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Sunderland A.F.C.
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Sunderland Association Football Club are a professional association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England, that compete in the Premier League. Since their formation in 1879, they have won six First Division titlesin 1892, 1893, 1895, 1902, 1913, and 1936 (see Sunderland A.F.C. seasons).
Founded by schoolteacher James Allan, Sunderland moved towards professionalism and they were elected into The Football League in 1890. Sunderland performed well in the league, earning plaudits such as a "wonderfully fine team", and won their first FA Cup in 1937 with a 31 victory over Preston North End.
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Encyclopedia
Sunderland Association Football Club are a professional association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England, that compete in the Premier League. Since their formation in 1879, they have won six First Division titlesin 1892, 1893, 1895, 1902, 1913, and 1936 (see Sunderland A.F.C. seasons).
Founded by schoolteacher James Allan, Sunderland moved towards professionalism and they were elected into The Football League in 1890. Sunderland performed well in the league, earning plaudits such as a "wonderfully fine team", and won their first FA Cup in 1937 with a 31 victory over Preston North End. However, their achievements petered out, and they were relegated in 1958. They had remained in the top league for 68 successive seasons, a record surpassed only by Arsenal. Sunderland's only triumph after the Second World War was their second FA Cup in 1973, when they secured a 10 victory over Leeds United thanks to a goal scored by Ian Porterfield.
Sunderland play their home games in the Stadium of Light, an all-seater, having moved from Roker Park in 1997 for a stadium of higher capacity. The ground initially held 42,000 supporters, but that was increased to 49,000 after redevelopment in 2000. Sunderland have a long-standing rivalry with their neighbouring club Newcastle United, with whom they have contested the TyneWear derby since 1898.
History
Early years and league triumphs
Sunderland-based schoolteacher James Allan founded the Sunderland & District Teachers Association Football Club on 17 October 1879. The name of the club was changed to Sunderland Association Football Club in 1881, after other professions were allowed to join. This increased the pool of players and improved the club's financial base. However, Allan grew dissatisfied with the changing attitude in the club towards professionalism. He left to found Sunderland Albion, and the two Sunderland clubs formed a rivalry that lasted until Albion's demise in 1892.
Sunderland were admitted into The Football League for the 189091 season. They replaced Stoke City, who had failed to be re-elected, becoming the first new club to join the league since its inauguration in 1888. During the late 19th century, they were declared the "Team of All Talents" by William McGregor, the founder of the league, after a 72 win against Aston Villa. Sunderland won the league championship in the 189192 season, one season after joining The Football League. The club's 42 points were five clear of nearest rivals Preston North End, and this performance led The Times to describe the players as "a wonderfully fine team". Sunderland successfully defended the title the following season, aided by centre forward Johnny Campbell, who broke the 30-goal mark for the second time in consecutive seasons. In the process, they became the first team to score 100 goals in a season, a feat not matched until 191920, when West Bromwich Albion set a new record.
Sunderland came close to winning a third successive league championship in the 189394 season, finishing second behind Aston Villa. However, they regained the title in the 189495 season, ending the season five points ahead of Everton. After winning the English League Championship, Sunderland played against Heart of Midlothian, the champions of the Scottish League, in a game described as the Championship of the World title match. Sunderland won the game 53 and were announced "champions of the world". Sunderland came close to winning another league title in the 189798 season, when they finished as runners-up to Sheffield United. That season was their last at Newcastle Road, as they moved to Roker Park the following season. After coming second in 190001, the club won their fifth league title in the 190102 season, beating Everton by a three point margin.
In 1904, Sunderland's management was embroiled in a payment scandal involving player Andrew McCombie. The club was said to have given the player £100 (£ today) to help him start his own business, on the understanding that he would repay the money after his benefit game. However, McCombie refused to repay the money, claiming it had been a gift. An investigation conducted by the Football Association concluded that the money given to McCombie was part of a "re-signing/win/draw bonus", which violated the Association's rules. Sunderland were fined £250 (£ today), and six directors were suspended for two and a half years for not showing a true record of the club's financial dealings. Sunderland manager Alex Mackie was also suspended for three months for his involvement in the affair.
