Smithy

Cheers for nowt

[Cjh @cjhhhh21]

Turned down Sunderland twice to join us, we are the real giants of the north east, when you're big, you're really big #NUFC #SAFC

[John @Ramma_____]

Now tell them its Sports Direct

[Wesley Allen @WesleyA78521123]

🏆 Clubs with most players at #WorldCup2026:

🇩🇪 #FCBayern - 17
🇫🇷 #PSG - 17
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 #ManCity -15
🇪🇸 #FCBarcelona - 15
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 #Arsenal - 14
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 #LFC - 13
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 #MUFC - 13
🇪🇸 #RealMadrid - 11
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 #THFC - 11
🔴 #SAFC - 11 🐈‍⬛🔥
🇪🇸 #Atleti - 9

#Sunderland matching #RealMadrid!

🤯#WC2026 #HWTL

[Paul @Uppo76]

Antony Gordon unveiled as a Barca player……….

[Cᴀꜱᴛɪʟʟᴏ @Castiillo_Rm]

Estoy a lágrimas que han hecho un video de 160 minutos con cagadas de Anthony Gordon. Esta red social es única.

[Football Away Days @FBAwayDays]

Granit Xhaka is feeling the love from Sunderland and to be fair he’s right.

They are a special fan base! 👏

#SAFC

[Ronaldinho @10Ronaldinho]

Thank you, Sunderland!!! Great game in England last monday, a country that has always welcomed me so well! Great atmosphere, beautiful stadium and lots of friends on the field!!!! Moments like this show us why football is so special... see you soon mates 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🤙🏾

[Football on TNT Sports @footballontnt]

The British teams that will be playing in Europe next season 🌍

[Jonny Mac @JonnyMc1]

Anthony Gordon after doing 7 kick ups at his Barca unveiling in the July sun.

[Celta @RCCelta]

👋 @EuropaLeague

[Sensible Sunderland @SensibleSAFC]

Mags for the last 48 hours

[⬛⬜ Kris ⬛⬜ @Kris_NUFC]

@JSAFC1973 @davey_lad @SkySports_Keith Bless! 3 games in and these fuckers think they’re on a European charge. Never known a more delusional fanbase.

[John @Ramma_____]

Beautiful this one

[Kris Day @KrisMonkeyDay]

@jpearcejourno Delete tweets and lock down your account all you want but we’ll keep reminding you of what you said ya whopper 😂😂

[vinny🇪🇺 @vinny_brand2]

we need to give a special shoutout to this man because without his goal in the derby, we wouldn’t have got europe #safc

[Football on TNT Sports @footballontnt]

Sunderland might have just finished off xG once and for all 📈

[Dobson 🦋 @ByDobson]

all I wanted to see in my lifetime as a Sunderland fan was:

see them win at Wembley ✅ x2
see them play in European football ✅
see them win a major trophy ⏳

that’s all I wanted and we’ve achieved 2 of them in the space of a year. Absolutely mad.

#SAFC

[James Copley @JamesCopley_]

✅ Promoted with no parachute money
✅ Iconic play-off campaign
✅ Wembley winners
✅ Beat Middlesbrough twice
✅ Beat Newcastle twice
✅ Coped with AFCON disruption
✅ Qualified for the Europa League
✅ 7th best team in England

🇫🇷 Régis Le Bris is the man.

#SAFC

[Sunderland AFC @SunderlandAFC]

Thank you for writing us off...

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

Sunderland’s starting XI in their joyous, season-ending 2-1 victory over listless Chelsea cost the same as £106m Enzo Fernandez. This is no slight on a world champion, an elite attacking midfielder, full of craft and craftiness, if moody at times. This is simply a celebration of Sunderland’s exceptional recruitment, finding gems who can see - and seize - the opportunity at the Stadium of Light.

This is also a celebration of Regis Le Bris’ remarkable team-building, blending and bonding qualities which have guided a side promoted via the play-offs into seventh and Europe. For those of us who thought Sunderland would go straight back down, apologies and enjoy Europe. You deserve it. A well-run football operation deserves it. That backing from stands to boardroom deserves it. Football also deserves it: a reminder that the status quo can be challenged with shrewd planning and investment and hard work.

Of Le Bris’ starting XI against Chelsea, eight joined on the eve of the season and one in the winter window: Roefs a reported £9m from Nijmegen; Mukiele £9.5m from PS-G; Reinaldo free from Atletico Madrid; Geertruida loan from RB Leipzig; Le Fee £19.3m, loan made permanent from Roma; Xhaka £13m from Bayer Leverkusen; Sadiki £15m from Union St-Gilloise; Angulo £17.5m from Anderlecht (in February); and seven-goal Brobbey £21.6m from Ajax. Two 2025 arrivals came off the bench: Diarra £30m from Strasbourg; and Isidor £5m loan made permanent from Zenit St-Petersburg (in February 2025).

Three of the 14 involved were already at the club. The starting pair of: Hume £200,000 from Linfield in 2022; and O’Nien undisclosed but reported as £200,000 to £300,000 from Wycombe Wanderers in 2018. And the sub: Rigg from Sunderland’s academy. (The £105.5m total does not include the undisclosed loan fees).

When Sunderland won 2-1 at the Bridge in October, Le Bris’ starting XI cost only £75m (and also had the important Ballard, £2m from Arsenal in 2022). Chelsea’s starting XI was £433m.

Four miles from the Bridge, on Park Lane this evening, the League Managers Association celebrates its members’ many achievements this season. Le Bris certainly deserves a mention. Mixing old and many new players, and getting new signings to settle quickly, requires real people skills. Le Bris and his staff clearly have them.

It’s also a reflection on Sunderland’s family club reputation that so many newcomers are welcomed and assimilated so quickly. Some will move on, some will be moved on but what a journey this is across England - and soon Europe. #SAFC