One Sunderland player certainly played his part in the 2017/18 relegation for all the wrong reasons.
Sunderland, after years of turmoil and uncertainty in League One, now find themselves with plenty of stability as they bid for a promotion push via the play-offs to the Premier League.
The improvement both on-and-off the pitch for Sunderland in very recent years has helped them reach where they are now, something that felt years away at the back end of the 2010s.
There seemed to be a domino effect of issues for Sunderland that eventually played a part in them finding themselves in League One, from Sam Allardyce leaving for the England job, to the lack of squad togetherness in the 2017/18 Championship side that ultimately suffered a back-to-back relegation.
In that side was one player who admitted he committed a ‘selfish’ act that played its part in the Black Cats’ relegation to League One.
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Former Sunderland striker Lewis Grabban admitted ‘selfish’ act that eventually contributed to relegation
Everything about Sunderland’s 2017/18 season was a disaster, from the recruitment, the lack of squad cohesion and the unrest amongst the fanbase.
Fortunately, in the early stages, they had the shining light of Lewis Grabban bagging goals up front, with the striker scoring 12 in 19 games whilst on loan from Bournemouth.
However, Chris Coleman’s appointment at the club saw him turn his head towards promotion-chasing Aston Villa, who he joined in the second half of the season, leaving the Black Cats with very few goal threats up top.
Speaking about his time at Sunderland, Grabban once said, per Sunderland Echo: “Little things did start to make me question how the second half of the season was going to go.
“If you haven’t really spoken to the new manager when he comes in, if you get taken off, I was starting to get whipped off at 65,70 minutes.
“I was thinking, ‘I’m not sure that’s for me’.
“Maybe it’s a bit selfish but I just thought, nah.”
Lewis Grabban departure confirmed the worst for the Black Cats
Sunderland struggled immensely following the departure of Grabban, with the Black Cats going on to notch just one win in their next 12.
It was clear that Sunderland needed the goalscoring product supplied by Grabban to have any slim chance of staying in the Championship, but his decision to leave ultimately made the task too difficult for the inexperienced side.
Sunderland are in a much healthier place now, chasing promotion to the Premier League, but the knock-on effects of Grabban’s departure can not be underestimated, as a full term with him as striker could very well have kept the side away from relegation.