Further league championship titles
On 5 December 1908, Sunderland achieved their highest ever league win, against north-east rivals Newcastle United. They won the game 91; Billy Hogg and George Holley each scored hat-tricks. The club won the league again in 1913, but lost their first FA Cup final 10 to Aston Villa. This was the closest the club has come to winning the league title and the FA Cup in the same season. Two seasons later the First World War brought the league to a halt. After the league's resumption, Sunderland came close to winning another championship in the 192223 season, when they were runners-up to Liverpool. They also came close the following season, finishing third, four points from the top of the league. The club escaped relegation from the First Division by one point in the 192728 season despite 35 goals from Dave Halliday. The point was won in a match against Middlesbrough, and they finished in fifteenth place. Halliday improved his goal scoring to 43 goals in 42 games the following season, an all-time Sunderland record for goals scored in a single season.
The club's sixth league championship came in the 193536 season, and they won the FA Cup the following season, after a 31 victory against Preston North End at Wembley Stadium. The remainder of the decade saw mid-table finishes, until the league and FA Cup were suspended for the duration of the Second World War. Some football was still played as a morale boosting exercise, in the form of the Football League War Cup. Sunderland were finalists in the tournament in 1942, but were beaten by Wolverhampton Wanderers.
For Sunderland, the immediate post-war years were characterised by significant spending; the club paid £18,000 (£ today) for Carlisle United's Ivor Broadis in January 1949. Broadis was also Carlisle's manager at the time, and this is the first instance of a player transferring himself to another club. This, along with record-breaking transfer fees to secure the services of Len Shackleton and Welsh international Trevor Ford, led to a contemporary nickname, the "Bank of England". The club finished third in the First Division in 1950, their highest finish since the 1936 championship.
Financial troubles and cup success
The late 1950s saw a sharp downturn in Sunderland's fortunes, and the club was once again implicated in a major financial scandal in 1957. Found guilty of making payments to players in excess of the maximum wage, they were fined £5,000 (£ today), and their chairman and three directors were suspended. The following year, Sunderland were relegated from the highest division for the first time in their 68-year league history.
Sunderland's absence from the top flight lasted six years. The club came within one game of promotion back to the First Division in the 196263 season. Sunderland required only a draw in their final game against promotion rivals Chelsea, who had another game left to play after this match, to secure promotion. However, they were defeated, and Chelsea won their last game 70 to clinch promotion, finishing ahead of Sunderland on goal difference. After the close call in the previous season, the club was promoted to Division One in 1964 after finishing in second place. Sunderland beat Charlton Athletic in the final stages of the season, where they clinched promotion with a game to spare. At the end of the decade, they were again relegated to the Second Division after finishing 21st.
Sunderland won their last major trophy in 1973, in a 10 victory over Don Revie's Leeds United in the FA Cup Final. A Second Division club at the time, Sunderland won the game, mostly thanks to the efforts of their goalkeeper Jimmy Montgomery, who saved two of Peter Lorimer's shots at goal in quick succession. Ian Porterfield scored a volley in the 30th minute to beat Leeds and take the trophy. Since 1973 only two other clubs, Southampton in 1976, and West Ham United in 1980, have equalled Sunderland's achievement of lifting the FA Cup while playing outside the top tier of English football.
By winning the 1973 FA Cup Final, Sunderland qualified for the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, the club's only appearance in European competition to date. Sunderland beat Vasas Budapest 30 on aggregate, and were drawn against Lisbon club Sporting in the second round. They won the first leg at Roker Park 21 but were defeated 20 in the away leg, and were knocked out of the competition 32 on aggregate. After spending six seasons in the Second Division, Sunderland were promoted to Division One in the 197576 season; they topped the table over Bristol City by three points. However, Sunderland were relegated the following season back into Division Two, without their FA Cup Final winning manager Bob Stokoe, who had resigned because of health problems at the start of the season. The club celebrated its 100-year centenary in the 197980 season with a testimonial against an England XI side, which they lost 20.
