Sunderland

Sunderland AFC has a proud history since being formed in on the 17th October 1879 as Sunderland District & Teachers Association Football Club, with the club playing their football at Newcastle Road.

The club were big news from their formation and gained entry to the Football League in 1890, two years before the formation of their great rivals, Newcastle United. The first League title arrived at the club in the 1891-92 season, which also saw the team appear in a second FA Cup semifinal.

The league title was retained the following campaign with Sunderland denied a hat trick as they ended as runners up 1993-94. However they weren’t to be denied in 1994-95 as they collected their third League crown and reaching the last four of the FA Cup once again. A challenge match on the 27 April 1895 saw Sunderland beat Heart of Midlothian 5-3 to be crowned as ‘champions of the world’.

Manager Tom Watson resigned after the triumphs to join Liverpool, before the club moved to a new stadium at Roker Park in 1898. After a couple of second place finishes a fourth title was collected in 1901-02 under the management of Alex Mackie. 

Sunderland became embroiled in a financial inquiry after a dispute with full back Andy McCombie, which led to a fine and the suspension of directors. Mackie also left the club as a consequence. In 1905 the club were involved in the first ever £1,000 transfer fee, when Alf Common was signed from Middlesbrough. 

On the 5th December 1908 Sunderland travelled to the Tyne Wear derby and defeated bitter rivals Newcastle United 9-1. Bob Kyle led the team to a fifth championship in 1912-13. The Rokerites also reached the FA Cup final but lost 1-0 to Aston Villa in front of a gate of 121,919 at Crystal Palace, with Charlie Buchan the goal scoring hero of the day.

After finishing as League runners-up on a couple of occasions, the sixth title arrived at Roker Park in 1935-36 with Raich Carter and Bobby Gurney scoring thirty-one goals each. They both netted at Wembley, along with Eddie Burbanks in 1937, as Preston North End were defeated 3-1 by Sunderland to lift the FA Cup.

Following World War II, Sunderland made several big-money signings, including a world record fee for Trevor Ford from Aston Villa, as they were termed ‘The Bank of England Club’. In 1957, an anonymous letter to the FA claimed that the club were making illegal payments to players. After an inquiry, manager Bill Murray departed, with the chairman and several directors receiving lifetime bans from the game.

Alan Brown took over as manager, but Sunderland were relegated for the first time ever at the end of the 1957-58 season. The goals of Brian Clough almost led to a return to the top flight, until injury forced his retirement. Eventually, in 1963-64, the club won promotion.

Their spell lasted six years before another relegation arrived at Roker, with Bob Stokoe taking over as manager soon after. In 1973 Sunderland became the first ever second division side to lift the FA Cup as an Ian Porterfield goal and heroics from goalkeeper Jim Montgomery defeated red hot favourites Leeds United at Wembley.

For classic Sunderland action from the 1973 FA Cup winning run, featuring some packed old stadiums, click here, here and here. The clips feature the Final, the semi-final at Hillsborough against Arsenal and the sixth round at Roker Park against Luton Town. The success led to the European Cup Winners' Cup football in the following campaign, but it ended in the second round against Sporting Lisbon. 

Sunderland were promoted in 1975-76, but Stokoe had to leave his post soon after owing to illness. Jimmy Adamson’s spell as manager lasted for two years and left the club back in Division Two. In 1979, Ken Knighton arrived as team boss, taking the team to promotion in 1979-80. 

However, he was dismissed soon after, with Alan Durban being the next appointment lasting any time. Len Ashurst was next in line during the 1983-84 season, with his side reaching the 1985 League Cup Final. A Gordon Chisholm own goal led to a 1-0 defeat to Norwich City at Wembley, with the team being relegated once more at the end of the season.

This led to the sacking of Ashurst during a turbulent period, which saw power battles of ownership between Tom Cowie and Bob Murray. Lawrie McMenemy arrived as manager in the summer of 1985, with several ex-international signings. The appointment was a disaster with McMenemy resigning in March 1987, just before Sunderland hit their lowest point and were relegated to Division Three. 

Denis Smith was appointed as the new manager, and he immediately took the team back to the second tier as champions at the first attempt. In 1989-90, Sunderland reached the playoff final after defeating Newcastle United. The final was lost 1-0 to Swindon Town at Wembley. However, top-flight football returned to Roker Park, as Swindon were found in breach of financial irregularities. The spell back in Division One lasted just one season.

