Sunderland have often been viewed as a yo-yo club, seesawing between the Championship and the Premier League.
The numbers don’t lie in this regard, either, considering the Black Cats – since the Premier League’s rebrand in 1992 – have been relegated down to the EFL’s elite division from the big time a mammoth four times.
Regis Le Bris will be aiming to go against the grain here, and he has certainly made a positive start to life in a top-flight dug-out with the Wearside outfit after clinching promotion.
Indeed, the Mackems have only suffered one defeat from their opening six league encounters, meaning Sunderland are sitting in a pretty fifth spot currently.
Wilson Isidor has already planted himself deeper into Sunderland hearts with his whirlwind start to the campaign, as the Frenchman aims to become another revered striker the Black Cats look at fondly when recollecting about the very best they had at their disposal in the tough division.
Isidor's electric start to the season
Isidor does have some catching up to do if he is to hit the heights of the likes of Darren Bent before him, with the well-travelled Englishman putting away 106 top-flight goals in total, as 32 of those fell at the Stadium of Light.
The electric Frenchman is already up to 16 strikes for Le Bris and Co in all fairness, with three of those efforts coming about just this season to ensure Sunderland has made the tricky transition back to top-flight life look rather seamless.
Already, this blistering purple patch of form has reportedly alerted Aston Villa to his services, but the former Zenit St. Petersburg attacker will no doubt be eager to keep the goals flowing on Wearside, instead of following Bent’s career path.
Sunderland have been regularly cursed by their cream of the crop in attack deserting the club for more luxurious pastures, unfortunately, with Kevin Phillips leaving Wearside behind all the way back in 2003 for Southampton when Mick McCarthy’s Black Cats slipped down to the EFL.
It’s also far too premature to suggest losing Isidor would impact Sunderland as much as Phillips’ exit did 22 years ago, with the well-travelled journeyman going down as a Premier League icon for his goal-laden spell at the Black Cats and beyond, away from the 25-year-old just beginning his own top-flight journey.
What cemented Phillips' legendary status at Sunderland
When lined up next to some of his fellow goalscoring compatriots such as Michael Owen and Alan Shearer, it might be forgotten how red-hot Phillips truly was in front of goal during his peak years.
Indeed, across an extensive career that saw him largely jump between the second tier and the Premier League, the now-retired 52-year-old would first make a name for himself as a “brilliant” top-flight goalscorer with Sunderland, as he was once labelled by the aforementioned Shearer, who would go on to lead the line with Phillips for England.
A breakout first season in the notoriously difficult division would catapult Phillips to instant stardom, with his 1999/2000 offering seeing him fire home a ridiculous 30 strikes from just 39 games.
The Golden Boot would fall into the eight-time England international’s lap subsequently, with a further 31 goals also coming his way in the challenging division for Sunderland, before moving on to Southampton, Villa, Birmingham, and Crystal Palace to further expand his Premier League horizons.
Games played
124
Clubs played for
4
Goals scored
30
Assists
7
He would go on to amass another 30 goals in the bright lights of the top division for those clubs listed, but it’s safe to say that when he looks back now on his distinguished playing days at the very summit of the English game, Sunderland is the team he has the fondest memories attached to.
Le Bris will hope he has another Black Cats icon in the making in one of their new signings who has already fallen deeply in love with the Wearside environment, much like Phillips before him.
Le Bris' very own Phillips
Away from scoring goals for fun, Phillips’ crucial strikes would also routinely get Sunderland out of relegation bother.
Amazingly, both the 99/00 season and the 2000/01 season saw Sunderland punch well above their weight and finish in a high seventh final spot, partly because of Phillips putting away a sizeable 44 goals.
In the here and now, Granit Xhaka is also helping Sunderland dream of similarly high finishes.
At this point, partly due to Isidor’s own goalscoring exploits as well, Le Bris’ men find themselves daring to dream of a top-half finish, sitting all the way up in fifth in the early league standings.
But, Xhaka has also more than played his part as one of the very few individuals in Le Bris’ camp who know what it takes to be a success story in the Premier League.
Unlike Phillips, who transformed himself into a Premier League icon on Wearside, the Switzerland international is only further boosting his reputation as a top-flight worthy warrior with Sunderland, having been previously dubbed a “monster” at this level by Arsenal writer Connor Humm when still lining up for the Gunners.
Games played
6
Goals scored
0
Assists
3
Touches*
70.3
Accurate passes*
45.0 (83%)
Key passes*
1.3
Ball recoveries*
4.7
Clearances*
4.3
Total duels won*
6.8
Therefore, it shouldn’t be the greatest shock to the system to see how instant the 33-year-old has picked up from where he once left off at the Emirates, considering the Swiss had 17 goals and 24 assists for Arsenal – who are usually challenging near the top of the league away from any relegation worries – before his impressive return to English soil with Le Bris’ underdogs.
From his six league contests to date, Xhaka has demonstrated that he is one of the finest players in recent memory to grace the Stadium of Light.
He already has three assists next to his name as a game-changing presence similar to Phillips, with an added bite in his game, also ensuring his new employers have only leaked four strikes so far this season.
Sky Sports’ Keith Downie has even gone as far as to state that the Le Bris’ team is “built around” the glue of Xhaka, with Sunderland teams of the past also breaking down as a unit if Phillips wasn’t leading the line, gobbling up chances.
Already a well-loved Premier League servant at Arsenal, it’s clear that yet another English club has fallen in love with the full-blooded nature of the 33-year-old, with his status as a modern icon in the unforgiving division only being strengthened by his ongoing Wearside tale.