The Sunderland Chronicle
Market14 Sep 2026
Enzo Le Fée asks to leave Sunderland
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market14 Sep 2026
So close: Abdoullah Ba’s move dies late
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Wolverhampton moved on, Abdoullah Ba reports back to Sunderland, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
Transfer targets14 Sep 2026
Door shut on Lukáš Horníček
Sunderland asked and Newcastle United said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Match12 Sep 2026
Brian Brobbey’s goal not enough for Sunderland
Brian Brobbey scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to West Ham United, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
Robin Roefs gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Chemsdine Talbi runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Mark Henderson to a room that had heard them before.
Market14 Sep 2026
The Granit Xhaka talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Sunderland know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Granit Xhaka keeps on missing
Shots: 5, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
In brief
- The dugout Dan Ballard left out for tactical reasons at Sunderland
- Squad Granit Xhaka says his piece
- Market The market said no: Romaine Mundle stays put