Man City and West Ham examples offer hope for Europa-bound Sunderland over second season syndrome | OneFootball

Sunderland will compete in the Europa League for the first time in their history this season. Pre-season ended with a home win over Stade Rennais, and attention now turns to next weekend’s Premier League opener at Ipswich Town. Talk of second season syndrome has surfaced, yet precedent suggests encouragement.

According to BBC Sport, Sunderland are the 10th club to reach Europe in their first season back in the Premier League. Of the previous nine, only two were relegated the following year, with an average second-season finish of 11.6.

Newcastle United set the tone, finishing third in 1993/94 to reach the UEFA Cup, then sixth the next season. Nottingham Forest repeated the feat a year later and ended 1995/96 in ninth. Leicester City’s Coca Cola Cup final win against Middlesbrough in April 1997 secured Europe and a mid-table return.

Ipswich Town, managed by George Burley, reached the UEFA Cup in 2001/02 and faced Inter Milan and Torpedo Moscow, but were relegated after a 5-0 defeat at Liverpool on the final day. Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City and West Ham United all stayed up during their European seasons.

Hull City reached the 2014 Europa League via an FA Cup final loss to Arsenal, exited to Lokeren and finished 18th. Wolves are the most recent case, taking seventh in 2018/19 and matching it the next year. The trend offers grounds for optimism for Le Bris’ side.

Source: Sunderland Echo

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