Ed’s Note [Phil]: Hi, Gavin. Thank you for your letter.
I fully agree with your take on Friday night’s shambolic defeat at the hands of Nottingham Forest.
It was nowhere near acceptable for a team that’s set tremendously high standards ever since the season kicked off, and the manner in which we collapsed — as well as the speed — was not reminiscent of the Sunderland that we’ve known and loved during 2025/2026. Very disappointing and a real let-down.
Fortunately, our next fixture looks quite favourable and we need to see a very strong reaction from the Lads when they travel to the Midlands to take on Wolves.
I’m sure they’ll be eager to get back to winning ways and to prove that Friday night was merely a blip rather than the latest evidence of a slump, and I would expect Régis Le Bris to freshen the team up and consider some tactical tweaks, as well.