COMMENT: Sunderland have swapped fear of expectations for moments of pure joy
What do we want from Sunderland AFC? In the stomach-churning roller coaster of the last decade, it’s fair to say that the answer to that question has changed a bit.
The era of Asamoah Gyan, Bolo Zenden and Steed Malbranque had us dreaming big, or at least dreaming of Europa League adventures becoming a feature of our lives.
Then we entered the boom-and-bust Great Escape years, where our dreams grew smaller and we craved stability… and maybe finishing a season with the same manager who started it.
And inevitably, years of circling the plughole gave way to ours dreams being flushed away down the leagues. With expectations at rock bottom, all we could dream about was a day when this humiliation would come to an end.
"What I want from Sunderland is to be a club that I’m proud of, and a team that I can find joy in. And that’s what this Class of 2022 is."
Fast forward to mid-September 2022, and we all were given permission to dream again.
A likeable young team, coached by a twinkle-eyed local, playing swashbuckling football that is getting this club noticed - and for the right reasons this time. The 0-3 away to Reading felt every bit as good as 0-3 away to Chelsea back in 2010, despite Chelsea being Premier League champions and Reading being… well, Reading.
Then, a trip to Watford suggested that the gaggle of exciting young signings might actually turn out to be capable young footballers, finally exorcising the ghost of Roberto Di Fanti and his failed experiment of David Moberg-Karlsson, Charis Mavrias and the rest.
It’s temping to focus on where this will lead us.
We started this season with our expectations in a collective straight jacket. Few - if any - of dared to dream of anything more than survival. A few big days, a fair amount of struggle, then a season that ends with us having established our basecamp ahead of a multi-year assault on Mount Premier League.
The trouble with expectations, however, is they have a life of their own. It’s hard not to look at the table, then look at the fearlessness of Patrick Roberts, Jack Clarke and Jewison Bennette and start to dream bigger dreams. This team has a top-six finish in it, doesn’t it? And if we get in the play offs, then…
Stop.
I don’t know about you, but I’m going to try very hard to enjoy this season from a place of low expectations. Because when I do that, I can revel in the magic of our third against Reading, or the equaliser against Watford, without worrying about if - or when - my hopes will crumble into dust.
Because what I want from Sunderland is to be a club that I’m proud of, and a team that I can find joy in. And that’s what this Class of 2022 is.
So, when this team puts in a 90 minute shift that makes my heart swell, I’m going to try very hard to enjoy it for what it is. A moment of joy, a reason to feel proud… and not a sign of something bigger or better to come.
We’ve had over a decade of focussing on what’s next, of the future biting us squarely on the arse. This season I’m going to enjoy what we’ve got right now.