EUROPA LEAGUE was never the dream.
Not because I didn’t want it.
Because if I’m being honest, I never thought it was possible.
What kid would?
Especially when 12 years ago I was playing non league football in the Ryman Premier and Conference South, just trying to stay alive in the game.
What kid dreams about Europe when, two weeks into the off season, his dad has to tell him he’s been released by Watford F.C. over the phone?
I was heartbroken.
My dad looked at me and said:
“What are we doing tomorrow?”
To which I replied with the words he’d drilled into me my whole life:
“We’re training, Dad.”
So we trained.
Every single day.
My dad emailed every EFL club asking for an opportunity.
One club replied.
One.
That was all I needed.
An opportunity.
@WealdstoneFC and @wwfcofficial , I’ll always be indebted to you.
Then came the move to @SunderlandAFC .
A massive club.
A massive opportunity.
And I couldn’t wait to prove myself.
But 45 minutes into my debut… hooked.
“Rabbit caught in headlights. Waste of money. Get rid.”
Then came the Championship.
“He’s not good enough for this level.”
Then the Premier League.
“Let’s give him a debut and then get rid of him.”
I understood the doubt.
I’ve faced it my whole career.
And truthfully, you doubt yourself too at times.
But I’ve always tried to live by one mindset:
Outwork your doubt.
You don’t always need to see the full journey.
You just need to take the next step.
Then the next one.
And then another.
Even when social media tells you you’re not good enough.
Even when the voice inside your own head whispers the same thing.
Keep working.
Keep learning.
Keep showing up.
Because sometimes the places you end up are bigger than anything your younger self could’ve ever imagined.
To any young player reading this, don’t put a ceiling on yourself too early.
You genuinely have no idea where this game and life can take you.
And to the boys… thank you.
You removed the glass ceiling I’d placed on myself.
What a team.
What a club.
What a fanbase.
Sunderland… rocking all over Europe ❤️🤍
And in the words of Granit Xhaka:
“This is just the beginning.”
Thomas Tuchel might not have picked on form, but has he picked on raw talent? Also no. But has he picked based on past winning experience? No. But has he picked on full ability? No again
Palantir has been granted “unlimited access” to NHS patient data.
This is the same company that is involved in mass surveillance and genocide.
We did not consent to this. Get Palantir out of our NHS, now.
Sunderland is in its best place in decades, massive regeneration going on all over and so many positives
Please go and vote today but don't vote reform, reform don't care about Sunderland. No local policies and just buzz words about immigration.
Vote to keep us moving forward
If you vote Reform you will not have an illegal migrant deportation facility in your area.
We will hold migrants awaiting deportation in constituencies that vote Green instead.
You get what you vote for.
Reform want to round up migrants and detain them indefinitely in areas that don’t vote for them.
Yet for most of our media, it’s those marching for Palestine who are creating hatred & fear.
These disgusting plans are an affront to democracy — and must be fiercely opposed.
So you’re going to segregate immigrants in what sounds like concentration camps located in councils based on opposing political affiliation just to try and get a few more votes? So desperate, scary and VERY similar to Trump and ICE in America
Today we announce a new policy:
In order to deport all illegal migrants in Britain, Reform will need to detain tens of thousands at a time.
Migrants will not be able to leave these detention centres, and each will be held there a couple of weeks before being deported.
So here’s our promise:
A Reform government will not put any migrant detention facilities in any constituency with a Reform MP.
Nor will we put them where Reform controls the council.
And of the remaining areas, we will prioritise Green controlled parliamentary constituencies and Green controlled councils to locate the detention centres.
Put simply, if you vote in a Reform council or Reform MP, we guarantee you won’t have a detention centre near you.
If you vote Green, there’s a good chance you will.
This is an important exercise in democratic consent, not just for our mass deportation policy, but for where the detention centres are placed.
Given @ZackPolanski openly advocates for open borders, I look forward to their warm embrace of this policy.
https://t.co/toKFVERafD