Smith departed, with Malcolm Crosby, Terry Butcher and then Mick Buxton all tried but failed to bring back First Division football to the club, before Peter Reid was appointed in 1995, after saving the side from relegation. In 1995-96 Reid’s team won the renamed Division One and took up their place in the Premier League, but the spell lasted just one season.

Sunderland moved to the new, magnificent Stadium of Light, a few hundred yards from Roker Park, in the summer of 1997, on the former site of the Monkwearmouth Colliery, as the old ground proved unsustainable to adapt to all-seater status. 

In the first season in their new surroundings Sunderland reached the Play Off Final at Wembley, thanks to the goals of Niall Quinn and Kevin Phillips. In an amazing final they eventually lost out on penalties after the game against Charlton Athletic ended 4-4 after extra time.

Reid’s side were not to be denied in 1998-99 as they ran away with the title and won promotion. In their second season back, the team ended the season in seventh place and narrowly missed out on European football. The run began to fade and in 2002-03 Sunderland finished bottom of the table and were relegated in a campaign that saw the departure of Reid and a short spell from Howard Wilkinson before Mick McCarthy was appointed.

In 2004-05 ‘The Black Cats’ won the re-christened Championship and returned to the Premier League. However, the club were relegated at the first attempt, as McCarthy departed in Match. After former players Quinn and Kevin Ball had short spells in charge Roy Keane arrived at The Stadium of Light in August 2006. Keane took the team up as champions in May 2007.

The 2007-08 season saw the club splash out £40M on new players, including a record fee for goalkeeper Craig Gordon, but the team didn’t push on as expected. Keane departed in December 2008, when coach Ricky Sbragia took over and kept the club up, before resigning his post at the end of the campaign.

American tycoon Ellis Short bought the club from Niall Quinn’s headed Drumaville Consortium and appointed Steve Bruce as the new team boss. Darren Bent was signed for a large fee, followed by Ghanaian star Asamoah Gyan for the following season. Bent was sold for a large profit in January 2011. Gyan was offloaded after a dispute six months later, before Bruce departed in November 2011.

Martin O’Neill proved a very popular choice when appointed after he oversaw an immediate upturn in fortunes. Adam Johnson and Steven Fletcher arrived in the summer of 2012, but the club started the season badly. 

By March 2013, Sunderland were in danger of relegation, so O’Neill was sacked and replaced by the controversial appointment of Italian Paulo Di Canio. A 3-0 win at Newcastle United helped save the teams status. Di Canio proved extremely unpopular with his players with his strict discipline, and despite many new signings, the team had a terrible start to the 2013-14 season. 

The Italian was dismissed, with Gus Poyet his successor. Despite looking like certainties for the drop, Poyet galvanised the side, who put in some incredible performances to escape relegation as well as reaching the League Cup Final, where they went down 3-1 to Manchester City at Wembley.

The 2014-15 season saw Sunderland once again come close to relegation. They looked in big trouble as Poyet was sacked in March 2015. Former Holland and Rangers boss Dick Advocaat came in and oversaw a remarkable recovery as once again the Black Cats stayed up. The Dutchman announced he would not be staying, only to be persuaded otherwise by the Sunderland board and faithful. 

However, Advocaat did eventually resign eight matches into the 2015-16 season. Sam Allardyce arrived as the new manager at The Stadium of Light in October 2015, and he saved the club from relegation with a game to spare despite the side being in deep trouble in the drop zone throughout the season, thanks to some wise acquisitions in the winter transfer window and the goals of Jermaine Defoe.

Allardyce departed in July 2016 to become England manager, following their disastrous Euro 16 campaign. David Moyes was appointed in his place on a four year contract. However, the appointment ended in the summer of 2017 after Sunderland were relegated from the Premier League.

In the summer of 2017, Defoe was sold to AFC Bournemouth while star keeper Jordan Pickford departed for Everton. Sunderland appointed Preston North End boss Simon Grayson as their new manager. He lasted a matter of months before the arrival of Chris Coleman.

A disastrous season saw Sunderland relegated in bottom position which spawned the documentary ‘Sunderland Til I Die’ capturing the shambolic happenings. Ross Jack was appointed as manager after the final game. The Scotsman took the side to the League One playoffs in 2018-19.

However, despite dispatching Portsmouth, the final was lost 2-1 to Charlton Athletic. Phil Parkinson arrived as manager in October 2019, lasting until the following November when Lee Johnson was appointed. Charlie Wyke top scored as the side reached the 2020-21 playoffs, where they lost in the semifinals to Lincoln City.

