Sunderland
The Black Cats
1879
Stadium of Light
Niall Quinn
Roy Keane
Premier League
Facts & History
Contents |
Club Overview
Sunderland FC was founded on October 1897 by James Allan and a group of fellow school teachers. The Black Cats began playing on a competitive league in 1890 and won six trophies prior to the start of World War 1. The club stayed in the top flight for one of the longest periods in EPL history, 68 years. During the 1960s the club experience financial hardships and was forced to sell its top players, resulting in relegation. Currently the Black Cats play in the English Premier League and are coached by Roy Keane.
Club History
Sunderland Association Football Club was formed on October 1879 by a group of school teachers. The club’s original name was Sunderland and District Teacher’s Association Football Club. After a year the name got changed to Sunderland AFC and other professions were permitted to join the squad. The club played out of fields located on Newcastle Road. Members of the square wore blue shirts and blue shorts with a white stripe. The club won its first trophy, the Durham Senior Cup in 1884.
In 1887 the club almost got destroyed when James Allan, one of the main founders ditched the club and took many of the best players with him to a rivalry team called Sunderland Albion. The town could not afford to support two football clubs, resulting in an intense rivalry.
In order to rescue the organization, wealthy directors Robert Thompson and Samuel Tyzack brought in fresh young talent. These new players aided the club in defeating league teams such as Aston Villa. As a result in 1890 Sunderland was admitted in the national Football League, while Sunderland Albion faded from the scene.
During its first ten years in the new league Sunderland AFC was successful. Despite loosing their first game home game 3-2 by Burnley, the club did not lose a single home game after that. It won the league championship in 1892, 1893 and 1895, becoming the first club to win three championships. The organization did so well that it promoted to the new First Division of football in 1896.
The club success on the field continued into the 1900’s. It won a League Championship in 1903. Its superstar goalie Teddy Doig had now set a record of 422 league games. Alex Mackie took over Robert Campbell’s position as manager and the club finished 3rd.
Sunderland’s success on the field was offset by their troubles of the field. The club was involved in a payment scandal involving player Andrew McCombie. As a result of violating laws that the FA set, the club was fined £250 and six directors were suspended for two and half years.Mackie was suspended for three months. The club also struggled financially and was forced to sell Alf Common to Middlesbrough.
The appointment of Fred Taylor “Mr. Sunderland” and Robert Kyle saved the squad. The Black Cats had their best season in 1912/ 1913. Sunderland became the third club in history to win the Double. However, when World War I approached, league football in England was halted.
After the war, in the 1920s club football resumed. Sunderland was successful despite winning any major titles. The Black Cats went to the final of many competitions but were not able to pull through during crucial moments. Despite that, new recruits Dave Halliday and Bobby Gurney both broke club records, scoring a large number of goals. Because the club was not able to take home any silverware, Kyle was replaced by new manager Johnny Cochrane.
Under Cochrane the club was completely reformed. Cochrane brought in talented young players, such as Horatio Carter, who became an England international in only his first season. He also added Bobby Gurney who scored a club record of 338 goals in league and cup games.
These new players contributed greatly to the team’s success during the 1930’s. Sunderland became the league champions in 1935 and won its first FA Cup in 1936. The Black Cats were England’s top club and attendance to the games was in record levels. However, when World War II approached league football was canceled in England.
In 1950 life returned back to normal in England and large crowds of fans attended football games. Sunderland’s stands were especially full, even reaching full capacity crowds of over 60,000. As a result the organization had enough money to buy international superstar player for big contracts, which resulted in the club getting the nickname “Bank of England”. As a result, the club finished third place in the First Division, its highest since 1936. Eventually the club ended up spending too much money, resulting in financial instability, scandal and relegation.
Alan Brown was appointed to manager position and was put in charge of reforming the organization and promoting it back to the First Division. Brown recruited young talented athletes such as Jim Montgomery and crowd pleaser Brian Clough to play on the squad. The team got promoted back to the First Division in 1964.
