Football Season Guide

Sunderland were hopelessly relegated from the Premier League last season in such shambolic fashion they became a bit of a laughing stock. Things have not improved after a difficult summer. They failed in their attempts to bring in a catalogue of managers and eventually plumped for Preston boss Simon Grayson. But his arrival has come rather late on in the summer meaning they could well be hopelessly underprepared for the new campaign. Grayson has belatedly turned to Everton for a number of his new arrivals. He has signed Aiden McGeady, a key player he had at Preston last term, along with defenders Tyias Browning and Brendan Galloway. Jermain Defoe has left the club but James Vaughan and Lewis Grabban have both arrived at the Stadium of Light. Sunderland had no choice but to sell Jordan Pickford to Everton for a massive £30 million. Vito Mannone has also left with Jason Steele and Robbin Ruiter arriving to compete for a place in goal. Sunderland should perform well at home with crowds still large despite their predicament. Expectations are not high for this campaign though. Unlike other sides relegated from the Premier League, they have not spent big nor have the kind of squad you would expect can really bully opponents. Grayson is an astute man and should be able to get the best out of his squad, it just may take some time for him to make his mark on a new club especially given his late arrival.