Sunderland send out beacon of light for others to follow

After two years of all promoted clubs going back down, Le Bris's high-flying side are spreading hope

- Jonathan Wilson

Last season, all three promoted sides in the Premier League were relegated.

The season before that, all three promoted sides were relegated. The fear was that the gulf between the Premier League and the Championship had become too big, with the increasing stratification of the English game essentially making it impossible for the promoted teams to survive, much less to thrive. It is a self-perpetuating issue; the longer the other 17 remain in the Premier League, fattened on television rights, the harder it will be for teams coming up to make an impression.

There was a need for the promoted sides to put up a better fight than they managed last season when, between them, Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton collected just 59 points. Nine games into this season, not quite a quarter of the way through, Sunderland, Leeds and Burnley already have 38 points between them. None of the three are in the relegation zone. But most striking have been the performances of Sunderland, who have taken 17 points already and lie fourth in the table.

Their fixture list, it should be said, has been kind. Looking at the table on Saturday morning, Sunderland had faced only one team in the top half. Starting with a home game against West Ham was about as gentle as introductions come. They faced Nottingham Forest when they were locked in the strange Ange Postecoglou slump, and Aston Villa when they were still in their early-season funk. They have also beaten Brentford and Wolves at home.