To put it bluntly, it doesnt matter how much sober time you got.
I have seen people with a signicant amount of "sober time" be just as sick, if not sicker then they were when they were drinking.
On the flip side I have seen newcomers come in, work all 12 steps and in a very short time progress so much. They are at ease, they are serene. You would have thought that they had 30+ yrs in by the way they talk. You hear them talk on the steps in a meeting. Not how the weather is, or traffic, or their boss, or spouse, or children.
Its good to have a sponsor, someone who you can bounce ideas off off. Because sooner or later the excrement is going to hit the fan, and if you do not have someone solid in the program, who knows what will happen.
Its better to have a coach then not to have one!