James Copley: Sunderland’s 40-point season sets up biggest test yet for Régis Le Bris and Florent Ghisolfi

At first glance, the Opta graphic doing the rounds this week feels like a badge of honour for Sunderland.

40 points from 29 games in a newly promoted side’s first Premier League campaign is impressive enough on its own. But the historical context makes it look even more remarkable. Since the 2001-02 season, only six promoted teams have taken more points at this stage of the season.

Sunderland now sit alongside names such as Sheffield United, Birmingham City, Wolves, Reading, Wigan Athletic and West Ham United. On the surface, that is an undeniable positive. Look a little closer, however, and the list tells a more complicated story - one that should serve as both encouragement and warning. Because survival in a first season is one thing. Building something sustainable afterwards is another challenge entirely.

Take Sheffield United. Chris Wilder’s side reached 44 points by matchday 29 in 2019-20 and ultimately finished ninth in their first season back in the Premier League. Within 12 months, they were relegated. They returned again later, only to drop back into the Championship, where they remain after losing last season’s play-off final to Sunderland. Birmingham City followed a similar pattern. Their excellent 2009-10 campaign saw them collect 44 points by the same stage of the season Sunderland have now reached. Yet they were relegated the following year and have never returned to the Premier League, even enduring a season in League One along the way.

Wolves offer a slightly different trajectory. Their 2018-19 promotion campaign produced 43 points by matchday 29, and they went on to finish seventh, qualifying for Europe. For a period, they looked like a club that had cracked the code of Premier League consolidation. Yet after six seasons in the division, they now find themselves in deep trouble and appear likely to be relegated this year. Reading’s experience was shorter still. Their thrilling first season in 2006-07 saw them accumulate 43 points by this stage and finish eighth. The following year, they were relegated.

Wigan Athletic represent the most unusual case. They not only survived their early years in the top flight but remained there for eight seasons, famously winning the FA Cup in 2013 before eventually dropping out of the Premier League. Since then, they have spent their time stuck in the EFL. West Ham’s story is perhaps the most instructive. Their 2005-06 promotion season produced 42 points by matchday 29, similar to Sunderland’s trajectory now. They stayed in the Premier League for six years before suffering relegation, then rebuilt and returned again. But even now, after 14 consecutive seasons back in the top flight, they find themselves once more looking over their shoulder with relegation a real threat.

Longevity and stability in the Premier League are remarkably difficult things to achieve. Which is why Sunderland’s current position should be viewed through two lenses at once. On one hand, it is a significant achievement. Régis Le Bris has guided a newly promoted side to the symbolic 40-point mark with nine games to spare, despite injuries to key players and the inevitable learning curve of stepping up a division.

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The Opta statistic underlines that progress. Sunderland are operating in territory that historically only a handful of promoted teams have reached. But history also suggests the real challenge is only just beginning. For Le Bris and sporting director Florent Ghisolfi, the task now shifts from survival to sustainability. How do you strengthen without losing identity? How do you add quality without breaking the financial discipline that has underpinned Sunderland’s rebuild? How do you evolve a squad that has earned its place in the league without disrupting the chemistry that got it there?

These are the questions that define the second season. For now, Sunderland can enjoy what they have achieved. 40 points in March is an outstanding platform and one that very few newly promoted sides manage. But the clubs Sunderland now find themselves alongside in the history books offer a reminder of the Premier League’s unforgiving nature. Reaching this level is difficult. Staying here and thriving is harder still.

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