Sunderland have made a poor start to the season under new manager David Moyes, as the Black Cats have managed only one point from a possible nine in their opening three games.
Two 2-1 defeats to both Manchester City on the opening day and Middlesbrough the following week, followed by a hard-fought draw away at Southampton see Sunderland once again down the wrong end of the table after narrowly escaping relegation last season, under the rule of new England boss Sam Allardyce.
Moyes - formerly of Everton, Manchester United and Real Sociedad - would have been hoping for better as he looks to turn the club, and his own, fortunes around after what have been a difficult past few years for both club and manager.
The Scotsman was memorably sacked from Old Trafford after failing to keep the flame that Sir Alex Ferguson lit in Manchester alight, after his departure from the club after almost 3 decades of success.
The former Everton boss then had an unsuccessful spell in Spain which landed just short of a year before he was sacked once again following a poor string of results.
While his new side may have started slowly, there are signs of promise, especially after he and the club invested in 5 new players during the summer transfer window.
Our landlord thinks these three Black Cats' players could be the stars for them this season and are chronically under-rated, do you agree?
Jermain Defoe
Possibly the most underrated striker in the Premier League at the moment - if not of all time - Defoe has continued to score goals wherever he has played and has already started the season in impressive form with two goals already.
The Englishman nears the milestone of 150 Premier League goals, which leaves him in the esteemed company of the likes of Teddy Sheringham, Michael Owen and Les Ferdinand to name only a few.
Defoe is as clinical as they come, and I for one was surprised his wasn't named in Sam Allardyce's first England squad.
Papy Djilobodji
A shock move saw the Senegal international make the switch from Nantes to Chelsea in the summer of 2015, but the defender was soon shipped off on loan to Werder Bremen in January before even being given a chance to kick a ball in a Chelsea shirt (he actually got 1 minute of competitive football for the Blues, but.)
Djilobodji had a terrific season in Germany, but that still wasn't enough to keep him at Stamford Bridge and Sunderland snapped him this summer, as a replacement for the Watford bound Younes Kaboul.
Jan Kirchhoff
Technically a defender, but really at his best when playing just in front of the back four, the former Bayern Munich man was one of the main reasons Sunderland managed to escape relegation last season.
Kirchhoff became an integral part of Sam Allardyce's side in the back end of last season as he used his tall figure and fantastic reading of the game to break up the play effectively, and play out to the attackers on the counter attack.
The German keeps it simple, but sometimes simple is the most effective.