Perhaps it was all the whingeing on social media about Jack Ross and the shortcomings of Sunderland’s transfer dealings. Perhaps it was a return, despite all we had to spend to put things right, of the occasional redirection from our pages to a rogue Turkish escort site (if anyone knows of a legal way of counter-attacking such cyber louts, please tell us).
One way or the other, we neglected to offer our customary greetings to the final signing of the transfer window: the Belgian left back Laurens De Bock on a season-long loan from Leeds United.