How this Premier League team have defied the odds

The black cat is out of the bag – Sunderland are having a brilliant return campaign in the Premier League under the stewardship of Regis le Bris.

The former Rokermen currently sit ninth in the Premier League table, above the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Crystal Palace and West Ham United – but how did they end up in this poistion?

Today, we’ll examine how Sunderland managed to hit the ground running in their first season back in England’s top flight since 2017. It has been a combination of canny tactics, intelligent spending and smart investments – let’s take a closer look.

Sunderland’s summer spending

Out of all the teams in the Premier League, few of them had a higher net spend than Sunderland in the summer transfer window. Only Liverpool, Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester United spent more than the Black Cats in terms of overall net spend.

This alone should’ve tipped people off that Sunderland were serious about staying up – but of course, money means nothing if it is not spent effectively.

Sunderland made plenty of excellent signings in the summer and we’d like to highlight a few of them. First of all, goalkeeper Robin Roefs has been a stellar addition to the squad – only Burnley’s Martin Dubravka has made more saves than he has this season.

Granit Xhaka has been a fantastic addition to their midfield. He is authoritative and technically astute – furthermore, he also has plenty of experience in England’s top flight.

We’d also like to shed light on Brian Brobbey, whose pace and power has given Premier League defences all kinds of issues.

Regis le Bris’ tactical approach

Regis le Bris’ tactical philosphy is paying dividends at the moment. He is the antithesis of rigid, authoritarian coaches such as Ruben Amorim – instead of sticking to one system, he likes to adapt to match his opponents.

Sunderland have generally lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation this season, but Le Bris has also utilised a 4-4-2 and a 5-4-1 when appropriate. Against teams who overmatch them, he will use a 5-4-1 – meanwhile, against teams with defensive weaknesses out wide, Le Bris will employ a 4-4-2 formation.

This chameleonic approach to the game has done Le Bris plenty of favours – it makes other teams’ pre-match preparations much more difficult, as the Black Cats can attack them in three different ways.

What does the future hold for Sunderland?

Of course, success is a fleeting thing in football. No one can remain on top forever – and some of Sunderland’s best players will certainly be in the sights of Europe’s biggest clubs at the moment.

Despite this, Sunderland have shown two things that their fans can take solace in. First of all, they have shown that they’re willing to spend a lot of money to stay in the Premier League – secondly, they have also shown that they can spend it effectively.

When Jobe Bellingham left the club to join Borussia Dortmund in the summer, many feared the worst. Despite this, Sunderland replaced him adequately and have become a better team in the process – Black Cats fans will be hopeful they can do they same again if any of their new top stars are snapped up.