Sunderland 1-0 Middlesbrough
by Roger Domeneghetti
at Stadium of Light

IS IT TOO early to read the runes after just six games, to determine narratives for the season, to book the open top bus?

Probably. Yet, Sunderland, tactically astute, disciplined in defence, vibrant in attack, already look like a team who will be knocking on the door of the Premier League come May.

Last weekend’s defeat to Plymouth (or “Wayne Rooney’s Plymouth” as the south-coast club seem to have been rechristened) appears to have been a blip. An aberration already filed in the memory hole.