In February 2021, French-Swiss businessman Kyril Louis-Dreyfus bought substantial shares in the club to become chairman, of which more were purchased in June 2022 to become the majority shareholder. Alex Neil was appointed as manager in February 2022. The goals of Ross Stewart took the Wearsiders to the playoffs, where Sheffield Wednesday and Wycombe Wanderers were defeated, with the goals in the 2-0 Wembley win being scored by Elliot Embleton and Stewart.

Tony Mowbray replaced Neil in August 2022, as the Black Cats once again reached the playoffs. This time, Luton Town proved too strong in the semifinals. Mowbray was surprisingly replaced by Michael Beale in December 2023 in a disastrous move. The new manager had gone within months, with league form dipping dramatically.

New manager Régis Le Bris arrived in June 2024 and put together a young talented side which reached the playoffs, going on to defeat Coventry City and Sheffield United to return to the Premier League.

Sunderland AFC will play in the Premier League in the 2025-26 season.

My visits

Sunderland 1 Hull City 1 (Saturday 12th October 1985) Division Two (att: 16,613)

I visited Sunderland at Roker Park twice, the first time in 1985 for a Canon League, as it was then called after the sponsors at the time, Division Two encounter. It was a pleasant Saturday afternoon and I went on a coach of City fans from Scarborough, Bridlington and Filey. 

I had looked forward to visiting Roker as it was as big an away game The Tigers had that season. We parked with the other coaches on Roker Sea Front and were escorted up to the ground through the busy streets of fans. It was trouble free which was a relief although no great surprise as we'd heard of Sunderland fans being generally OK.

We were placed in the right hand section of the Roker End. This was an open terrace, much truncated since the rear section was dismantled owing to safety worries, with the steps painted a dull red colour. To the right stood the impressive three tiered Archibald Leitch designed, Main Stand. 

The upper two tiers contained red seats with standing in the paddock. The stand nearly rendered the club bankrupt when it was built in 1929. The Fulwell End was behind the other goal which was a hump of a terracing covered by a huge roof with the words "Welcome to Sunderland" picked out in red writing on white plates along the back wall. 

The Clock Stand was located on the other side, facing Association Road. It had seats at the back with terracing to the front. The entire pitch was encircled by red high fences. It had a capacity at the time of around 30,000. City gave as good as they got and drew the game 1-1 with the goal coming from Billy Whitehurst, who would later have a spell on Wearside.

Sunderland 1 Hull City 0 (Saturday 13th September 1986) Division Two (att: 12,911)

I made a similar journey the following season. Lawrie MacMenemy was 'The Black Cats' boss in his second season in charge, in what was meant to be an appointment that changed the club. It certainly did that as he took them down to the Third Division at the end of the season and causing the club severe financial troubles. 

Too many over-the-hill players on big-money contracts, not to mention his own enormous remuneration, were the issue. It was quipped at the time by comedian Jimmy Tarbuck that Lawrie and the Titanic had a lot in common, as neither should have left Southampton, while fans called him Lawrie Mackem Enemy.

The previous Tuesday, Sunderland had lost 4-2 at home to bottom division York City in the League Cup, and this was reflected by the gate for City's visit of 12,911. Somehow, the Mackems won 1-0 on my second visit in a game that Gary Ablett made his City debut on loan from Liverpool to gain some Football League experience. Remarkably, Frank Gray had scored on both my visits for Sunderland.

Sunderland 1 Stoke City 0 (Wednesday 29th February 2014) FA Premier League (att: 34,745)

Although my Dad had been inside Roker Park for FA Cup matches in the 60s against Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United with attendances of over 60,000 he’d never been to the Stadium of Light. I also needed to visit on my quest to complete the ninety two grounds.

We nearly went a couple of seasons earlier, but the game against West Bromwich Albion was moved for TV. I set about planning after speaking with my Durham based good pal Phil Green who I’d been to cricket with over the years. The game was scheduled for the Tuesday evening, so we booked The Angel Hotel in Whitby, a new Wetherspoon hotel for the Wednesday on the way back to Scarborough.

All was going to plan until the weekend before the match, when I realised the game had been put back twenty-four hours as Stoke City were playing in the late FA Cup game on the Sunday. This needed some serious re-planning. We were to stay at the pristine new Travelodge in Sunderland city centre on the Tuesday. 

I managed to cancel our room in Whitby, book alternative accommodation in Newcastle after the game and get cheap connecting trains. Dad joined me on the Grand Central train at York, which took us up the coast via Hartlepool and directly to Sunderland. The weather was wild, but we still went on a walk around the stadium to take some photos, before taking a brisk walk along Roker beach and past where soulless new housing stood, where once huge crowds entered Roker Park. 

