Promotion in 2022, the Championship play-offs last summer, followed this season - barring miracle or catastrophe over these final eight games - by some version of midtable meh.
It is very much a case of two strides forward and one step back for Sunderland.
After the excitement of the rapid progress made during the first two full seasons under the direction of owner-chairman Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, the current campaign has been a huge reality check.
READ MORE: Roy Keane's mooted return to Sunderland wouldn't follow the script
The feeling of disappointment and disillusionment on Wearside is palpable as the season staggers towards its inevitable anti-climax.
In one sense, Sunderland are a victim of their own success having exceeded all realistic expectations by finishing sixth in their first year back in the Championship.
Had Year One ended in midtable mediocrity devoid of serious relegation worries it would have been seen as a necessary season of consolidation and a platform for a play-off push in Year Two.
But that is not how it panned out.
Instead, Year One was a thrilling ride to the play-offs which served to raise the bar - only for Year Two to fall way short and descend into a grind.
Of course progress cannot always be linear, a one-way street signposted onwards and upwards. If only life was that simple!
Sometimes external factors can disrupt the best-laid plans: a head coach can be poached by a bigger and richer rival, a star player can force a move, a series of major injuries can strip a squad of key players.
But as long as supporters have faith in the leadership of their club, they will show forbearance and accept the rough that invariably accompanies the smooth.
The big concern for Sunderland fans this season, however, has been that so many of the disruptions at their club have been self-inflicted and that has tested supporters’ faith in those at boardroom level.
The unnecessary sacking of Tony Mowbray, the ill-advised and ultimately short-lived appointment of Michael Beale, the FA Cup derby fiasco (of which more below), the poor recruitment last summer and the failure to land a striker in January.
Fans are still scarred by the club’s precipitous decline (under a previous regime) from Premier League to the old Third Division in double-quick time, followed by a long, slow, scramble to reach even the Championship, so it is hardly surprising that the first time forward momentum stalls - never mind slips into reverse - old fears resurface.
Is this season a temporary hiccup or a sign of a deeper malaise?
Do those in charge know what they are doing?
Was last season a one-off? Or is it this season that is the outlier?
I wrote last week of the challenges that will face Sunderland this summer and highlighted the choice of new head coach as a critical decision as it will serve as a barometer of boardroom ambition, and touched on the need to rectify the failures in recruitment that have hamstrung the club over the course of the campaign.
Louis-Dreyfus and his senior lieutenants must meet those challenges, make the right decisions, and convince Sunderland fans that the club’s next step is headed in the right direction.
Case closed. Move along. Nothing to see.
That was the gist of the club’s update to the recent supporters’ collective meeting regarding the internal investigation into the Black Cats Bar debacle in the run-up to the FA Cup Wear-Tyne derby at the beginning of January.
The update, which took the form of a statement from Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, confirmed that the investigation - launched more than two months ago - has now concluded having determined that a ‘serious error of judgement’ was made, the club understands how it occurred, where the accountability lies, and after interviewing all relevant staff ‘appropriate levels of action’ have been taken.
Recommended reading:
Unfortunately, though, the statement also said ‘employment law prevents us from sharing any information’.
Ah well. That’s that then.
I’m sure Sunderland fans will feel that all their questions have been answered, are reassured that such a monumental cock-up could not happen again, and will be happy to leave it at that.
Just hand me that broom and lift the corner of that carpet…
Read the rules here