Football Season Guide

Sunderland have spent the majority of their recent history in the Premier League, but are now set to start their third-consecutive League One campaign. The first one saw them make the play-offs but lose the final to Charlton, while the previous one was particularly brutal, as it saw them have an early managerial change and initially struggle under Phil Parkinson, only to have the season cut short once they finally improved under their current manager. The Black Cats have had a rather low-key summer transfer window, with a big reason for this being that the club is reportedly close to be sold, but the takeover, if any, is unlikely to happen in time to really have an effect on their dealings. Apart from keeper Jon McLaughlin, the other players who left were mostly rotation options, so the core of their side remains largely unchanged. Aiden O'Brien, Bailey Wright and Morgan Feeney are among the arrivals who are hoping to become regulars, while Aiden McGeady, who returns from a loan stay at Charlton, is a vastly talented player but is set to move on, having had a rather public falling out with Parkinson near the end of the previous campaign. Once again, the Black Cats will have a squad that contains a lot of Championship players and the biggest stadium in the league, which will obviously be an advantage once the fans start returning to stadiums. However, the atmosphere surrounding the club is rather grim, with the fans not happy with neither their owners nor Parkinson, while their manager has done well to shore up their defence, but is yet to get them functioning going forward. For all the reasons above, it is difficult to neither see the Black Cats win promotion nor to see them have another campaign of midtable mediocricy.