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:
9. 2029/30 season
The Black Cats secured safety quite comfortably with a 15th place finish but a run of only one win in 10 games between November and January saw Burchnall lose his job. Former Dundalk player Vinny Perth, who had managed the League of Ireland side as well as Barnsley and Hull City, replaced him mid season. Former Spurs youngster Brook Lyons-Forster (pictured) was the Player of the Season Photo: Jan Kruger
10. 2030/31
The final season of our simulation ended with a 19th place finish, securing a third successive season in the Championship. After an up and down decade, the club now have a solid platform to build on and start moving upwards Photo: Pete Norton