How Sunderland went from League One to dreaming of reaching Europe | OneFootball

It has been a long road back to the Premier League for Sunderland. After nearly a decade defined by decline and a fall as far as League One, the Black Cats have re-established themselves among English football’s elite.

A summer outlay of more than £150m signalled a refusal to become another one-season top-flight visitor, and early wins – including a stoppage-time victory at Stamford Bridge – suggested Régis Le Bris’ young side could do more than survive.

As the season enters its final third, Sunderland have spent only ten weeks outside the European places. Newly promoted teams rarely trouble the continent; only four have done so in Premier League history. There was a time when survival was the ceiling. Now, a decade after their collapse began, Sunderland find themselves daring to imagine Europe. 

Here’s how they have done it.

2015-2017: Premier League decline

Sunderland’s decade-long freefall began long before relegation. Their ten-year stay in the Premier League became a cycle of narrow escapes, short-term fixes and frequent managerial upheaval. The club averaged 15th, peaked at 10th under Steve Bruce, and built squads with little resale value. By the time Sam Allardyce arrived in 2015/16, crisis had become the club’s default setting. Sunderland survived by two points, but the structural issues remained untouched. David Moyes inherited a squad built on short-termism and delivered the outcome many had expected: relegation. The drop felt less like a shock than the inevitable result of years spent living on the edge. 

2017/2018: Back-to-back relegation

Chris Coleman in charge at Sunderland (Photo by Nigel Roddis/Getty Images)

If relegation to the Championship was predictable, the collapse that followed was not. Sunderland hoped for a quick return to the top-flight; instead, they plunged straight through the division. Simon Grayson lasted months, Chris Coleman arrived with little financial backing, and a fractured dressing rooms limped towards a second relegation. Ellis Short cleared the club’s debts and walked away, handing control to Stewart Donald. Netflix’s Sunderland ‘Til I Die captured the chaos, but the deeper truth was bleaker: Sunderland had lost their identity, their direction, and their belief. 

2018-2022: League One purgatory

League One did not rebuild Sunderland; it exposed them. Jack Ross was appointed under new ownership, but optimism remained scarce. He guided the club to Wembley twice in 2018/19, yet both trips ended in heartbreak – an EFL Trophy penalty shootout defeat to Portsmouth, then a stoppage-time loss to Charlton in the play-off final. Repeated failure started to weigh heavily on a young squad, forced to grow up fast under the glare of a restless fanbase. Sunderland felt like a big club trapped in small-club outcomes. 

Financial strain and stagnation deepened the disconnect between supporters and the ownership. In February 2021, 23-year-old Kyril Louis-Dreyfus acquired a controlling stake in the club, becoming the youngest chairman in English football history. His arrival brought long-absent clarity. Sunderland lifted the EFL Trophy a month later under Lee Johnson’s leadership. But the uplift was brief, and Johnson’s tenure ended after a 6-0 defeat at Bolton the following December. Louis-Dreyfus’ decision to appoint Alex Neil as Johnson’s successor proved transformative. Neil oversaw a 17-game unbeaten run and a 2-0 win over Wycombe in the 2022 play-off final. After four years of stagnation, Sunderland finally escaped League One.

LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 21: Alex Neil, Manager of Sunderland lifts the Sky Bet League One Play-Off trophy following victory in the Sky Bet League One Play-Off Final match between Sunderland and Wycombe Wanderers at Wembley Stadium on May 21, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

2022-2024: Championship growth

Neil signed an improved contract in August 2022 but departed weeks later for Stoke City, a move that stunned supporters who had hoped he would anchor a new era of stability. Tony Mowbray replaced him and guided Sunderland to a sixth-place finish and a play-off semi-final, where they fell to eventual play-off winners Luton Town. The 23/24 season unravelled quickly. Mowbray was dismissed, Michael Beale lasted 63 days at the helm – the shortest reign in club history – and interim Mike Dodds oversaw a slump to 16th. 

Régis Le Bris arrived in July 2024 with modest expectations after relegating Lorient, but Sunderland had identified him as the coach capable of realising their data-led recruitment model. With a clear emphasis on signing players under 24, Le Bris trusted youth and imposed a defined footballing identity from day one. An unbeaten August shifted the mood entirely. Sunderland settled into the top four, secured a play-off place, and edged past Coventry before meeting Sheffield United at Wembley. Trailing for much of the final, they equalised through Mayenda before academy graduate Tommy Watson delivered a stoppage-time winner that will live forever in Wearside folklore. Sunderland were back in the big time.

2024/25: Return to the Premier League

Sunderland’s decade has been defined by extremes: the pain of back-to-back relegations, the patience demanded by League One, and the passion of a fanbase that refused to let the club drift into irrelevance. The Black Cats have shown that resilience and clarity can rebuild a club’s identity. What was once a story of survival has become one of ambition. After years of struggle, Sunderland no longer fear the future. They dare to dream of Europe.