Sunderland have drifted along this year – on and off the pitch
It was probably quite fitting that the enduring image of Sunderland's final home game of the season was the raucous celebrations of the visiting team, staff and fans.
Sunderland have been the most welcoming of hosts for the second half of this campaign, and that's not just when it comes to the Black Cats Bar arrangements.
The recent home form in particular has been atrocious - Sunderland have not won at the Stadium of Light since February 10th and in that time have scored just two goals. Both of those were in games they actually went on to lose, one of them being the 5-1 hammering by Blackburn Rovers.
Mike Dodds was hugely critical of his players' defending for Sheffield Wednesday's two goals and he was right to be, too many beaten too easily by their opposite number. The intensity, particularly out of possession, was simply well short of what is required and that has been too consistent a theme of late. That's on the players and yet at the same time, it perhaps comes as no great surprise that Sunderland's performances have drifted so significantly. After all, it was a season that was allowed to drift at the very top through a bizarre managerial appointment, a poor January window and the lack of communication or decisive action over the last few months. Sunderland have appeared directionless on the pitch and that comes from the top.
The final months of this campaign were by and large sacrificed in order to give the club's decision makers more time and space to make crucial decisions this summer, and that raises the stakes significantly. Sunderland need a reset because in 2024 they have been one of the worst teams in the Championship. That a Wednesday side in relegation trouble for the vast majority of the campaign ended up finishing within three points of Sunderland tells you everything - it has been nowhere near good enough from top to bottom.
It seems fair to say that this will probably have been farewell to a number of Sunderland players. Callum Styles was given a chance to impress in midfield by Mike Dodds here but his half-time withdrawal would make it seem unlikely that the club will go on to trigger their option-to-buy clause this summer. Styles has looked far more at ease in recent weeks when moved into a more familiar wing-back role but it felt telling that the second half of this game played out with none of the club's January additions on the pitch. Romaine Mundle is a talented prospect but has featured little of late, while Leo Hjelde was not included in the squad at all for this defeat. It was a window that did little to address the club's issues and proved to be a key factor in the way the season unraveled so dramatically.
While Dodds has made clear that Jack Clarke's departure is not inevitable, the impasse over a new