The Sunderland Chronicle
Player ratings23 Aug 2027
Nobody could get near Malick Fofana
Successful dribbles: 26. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad23 Aug 2027
August Priske is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Tempers go at Sunderland
Simon Adingra was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Boardroom23 Aug 2027
Graduation day at Sunderland
6 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Squad23 Aug 2027
A late step up for Dan Neil
At 25 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
The terraces23 Aug 2027
The crowd has taken to Malick Fofana
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Market23 Aug 2027
Joshua Young steps up from the Sunderland academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Joshua Young has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market23 Aug 2027
One of our own: Thomas Brown joins the Sunderland first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Thomas Brown is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market23 Aug 2027
Edward Clark steps up from the Sunderland academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Edward Clark has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
In brief
- Market One of our own: Richard Ross joins the Sunderland first team
- Squad Dan Ballard falls out with a teammate over standards
- Match Sunderland see off Brentford