Sunderland appeared in their only League Cup final in 1985, but lost 10 to Norwich City. A camaraderie was forged between supporters of the two clubs in this match, and as a result, every time Sunderland and Norwich meet, the Friendship Trophy is contested. Sunderland are the current holders of the trophy, having beaten Norwich 10 on 2 December 2006. In 1987, Sunderland saw one of the lowest points in their history, when they were relegated to the Third Division of the English league for the first time. Under new chairman Bob Murray and new manager Denis Smith, the club was promoted the following season. In 1990, they were promoted back to the top flight in unusual circumstances. Sunderland lost to Swindon Town in the play-off final, but Swindon's promotion was revoked after the club was found guilty of financial irregularities and Sunderland were promoted instead. They stayed up for one year before being relegated on the final day of the following season.
Sunderland's last outing in a major final came in 1992 when, as a Second Division club, they returned to the FA Cup final. There was to be no repeat of the heroics of 1973, as Sunderland lost 20 to Liverpool. The early 1990s was a turbulent period for the club. In 1995, they faced the prospect of a return to the third-tier of English football. Peter Reid was brought in as manager, and quickly turned things around. Reid's time in charge had a stabilising effect; he remained manager for seven years, one of the longest tenures in Sunderland's history. After promotion from Division One in the 199596 season, Sunderland began their first season in the Premier League, but finished third from the bottom and were relegated back to the First Division. In 1997, Sunderland left Roker Park, their home for 99 years. Bearing fond memories of the stadium, former Sunderland player Len Shackleton said, "There will never be another place like Roker". The club moved to the Stadium of Light, a 42,000-seat arena that, at the time, was the largest stadium built in England after the Second World War. Capacity was later increased to 49,000.
Recent highs and lows
Sunderland returned to the Premier League as First-Division champions in 1999 with a then-record 105 points. Two consecutive seventh place finishes in the Premier League were followed by two less successful seasons, and they were relegated to the second-tier with a then-record low 19 points in 2003. Former Ireland manager Mick McCarthy took over at the club, and, in 2005, he took Sunderland up as champions for the third time in less than ten years. However, the club's stay in the top flight was short-lived; Sunderland finished on another new record-low total of 15 points. McCarthy left the club in mid-season, and he was replaced temporarily by former Sunderland player Kevin Ball. The record-low fifteen-point performance was surpassed in the 200708 season by Derby County, who finished on eleven points.
Following the club's relegation, it was taken over by the Irish Drumaville Consortium, headed by ex-player Niall Quinn, who appointed former Manchester United captain Roy Keane as the new manager. Under Keane, the club rose steadily up the table with an unbeaten run of 17 games to win promotion to the Premier League, and were named winners of the Championship after beating Luton Town 50 at Kenilworth Road on 6 May 2007. The club's form in the 200708 season was better than during their last season in the Premier League, as they finished 15th with 39 points. Following an inconsistent start to the 200809 season Keane resigned. First team coach Ricky Sbragia took over as caretaker manager, and his position was later made permanent.
Colours and crest
Sunderland played in an all blue strip from their formation until 1884, until they adopted a red and white halved strip. They assumed the current strip of red and white stripes in the 188788 season. Their badge included a ship, the upper part of the City of Sunderland coat of arms, a black cat, and a football in front of Sunderland's red and white stripes. In 1977 the badge was changed, but still included the ship, football and the background of red and white stripes.
This badge was used until the relocation from Roker Park to the Stadium of Light. To coincide with the move, Sunderland released a new crest divided into four quarters; the upper right and lower left featured their traditional red and white colours, but the ship was omitted. The upper left section features the Penshaw Monument and the lower right section shows the Wearmouth Bridge. A colliery wheel at the top of the crest commemorates County Durham's mining history, and the land the Stadium of Light was built on, formerly the Monkwearmouth Colliery. The crest also contains two lions, the black cats of Sunderland, and a banner displaying the club's motto, Consectatio Excellentiae, which means "In pursuit of excellence".
Stadiums
Sunderland have had seven stadiums throughout their history; the first was at Blue House Field in Hendon in 1879. The ground was close to the place where Sunderland formed, at Hendon Board School; at that time the rent for use of the ground was £10 (£ today). The club relocated briefly to Groves Field in Ashbrooke in 1882, before moving again the following season. The club's third stadium was Horatio Street in Roker, the first Sunderland stadium north of the River Wear; the club played a single season there before another move, this time to Abbs Field in Fulwell for two seasons. Abbs Field was notable for being the first Sunderland ground to which they charged admission.
