Where will Sunderland be in ten years? Football Manager 22 simulation predicts up and down decade for Black Cats
The past ten years have been difficult for Sunderland who have gone from the Premier League to the third tier of English football.
By Martyn Simpson
Published 2nd Dec 2021, 15:13 BST
Updated 2nd Dec 2021, 15:22 BST
The 2011-12 season saw a side which featured the likes of Simon Mignolet, Stéphane Sessègnon, Nicklas Bendtner and James McClean finish 13th in the top flight.
Now, ten seasons later, we’re approaching the midway point of the 2021-22 season and the club are fifth in League 1 and once again chasing promotion to the Championship.
But where will Sunderland be in another ten years times? Although we have no way of knowing, we simulated ten years into the future with the latest edition of Football Manager to get an idea of how things could look.
FM 22, which was released last month, is the latest edition of the popular football management simulation game has been wildly popular since it’s initial release in 1992 and is now played by football fans and professional players alike.
‘FM’ is also used as a player database by football clubs due to their worldwide scouting network of around 1,300 scouts which developers use to ensure full accuracy across the game.
Here is how our simulation saw the next ten seasons play out for Sunderland:
But where will Sunderland be in another ten years times? Although we have no way of knowing, we simulated ten years into the future with the latest edition of Football Manager to get an idea of how things could look.
5. 2025/26 season
Promotion at last! Despite dropping two places to a sixth place finish. Ian Holloway's side beat Forest Green Rovers in the play-off semis and Derby County in the final. Forest Green striker Jake Young (pictured) came in for £625,000 and netted 15 goals to finish as top scorer Photo: Justin Setterfield
Holloway was sacked after winning just two of their opening 18 league games. Former Notts County manager Ian Burchnall (pictured) came in after spells with Salford and Wycombe Wanderers but couldn't save the Black Cats from relegation back to League 1 as they finished in 22nd - just two pints from safety. Photo: Laurence Griffiths
Back to League 1 and it was a familiar story with a third place finish but heartbreak in the play-offs as they lost to Wycombe in the semi-finals. The club splashed the cash by signing former Wolves defender Max Kilman (pictured) from reading for £3.5 million Photo: GLYN KIRK
No promotion trouble this season as Sunderland finished second to win automatic promotion. Former Crewe striker Stephen Walker (pictured) was the top signing at £110,000, down a considerable bit from the previous year, and was also the top scorer with 17 and Player of the Season award winner. Photo: Harry Trump