And yet this weekend, tens of thousands of Sunderland fans will descend on the capital, take over Trafalgar Square, and then turn Wembley Way into a sea of red and white on Championship play-off final day as the Black Cats stand just 90 minutes from a return to the Promised Land. Sunderland were in the top six all season, topped the table for a while, competed for automatic promotion until February, ultimately finished fourth and never looked in any danger of missing out on the play-offs.