Brown left and club struggled to stay in the First Division. The Black Cats finished at the bottom of the table just short of relegation. Sunderland AFC’s old “Bank of England” policies were ineffective. Brown eventually returned to Sunderland AFC after being away for 4 years but was too late to save the club from being relegated in 1970
Since the team continued to suffer even in the Second Division, Brown was replaced by Bob Stokoe, a former Newcastle player. He turned Sunderland back into a winning organization. The club began defeating tough opponents Manchester City, Arsenal and Leeds United. Sunderland eventually became Second Division champions in 1976.
However, shortly after promotion the club was again relegated. Stokoe resigned and Jimmy Adamson took his place. The Black Cats played well in the Second Division. Despite wasting £300,000 on an ineffective Argentinean player, the club was again promoted in 1980.
During the 1980’s the club changed managers several times due to unpredictable changes in the Black Cats performance. After being promoted under Ken Knighton, the club struggled again, and Alan Durban was put in charge. Under Durban, the Black Cats were relegated and lost to Norwich City in the Milk Cup final. Lawrie McMenemy took Durban’s spot and sacked when the club got relegated to the Third Division. Denis Smith took McMenemy’s spot and eventually got the club playing back in the First Division in 1990.
After a poor start to the 1991 season, Malcom Crosby was hired to coach the organization. He took the team to the final of the FA Cup, losing to Liverpool FC by a score of 2-0. With the team just 2 points away from relegation, Crosby lost his job and Terry Butcher was appointed to be the manager.
Butcher could not solve the Black Cats problems and Peter Reid took over his position. Ried advocated the club build a new stadium along with a huge leisure and shopping area around the stadium in order attract more fans. So in 1997 the club moved from its old grounds Roker Park after 99 years of playing football there to their new grounds, the Stadium of Light. The following season the club reached the Worthington Cup semi-finals and won the First Division.
From that point till present day the club has been fighting to stay in Premier League. Despite early success during the start of the decade, the club got relegated in 2003. Mike McCarthy took over the organization in 2005 and promoted the club back to championship level. However, the club’s stay in the top division was short, finishing the season with only 15 points. In 2007 Roy Keene was appointed to management and Niall Quinn became chairman. They worked together to promote the club back to the Premiership Level, where it still continues to play.
Club Rivalries
Newcastle United- Tyne Wear Derby
Stars of the Current Squad
Club Legends
Most Appearances
| Rank | Player | Career Dates | # Appearances |
|---|---|---|---|
Most Goals
| Rank | Player | Career Dates | # Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
Player Recognition & Awards
Team Honours
- First Division (level 1)
Winners (6): 1891–92, 1892–93, 1894–95, 1901–02, 1912–13, 1935–36 Runners-up (5): 1893–94, 1897–98, 1900–01, 1922–23, 1935–36
- Football League Championship (level 2)
Winners (2): 2004–05, 2006–07
- Second Division (level 2)
Winners (1): 1975–76 Runners-up (2): 1963–64, 1979–80 Promotion (1): 1989–90
- First Division (level 2)
Winners (2): 1995–96, 1998–99
- Third Division (level 3)
Winners (1): 1987–88 Domestic cup
- FA Cup
Winners (2): 1936–37, 1972–73 Runners-up (2): 1912–13, 1991–92
- League Cup
Runners-up (1): 1984–85
- Charity Shields
Winners (1): 1936 Runners-up (1): 1937
- Sheriff of London Charity Shield
Winners (1): 1903
- Football League War Cup
Runners-up (1): 1942
Club Management
Roy Keane- Irish football player who played on Irish National Team, Celtic and Manchester United. Sunderland AFC is the first professional team that he has managed.
Uniforms
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Stadium
The Stadium of Light has been home to Sunderland AFC since 1997. It is the fourth largest stadium in the England, having a capacity of 49,000. According to a survey done in 2007/2008 it also is the loudest stadium in England.
Sponsors
Cornhill direct
umbro
roman79