Sunderland’s Big Dan Ballard Is A Deserved Award Winner!

Ian Bendelow says…

Name me one individual who has done more for their club in 2025 than the colossus that is Dan Ballard? Short answer: there isn’t.

Now our friends up the road might moan about the winner being of a red-and-white persuasion, but let’s face it, even they would have a problem with giving it to Alexander Isak – the only obvious winner from the barcode pool.

Ballard has provided some standout moments in a Sunderland shirt throughout the year. If you told him that the Coventry goal in May would be the pinnacle of his Sunderland career, I don’t think he’d be disappointed.

As an all-round performer he has got better and better; his growth as a player in the Premier League has been immensely satisfying. He’s the type of pure thoroughbred stallion that would make Frankel wilt. He’s pocketed so many top-level strikers that he has to carry a bag-for-life around with him as well. If he went up for a header with the Angel of the North, Antony Gormley’s statue would be the one needing medical treatment.

To think that a year ago he was struggling to get a regular place in the side – a mixture of injuries and the form of others providing a barrier to a starting spot. Nevertheless these challenges have only served to fortify both his durability, attitude – and consequently, ability.

Questions about his worth have been posed – but to paraphrase Florent Ghisolfi, there isn’t another Dan Ballard out there we can buy. A product of his experience and connection with this football club which you cannot manufacture. He’s supremely trusted to do a top-level job.

I hope he stays at the heart of our defence for many years to come.

Malc Dugdale says…

I think this is totally valid recognition of the player of the year in the North-East across all divisions, and is well deserved.

Right the way from the start of 2025 as a calendar year the ascendancy of Big Dan has been close to exponential.

His performances towards the end of last season especially in the play-offs showed he was a cut above the rest in our division at that time.

He is the personification of our motto “’Til the end” and alongside that he is a team-centric bloke with a balanced ego and with his feet firmly on the ground.

His performances and even goals at Premier League level this season have continued the trajectory from last season and the world is the lad’s oyster right now.

The downside of this of course is we all know this will put him even more in the shop window than he already was, so timing-wise I wish this award had come in early February rather than mid-January.

There are already rumours of European giants eyeing his every move. It’s up to the recruitment team to manage that and if they get an offer we cannot refuse then it’s also their job to back-fill him. Based on the recruitment of Omar and Nordi as a couple of examples, I trust them to cover that off if needed.

For now he should be proud of all he has achieved and carry on doing what he is doing, focusing on staying fit too, as that right now is the only thing that could impact his value as a saleable asset, and as a player of huge value to us for the rest of the season.

Well done, Dan. Nothing less than what is deserved.

Ben McKevitt says…

There’s only one BDB in the North-East deserving of an award like this and he has a full set of unbroken ribs.

Dan Ballard winning this award should shock nobody. He’s been instrumental to everything positive at the club since the start of the Championship play-offs, giving us some of the best moments of our Sunderland-supporting lives along the way. That goal against Coventry is amongst the greatest in our modern history and will stick long in the memory of all those who witnessed it.

But to boil his contributions down to just that moment or a handful of performances in those play-off matches would be underrepresenting what Ballard has brought to the team since. I’m not quite sure what happened to him about a third of the way through 2025, but Ballard became one of the most fearsome, combative, and downright quality centre-halves in England and hasn’t let up since.

We knew he always had the quality, but I think it’s fair to say that he took a major leap forward with his performances and thankfully his durability has largely kept up. The sky is the limit for our rock at the back, and it’s no coincidence that he’s still one of the first names on the team sheet as we sit in the top half of the Premier League, despite being our first signing upon promotion back into the Championship.

We should be proud to have such a consistent performer at the back who’s willing to give it all for the club and the colours. I just hope that he sticks around for as long as possible!

Well done, Dan!

Ciaran McKenna says…

I can’t think of anyone more deserving of this award than Dan Ballard.

Us supporters always saw the talent Big Dan has, but in the last 12 months he has really started to prove it to the world. This season he has been one of the best centre-backs in the league, totally and utterly destroying any doubters who didn’t think he would be able to make the step up.

He has had some brilliant moments this year. The goal against West Ham was terrific – I love the way the ball flew into the corner and just stayed there. His volley against Arsenal was outstanding due to both the fashion with which it flew into the top corner, but also the chaos that ensued in the stands, as our colossal central defender breaks through this supposedly impervious defence. And then, of course, THAT moment in the play-off semi-final. It is easily my best Sunderland memory and probably the best moment of my life. If a player can do that for someone, I find it hard for anyone to argue against them being the best player of the year.

Even without those heroic moments Ballard would have still been up there for player of the year. He has been a true force of nature in our defence, putting in outstanding performances week after week and quickly becoming one of the first names on the team sheet.

He has solidified himself as a Sunderland hero in the last year and is fully deserving of the recognition he is receiving.