After a nice meal, we met with my mate Phil for beers in the Cooper Rose and then the Sunderland National Reserve Club to watch the Merseyside derby. On match day, we enjoyed a walk along the extremely blustery coast road from Whitley Bay to beautiful Tynemouth before booking into the tired Travelodge near Newcastle Quayside and heading down to Wearside after tea. 

Phil had started early, so we met him at a pub he was desperate to show us. The Isis on Silksworth Row on the edge of the city centre was absolutely superb, with ten hand pumps stocking the Jarrow Brewery range. The pub had been tastefully restored, which was quite fitting as it stood opposite waste ground once occupied by Vaux Brewery. 

The pints of Rivet Catcher were gratefully supped in the lovely hospitality of Phil’s pals before he ordered a taxi to take us to the match. His hospitality continued as our tickets were handed over as gifts. 

Dad had to go inside and wait for us, while we waited for Snowdrop, another Durham lad and had to go in at the far end before making our way around the inner concourse to all meet up in any four spare seats we could find. I purchased an excellent programme, which came in a plastic bag and had an additional pull-out inside. It was well worth £3. 

Unfortunately, the crowds inside were huge. By the time we got to where Dad had gone in it was near kick off. He panicked and went to his allocated seat. This was fine, apart from us not having a clue where it was. I had terrible visions of having to get an announcement made that a forty-eight-year-old had lost his Dad! Fortunately, I got through to his phone once the PA system had died down, and we agreed to meet up at the interval.

I took stock of the Stadium of Light properly for the first time. We were on the front row of the South Stand. The bottom half of seats were below ground level, making the structure look relatively small from outside. The South, West, North and East stands all joined together in a continuous bowl. 

The West Stand had boxes at the back of the original tier. Above it and continuing round to the North Stand was another level of seating, added in 2000, yet the roof cleverly still joined up all the way around at the same level.

The atmosphere was excellent as the game began, with the Black Cat fans showing real passion as the team looked to climb out of the bottom three. Sunderland showed plenty of pace and quality early on in the game, and it came as no surprise when Stoke keeper Asmir Begovic spilt a Sebastian Larsson for Adam Johnson to follow up and cleverly round the goalie and slot in from a narrow angle.

Gradually, Stoke found their feet and grew into the game before dominating possession for a spell. They went close with a rasping shot before Vito Mannone saved from a Ryan Shawcross diving header when he should have really scored, much to the disappointment of the 500 or so travelling fans high up behind the goal.

At half time, we went to the concourse to meet with Dad, whom I was relieved to see. For the second half, we all sat together on the front row. While it didn’t offer a great view down the pitch, we saw and heard plenty of action as the tackles flew in and the Sunderland rearguard did their best to retain their lead.

Sunderland were relying on attacking on the break to relieve pressure, and there task was helped when Steven N’Zonzi was sent off when he collected a second yellow card for bringing down the bumbling lone forward Jozy Altidore, by the excellent referee Bobby Madley. This should have meant the task been easier, but after a spell of control, City grabbed the initiative once more.

Debutant Peter Odemwingie had a chance to equalise, but the closest they came to grabbing anything from the game came when a Shawcross header hit the top of the bar late on. Some of the defending was frantic, and the home fans weren’t short in offering advice. Wes Brown had a fine game marshalling his troops throughout as Gus Poyet’s men hung on.

Our pals said goodbye to catch their lift home, while we watched stoppage time on the TVs under the stand so we wouldn’t be stuck in the crowds. News of Manchester City’s 5-1 win at Spurs caused plenty of oohs and aahs. We rushed to St Peter's Metro station, but the stewards told us that we needed to head to the main station over the bridge. 

This was no hardship, and we were quite surprised to see some fans opting to wait for a train there. All worked out perfectly as we caught a fast Northern Trains service that only stopped once all the way to Newcastle, past the packed crowds waiting on the Stadium of Light station platform. We had intended to go to The Union Rooms pub when we returned to watch Match of the Day, but the pub was freezing. 

Instead we decided to relax in style in one of our favourite Wetherspoon houses; the excellent Mile Post. The walk back with a pizza at closing time past gangs of youngsters queuing for bars and clubs at 12.45 on a school night was a real eye opener!

An excellent train journey after breakfast the following morning rounded off a wonderful couple of days in great company and with top class hospitality amongst great genuine people.

All photos in this blog are of the much missed Roker Park have been taken from the internet. The ground is now home to housing on streets called Goalmouth Close, Promotion Close, Clockstand Close, Midfield Drive and Roker Park Close.