“It could fall apart at any moment, can’t it?” These are the words that we’ve heard at the start of the season about Sunderland. But nothing has budged Regis Le Bris’ team from its place just yet. And why can’t this story have a happy ending?
I’m delighted to also announce that this feel-good, nearly holiday-time tale is the result of clever planning and well-developed tactics.
But just what are these tactical plans Sunderland keeps being praised for? Why can’t the top teams do as much with more? These are questions I’m trying to answer in this article.
That’s all fine and good. But what’s in it for you? Prizes in fantasy football, that’s it. Use them in FootballCoin’s Premier League fantasy football contests every weekend.
Pre-managerial career
Régis Le Bris was a youth hotshot who enjoyed a relatively successful senior career, mostly playing for Rennes and lower-tier side Laval.
He became a manager in 2014, coaching Lorient from 2022 to 2024, and managing to keep them up in Ligue 1 in his first season in charge.
Football Philosophy
Stop the clocks! At the time of writing, Sunderland sits fourth in the table. That’s beyond even the most optimistic prediction of the most positive vibes-wearing fan of the Black Cats.
But how did we get here? A lot of it comes from the manager’s mentality and philosophy. The rest of it comes from Granit Xhaka.
Regis Le Bris is a manager who has had to deal with plenty of restrictions. Money, talent and time are all things that have been hard to come by since starting as a youth coach.
This has transformed Le Bris into an adaptable manager. He has a tactical base from where to start and that players are asked to get used to. But he adapts based on the opponent’s strengths and on the personnel he has available.
It’s not unfair to say that Sunderland is a team that likes to play long balls. But the team doesn’t always do it.
And it’s not a mistake to say that Le Bris prefers playing as a back four defensive line with a highly active pivot player dropping down to help build up. However, the Black Cats aren’t as predictable as to always do this.
Finally, if you’re an opposition manager, you might want to beef up the flanks. That’s where most of Sunderland’s chances come from. Still, once you do that, expect Le Bris to change and adapt to your changes!
Does Sunderland Have a Great Recruitment Strategy?
Sure! But that’s not what did it!
Sunderland made smart transfers in the Summer window. Habib Diarra, Simon Adingra or Brian Brobbey were brought in for sensible transfer fees. But none of them are starting every week.
The core of Le Bris’s team is the one that helped Sunderland get promoted. This must mean, I think, that Le Bris is proving to be a manager who works to improve the squad. I doubt he’d fit in at Manchester United if given the chance.
Sunderland in Defence
“Don’t make mistakes!” That’s likely, I think, the first instruction with which Regis Le Bris begins tactics briefings.
While you’ll hear about most EPL teams pressing aggressively, that’s not something that often applies to Sunderland. Patience is the key against teams with stronger, faster, more experienced players.
The team usually sits in a compact 4-4-2 mid-block. (Note that in possession, the formation tends to switch to a 4-3-3, or 4-2-3-1)
Le Bris wants his strikers to press enough to encourage attacks down the flanks. Here, typically, the forward, wide midfielder and full back will work to restrict movement.
Besides pressing triggrers, Sunderland’s attackers and midfielders cleverly move to restrict passing lanes. Want to get through them? Better hope you have a Lamine Yamal who can dribble through the lines. Until Sunderland plays Barcelona in the Champions League, the Black Cats seem to be safe.
Build-Up Style
It’s a good thing that Le Bris tends to favour the same line-up. The key to Sunderland’s build-up play is familiarity. Players need to know where they are likely to find their teammates at any time.
Essentially, what this means is that the team plays a combination of passes repetitively across most games. Still, few opponents have been able to figure Sunderland out well enough to defeat it.
The team tends to build up from the back with goalkeeper Robin Roefs. At this stage, the team’s shape often appears to be a 3-5-2.
It’s an open secret now, but the two central defenders will move out wide from each other, becoming almost additional full-backs in the build-up phase.
Granit Xhaka, the team’s most experienced player, is the one who tends to drop deep, asking for the first pass and distributing accordingly. If pressed, Belgian defensive midfielder Noah Sediki also drops deep.
Meanwhile, the full-backs, typically, Reinildo Mandava and Trai Hume will maintain width. Generally, one of the two wide forwards will also move to one of the flanks while the other cuts further inside.
The striker, usually Wilson Isidor or Eliezer Mayenda, will remain in an advanced position. Sunderland’s players will often look to send long balls toward him.
Sunderland in Attack
“Don’t make mistakes!” Le Bris screams again. It’s a simple but effective strategy as it turns out.
Mohamed Kudus and Jeremy Doku, the league’s best dribblers, have each made 34 successful take-ons this season. Who is Sunderland’s best dribbler? Noah Sadiki with nine.
In fact, only Burnley and Crystal Palace have attempted fewer dribbles this season than Sunderland. Not making errors is a small detail that compounds over time.
How does Sunderland score goals then? Do they just hoof long balls forward? “Just?” Sunderland’s turned this into an art.
Before the ball can be misiled forward, Sunderland likes to prepare the attack through numerous short passes dictated by the team’s on-field general, Granit Xhaka.
Who scores the goals? Ideally, Wilson Isidor, Brobbey or Mayenda, the team’s strikers. All of them are quick, play well on the counterattack and still have a way to go before they can be efficient at breaking offside traps.
But can this last? Perhaps! It’s true that the team’s xG suggests they’ve scored more goals than they were likely to do. They’d managed 10 goals at a 14 goals xG.
Also, they don’t yet have a bona fide Golden Shoe challenger. However, Isidor’s four goals and the fact that Brobbey and Mayenda have each scored once should make Le Bris confident that with enough time, the strikers’ abilities can bloom.
What’s Next for Le Bris and Sunderland?
There’s no talk just yet of big money offers from Tottenham or Manchester United. But those will come, inevitably, if Regis Le Bris keeps winning.
For the time being, Sunderland’s success is reason to rejoice. Each new set of three points is a victory against the expensive, but rusty Premier League machine.
Sunerland is currently vying for Champions League qualification. It’s likely that this won’t last. But it doesn’t matter. If the team avoids relegation, which they should, a manager like Regis Le Bris can continue to build for future campaigns.
Frankly, it doesn’t get much better than that for a team of Sunderland’s potential.
