After 364 days without a win at the Stadium of Light, who do you turn to? How about the teenager who has not played a single second of that miserable 21-match run?
For the past 12 months Josh Maja has spent his time either in the treatment room or playing for the club's Under 23s in front of a few hundred spectators.
So at least when Chris Coleman threw him on for his league debut with 17 minutes remaining, the 18-year-old had no mental fatigue from the trauma of that unwanted British record.
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 22 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 25 | 51 |
| 2 | Cardiff City | 22 | 13 | 6 | 3 | 16 | 45 |
| 3 | Bristol City | 22 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 13 | 43 |
| 4 | Derby County | 22 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 14 | 41 |
| 5 | Aston Villa | 22 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 37 |
| 6 | Sheffield United | 22 | 12 | 1 | 9 | 7 | 37 |
| 7 | Leeds United | 22 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 36 |
| 8 | Ipswich Town | 22 | 11 | 2 | 9 | 5 | 35 |
| 9 | Preston North End | 22 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 35 |
| 10 | Middlesbrough | 22 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 32 |
| 11 | Nottingham Forest | 22 | 10 | 0 | 12 | -5 | 30 |
| 12 | Fulham | 22 | 7 | 8 | 7 | -1 | 29 |
| 13 | Brentford | 22 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 28 |
| 14 | Reading | 22 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 27 |
| 15 | Sheffield Wednesday | 22 | 6 | 9 | 7 | -1 | 27 |
| 16 | Norwich City | 22 | 7 | 6 | 9 | -7 | 27 |
| 17 | Millwall | 22 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 26 |
| 18 | Queens Park Rangers | 22 | 6 | 7 | 9 | -8 | 25 |
| 19 | Hull City | 22 | 5 | 8 | 9 | -2 | 23 |
| 20 | Barnsley | 22 | 5 | 6 | 11 | -10 | 21 |
| 21 | Sunderland | 22 | 3 | 9 | 10 | -11 | 18 |
| 22 | Burton Albion | 22 | 4 | 5 | 13 | -26 | 17 |
| 23 | Bolton Wanderers | 22 | 3 | 7 | 12 | -20 | 16 |
| 24 | Birmingham City | 22 | 4 | 4 | 14 | -21 | 16 |
Within four minutes he had his chance.