There are ways to say goodbye. Tommy Watson’s last few minutes as a Sunderland player proved their last few in the Football League. His final touch in their shirt proved his parting gift. Their eight-year exile from the top flight was ended by a player who was just 11 when they were last relegated from the Premier League. As they won the £200m match, the richest game in world football, they may not need the millions they will bank from Watson’s impending move to Brighton.
But if he is going to the Premier League, he departed by dragging them up with him, a 95th-minute winner transporting the Roker Roar, the sound of the Stadium of Light, to Wembley. It was quite a comeback by Sunderland: on the day, after Sheffield United dominated the first half to lead, and over the last four seasons.