Sunderland moved to Newcastle Road in 1886. By 1898, the ground reached a capacity of 15,000 after renovations, and its rent had risen to £100 (£ today) a year. Near the turn of the century, Sunderland needed a bigger stadium. They returned to Roker and set up home in Roker Park. It was opened on 10 September 1898, and the home team played a match the same day against Liverpool, which they won. The stadium's capacity increased to 50,000 after redevelopment with architect Archibald Leitch in 1913. Sunderland were nearly bankrupted by the cost of renovating the Main Stand, and Roker Park was put up for sale but no further action was taken. On 8 March 1933, an overcrowded Roker Park recorded the highest ever attendance at a Sunderland match, 75,118 against Derby County in a FA Cup sixth round replay. Roker Park suffered a bombing in 1943, in which once corner of the stadium was destroyed. A special constable was killed whilst patrolling the stadium. By the 1990s, the stadium was no longer large enough, and had no room for possible expansion. In January 1990, the Taylor Report was released after overcrowding at the Hillsborough Stadium resulted in 96 deaths, an incident known as the Hillsborough Disaster. The report recommended that all major stadiums must be converted to an all-seater design. As a result, Roker Park's capacity was reduced. It was demolished in 1997 and a housing estate built in its place.
In 1997, Sunderland moved to their present ground, Stadium of Light in Monkwearmouth, which was opened by Prince Andrew, Duke of York. Built with an original capacity of 42,000, it hosted its first game against Dutch team Ajax. The stadium bears the same name as the Portuguese club Benfica's ground Estαdio da Luz, albeit in a different language. Renovations in 2000 saw the capacity rise to 49,000. A Davy lamp monument stands outside the stadium, as a reminder of the Monkwearmouth Colliery pit the stadium was built on. Future reconstruction would allow the stadium's capacity to reach 66,000.
Supporters and rivalries
Sunderland held the fifth highest average home attendance out of the 20 clubs in the Premier League at the end of the 200708 season with an average of 43,344. The club has many supporter groups from various countries, including the United States, Australia, Canada and Ireland. The Sunderland fans were recorded as the loudest crowd in the 200708 season, following a survey carried out at every ground in the league; the highest peak volume was measured at 129.2 decibels. The Seaburn Casuals are the hooligan firm associated with the club. Like several other professional football clubs in England, Sunderland have a number of supporters who have had banning orders placed on them by court order for unreasonable behaviour.
The club has an official monthly subscription magazine, called the Legion of Light, which season ticket holders receive for no cost. The club's current fanzine is A Love Supreme. Others in the past have been It's The Hope I Can't Stand, Sex and Chocolate, Wise Men Say, and The Roker Roar (later The Wearside Roar).
Traditionally, Sunderland's two main rivals have been Newcastle United and Middlesbrough, against whom the TyneWear derby and the TeesWear derby are competed for respectively. Although both are generally geographically close, Newcastle are considered their main rivals. The club were rivals with fellow Sunderland-based team, Sunderland Albion, in the 1880s and 1890s. The clubs met in the FA Cup in the third qualifying round; Sunderland, however, withdrew from the competition to deny Albion a share of the gate receipts. In the same season the clubs were drawn again in the Durham Association Challenge Cup; in a ploy again to prevent Albion from gaining money from the ticket sales, Sunderland proposed that the gate money be donated to charity. Albion declined and Sunderland won the match 20. Sunderland achieved their first victory over Newcastle United at home in 28 years, when they won the derby in the 200809 season.
Statistics and records
The holder of the record for the most league appearances is Jimmy Montgomery, having made 527 first team appearances between 1961 and 1976. The club's top league goal scorer is Charlie Buchan, who scored 209 goals from 19111925; Bobby Gurney is the record goalscorer over all competitions with 227 goals between 1926 and 1939. Dave Halliday holds the record for the most goals scored in a season: 43 in the 192829 season in the Football League First Division. Charlie Hurley is the most capped player for the club, making 36 appearances for the Republic of Ireland.
