Best Of

It's been so long that I genuinely can't remember if he was actually that good, or whether his reputation has gone up in his absence.

He has a tough job to get back amongst it, with so many other options now.

Regis Le Bris' thoughts (from BBC).

"Mike was really important for me," said Le Bris.

"He helped me a lot when I came to the club to manage the first sessions, the first connections with the team and the club.

"We found a good set-up together. He decided to leave and it is a good opportunity for him because he wanted to become a head coach and we have to accept that.

"But at the same time, it is a bit of a regret for me because I think we worked well together."

We might even go up automatically.

The squad is young but prolifically talented. Both Jobe and Rigg have ceilings way beyond any previous Sunderland youngsters, including Henderson. Watson, who has only played a couple of games could be just as good, the fact that Brighton were happy to offer £13m for the kids says a lot.

A lot of people keep saying we are too young, but forget that this squad has in the main been together for more than three years, during which Dodds shaped the kids into an exiting team.

Then add in Enzo Le Fee, this guy is just a different level, if you didn’t watch the match last night have a look and judge for yourselves.

I hope Fodds gets you up this season and his only game at the Stadium of Light is a cup tie.

Just to say @Safc_in_peace Mike is Head Coach not Manager, seems this is playing to his strengths and certainly is the structural model our new bosses require.

See you in The Championship next season😉

Well there’s definitely a Wayne Rooney joke in here somewhere.

I think the Dane will play with Sonny in the Cup.

L: Dan Rice, R: Matt Bloomfield

Just a massive X on his back.

To "lovingly borrow" from Ben Elton, Mr Musk has been showing more authentic stupidity than artificial intelligence recently.

As far as I’m concerned then, Sonny starts as he’s been an absolute rock. Although I expect some experimentation on Saturday, but I think Dodds has a headache for team selection the following week.