The Sunderland Chronicle
Squad23 Aug 2027
A fracture rules Danny Ings out for 31 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Sunderland will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Chris Rigg is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 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
Enzo Le Fée 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.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Words at Sunderland training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Granit Xhaka is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Boardroom23 Aug 2027
5 academy players handed senior numbers at Sunderland
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Match21 Aug 2027
Brentford take the points off Sunderland
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The terraces23 Aug 2027
The crowd has taken to Chemsdine Talbi
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
One of our own: Simon Roberts joins the Sunderland first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Simon Roberts 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
Sunderland promote Simon Phillips from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Simon Phillips has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
In brief
- Market Sunderland promote Samuel Morris from within
- Market Henry Green steps up from the Sunderland academy
- Player ratings A masterclass from Chemsdine Talbi