The club's widest victory margin in the league was in the 91 win against Newcastle United in the First Division in 1908. Their heaviest defeats in the league were 80 against Sheffield Wednesday in 1911, West Ham United in 1968 and Watford in 1982. Sunderland joined the top division in England, The Football League, in the 189091 season and were relegated until 195758 (a span of 67 seasons).
Sunderland's record home attendance is 75,118 for a sixth round replay FA Cup match against Derby County on 8 March 1933. The highest transfer fee received for a Sunderland player is £5 million, from Leeds United for Michael Bridges in July 1999, while the most spent by the club on a player was £9 million for Craig Gordon from Heart of Midlothian in August 2007.
Nicknames
Sunderland's official nickname is The Black Cats. They have other nicknames, such as The Rokerites, Roker Men, the Light Brigade, the Miners, the Sols and the Mackems. After leaving Roker Park for the Stadium of Light in 1997, the club decided on a vote to settle the nickname for the last time. The Black Cats won the majority of the 11,000 votes, beating off other suggestions such as the Light Brigade, the Miners, the Sols and the Mackems. There is a long historical link between black cats and Sunderland, including the "Black Cat Battery", a battery gun based on the River Wear.
Around the early 1800s, the southern side of the River Wear contained four gun batteries, which guarded the river mouth during the Napoleonic wars. In 1805, the battery was manned by local militia, the Sunderland Loyal Volunteers, one of whom was a cooper by trade named Joshua Dunn. He was said to have "fled from the howling of an approaching black cat, convinced by the influence of the full moon and a warming dram or two that it was the devil incarnate". From that point onwards the John Paul Jones Battery was known as the Black Cat Battery.
A Sunderland supporter, Billy Morris, took a black cat in his top pocket as a good luck charm to the 1937 FA Cup final in which Sunderland brought home the trophy for the first time. During the 1960s a black cat lived in Roker Park, fed and watered by the football club. Since the 1960s the emblem of the Sunderland A.F.C. Supporters Association has been a black cat.
As well as the "Team of All Talents" at the turn of the 20th century, Sunderland were known as the "Bank of England club" during the 1950s. This was a reference to the club's spending in the transfer market at the time, which saw the transfer-record broken twice. At the beginning of the 200607 season, the purchase of the club by the Irish Drumaville Consortium, the appointments of Niall Quinn and Roy Keane to their respective roles as chairman and manager, as well as the relatively large number of Irish players in the squad, led some fans to jokingly dub the team "Sund-Ireland".
Sponsorship
Sunderland are currently sponsored by the Irish bookmaker Boylesports, who signed a four year contract with the club in 2007 worth up to £12 million which will ensure that the company is the main shirt sponsor until 2011. The club was sponsored by the Vaux Breweries between 1985 and 1999, and subsequently by Sunderland car dealership company Reg Vardy from 1999 to 2007. They were also sponsored for a short time by the transport company "Cowies," later Arriva, whose headquarters are in Sunderland.
Players and managers
- As of 2 February 2008.
Current squad
Out on loan
Notable players
Managers
Current manager: Ricky Sbragia.
Honours
The following are the honours Sunderland have achieved since their foundation in 1879.
League
- Winners (6): 189192, 189293, 189495, 190102, 191213, 193536
- Runners-up (5): 189394, 189798, 190001, 192223, 193435
- Winners (2): 200405, 200607
- Winners (1): 197576
- Runners-up (2): 196364, 197980
- Promotion (1): 198990
- Winners (2): 199596, 199899
- Winners (1): 198788
Domestic cup
- Winners (2): 193637, 197273
- Runners-up (2): 191213, 199192
- Runners-up (1): 198485
- Winners (1): 1936
- Runners-up (1): 1937
- Winners (1): 1903
- Runners-up (1): 1942
Footnotes and references
Footnotes:
References:
te book|last=Days|first=Paul|coauthors=John Hudson, John Hudson, Bernard Callaghan, |title=Sunderland AFC: The Official History 18792000|publisher=Business Education Publishers Ltd|date=1 December 1999|pages=336|isbn=978-0953698417|url=http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sunderland-AFC-Official-History-1879-2000/dp/0953698416}}**
External links
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