and it suited Moleiro took full advantage off it to get off the mark.

Sunderland v Middlesbrough

We kicked on from the cup game and Middlesbrough didn't stand a chance as Scarlett and Moleiro run riot to earn us a huge win

League

A nice sold start to the season as we sit in the top half and I'd bite your hand off to take that come the end of the season

Wage Expenditure

Well we are spending the least amount of money in the league by a long shot which shows how far we're going to need to go to catch the top teams.

September

Another tough game to start the month off but at least we also get to face Brighton who came up with us last season​

 

[andy_14clark]

Great to get promoted. Got a screenshot of tactics and formation?

Bennette did really well for you in the previous season. Didn't think he'd be that good based on his stats.

 

[leckuno]

Great to get promoted. Got a screenshot of tactics and formation?

Bennette did really well for you in the previous season. Didn't think he'd be that good based on his stats.

We went a lot more attacking this season thanks to the players we now have so swapped last seasons DM for an AMC

Yeah Bennette was class but sadly still had to go as he wasn't improving as I wanted

 

[leckuno]

September

Tottenham v Sunderland

Sadly Son put us to the sword here and we just couldn't cope with him.

Norwich City v Sunderland

We bounce back with a lucky win as Norwich really made it difficult work for us once they went down to 10 men but thankfully Mvuka got the goal with the last kick of the ball.

Carabao Cup 3rd Round
Sunderland v Reading

Reading are 2 leagues below us so we should of done a lot better but we make it through and thats all that matters.

Sunderland v Brighton & Hove Albion

Our 3rd win on the trot here are we make it look easy against Brighton but it was set pieces that were their down fall as we never actually managed a goal from open play.

League

Sitting pretty in the European spots. Lets get the rest of this season going.

October

Another nice short month but we have to travel to Manchester and then end the month in the cup with a massive game against Newcastle​

 

[FM_TNSSO]

Nice work my friend! Just caught up on the lot. Glad you found something you can finally get your teeth into!