 He went on to make 28 starts from October in his first season in the Championship, scoring 9 goals.He collected the "Supporters' Player of the Year" award after strong performances, especially against Wolves and Portsmouth.However, although his form was good, his contract stipulated that Sunderland would receive a payment from Barnsley after Lumsdon made a certain number of appearances; as Barnsley were enduring financial difficulty, they could not afford to select Lumsdon on several occasions.