The 41 bizarre & beautiful photos that summed up another incredible year of Sunderland AFC - gallery
By Phil Smith
Published 31st Dec 2022, 11:00 BST
Updated 31st Dec 2022, 16:09 BST
So then, another quiet year following Sunderland AFC is drawing to a close.
Just the three head coaches, one Wembley win, one cryptocurrency group, one genuine Puskas contender award…
It has been an exhilarating 12 months for the club, with some serious lows and truly dizzying highs. A 4-1 win at Wigan Athletic means the club is looking forward with optimism, and so with that in mind let us take you through the funniest, more bizarre and most brilliant images of another dramatic year.
5. IT'S JERMAIN DEFOE!
The most bizarre aspect of Johnson's departure was that it came so close to the end of the transfer window. Tensions over the pursuit of Jermain Defoe (Johnson was happy to sign him, but correctly predicted he would need another strike in addition) had been going on for a couple of weeks and so it was little coincidence that the change in the dugout significantly accelerated the deal. He arrived at the Academy of Light on deadline day, with the scoop of the year going to SAFC Fan TV. It was old-fashioned deadline-day drama, the kind we haven't seen on Sky Sports News for years. 48 hours on from the Bolton debacle, Sunderland social media was ablaze with good humour and optimism... the drama had barely got started. Photo: SAFC Fan TV
He couldn't, could he? Sunderland pursued a sensational return for Roy Keane and the speculation reached fever pitch when Kyril Louis-Dreyfus liked a post on instagram stating that he had become the favourite for the job. Keane was asked about the rumours live on ITV and his grin gave the game away - this was a live possibility. As it turned out, his comments that the 'contract has to be right' proved to be more significant in the long run - he had reservations about the job and the structure at Sunderland and it never materialised. Sunderland's season in the meantime plumbed new depths, an absence of footballing leadership after Johnson's departure led to defeats against Doncaster and Cheltenham. It was a dire couple of weeks and the flawed recruitment process brought to bear the complex ownership structure still causing issues - Louis-Dreyfus would finally confirm later that he had a controlling share but not a majority one. It was a horrendous fortnight, but the darkest hour comes just before the dawn... Photo: THAT SMILE...
Players would get used to Neil watching over them - and not just in the warm ups. Neil's tenure got off to a poor start with a dire 1-1 draw against AFC Wimbledon, but the new head coach impressed afterwards. He conceded the team was nowhere near where it needed to be, and spoke candidly about how he'd inherited a squad of burnout youngsters and experienced players short of match fitness. It would take him a while to put that right, but he had a handle on what needed to be done pretty much from day one. Photo: FRANK REID 2022
It took Neil four games to get his first win but from here he never looked back - this was Sunderland's line in the sand game. Injuries and fatigue led Neil to hand Arbenit Xhemajli his first league start since suffering an ACL injury a year previous. Neil devised a strategy to protect him against a Wigan side dominating the division - Sunderland defended deep and in numbers, and sat on a lead Bailey Wright gave them from a set piece early on. It wasn't pretty but Xhemajli was excellent and the visitors deserved their win. It signalled a big shift: performances didn't matter any more, only promotion did. Photo: Frank Reid