It seems to happen to one side each season in the Premier League; one side has a horrific start but turns a new leaf in the new year and is unrecognizable from the side that started the season.
This season Sunderland appear to be the Jekyll and Hyde club of the Premier League this season. They had one of their worst starts to the season in their history and were in a relegation battle with the likes of Blackburn, Bolton and Wigan.
It may have been understandable given the number of new signings at the club, i.e. Seb Larsson, Craig Gardner, Wes Brown, John O'Shea, Nicklas Bendtner following the big sale of young talent, Jordan Henderson to Liverpool.
However, at the end of November, Steve Bruce's three year tenure in the North East was over - to the relief of many fans at the Stadium of Light. Martin O'Neill was quickly signed to a three year contract and his influence slowly filtrated through the team.
Sunderland have won 7 of their last 12 league games only losing to teams in the top 4; this has seen the Black Cats move up to 9th on the table, 9 points off a potential Europa League spot and 12 points clear of the drop zone. They have also advanced to the quarterfinals of the FA Cup. The crowds have also started to come back to the Stadium of Light.
It is yet another testament to Martin O'Neill's genius as a manager - amazing to think that not one club has decided to lock him into a long term contract despite achieving massive success with the likes of Leicester City, Celtic, and Aston Villa.
It also proves what most people thought of this Sunderland side: quite a decent side with the right manager at the helm and it is quite clear to see. There is also some exciting young talent coming through the ranks in the form of Jack Colback, James McClean and Conor Wickham along with experienced campaigners like Craig Gardner, Nicklas Bendtner and Kieran Richardson.
If O'Neill stays on, it could be exciting times for the north east of England - with that much despised team up the motorway also doing well, the Tynes-Wear derby could turn into a match for an European spot. Ellis Short is also certainly not short of cash - the American businessman is likely to bow to whatever O'Neill wants to turn the Black Cats into Champions League contenders for the first time since the heady days under Peter Reid.
For the moment, Sunderland can look at being best of the third chasing pack after Liverpool, Newcastle, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, Man United and Man City. Which given the horror start they had is not bad.
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