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Sunderland A.F.C.

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{{Football club infobox | clubname = Sunderland | image = Image:Safc.gif 150px|Sunderland F.C. crest | fullname = Sunderland Association
Football Club | nickname = The Black Cats | founded = 1879 | ground = Stadium of Light, Sunderland | capacity = 49,000 | chairman = Image:Flag_of_England.svg 20px|English Bob Murray | manager = Image:Flag_of_England.svg 20px|English Kevin Ball (caretaker) | league = FA Premier League | season = 2004-05 in English football 2004-05 | position = Football League Championship The Championship, 1st | shirtsupplier= Lonsdale | shirtsponsors= Reg Vardy | pattern_la1=_red_stripes|pattern_b1=_whitestripes|pattern_ra1=_red_stripes| leftarm1=FFFFFF|body1=FF0000|rightarm1=FFFFFF|shorts1=000000|socks1=000000| pattern_la2=_redborder|pattern_b2=_redshoulders|pattern_ra2=_redborder| leftarm2=000000|body2=000000|rightarm2=000000|shorts2=000000|socks2=000000| }} '''Sunderland Association Football Club''' (''Sunderland AFC'' or ''SAFC'') is a FA Premier League Premiership football (soccer) football club, based at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland, North-East England. They are nicknamed the 'Black Cats'. As an extension of the historical Tyne-Wear Rivalry Tyne-Wear rivalry, Sunderland are fierce local rivals of Newcastle United F.C.. Sunderland A.F.C. Women is the women's football club affiliated with Sunderland A.F.C. They play in the FA Women's Premier League National Division Premier Division.

History
Image:Bigcrestold.gif thumb|200px|Old club crest, changed in 1997 at the time of the club's move to the Stadium of Light :''Main Article: Sunderland A.F.C. History'' Formed in 1879, Sunderland entered The Football League in only its third season, becoming the 13th professional team in the country. During the late 19th century, they were known as the "Team of All-Talents" - between 1892 and 1902 they won the league four times and were runners-up a further three times. Sunderland have been English Champions six times in total (last time was 1936), and won the FA Cup twice; most famously as a Football League Second Division Second Division club in 1973, when they beat the then-mighty Leeds United F.C. Leeds United. After World War II, Sunderland's fortunes faded, and in 1958, following an illegal-payment scandal which saw the club heavily fined, they were relegated for the first time in their history. Since the war, the 1973 FA Cup has been the only major trophy won. Since the late 1960's, Sunderland have moved up and down divisions at regular intervals, rarely settling for more than five years. In 1987, they were relegated to the third division. They spent only one season there; their only season outside of the top two divisions. In 1997, Sunderland moved from Roker Park, home for 99 years, to the Stadium of Light, a 42,000 seater stadium (later increased to 49,000) on the banks of the River Wear. The stadium brought huge crowds and after two seasons they were promoted to the Premiership. Around this time, Sunderland also began to lay plans for the Academy of Light, a new world-class training academy for young stars. After a promising few seasons in the Premiership, the club was eventually relegated back to the Championship, with heavy debts. After another two seasons in the second-level of English football, Mick McCarthy took the club back up as Champions. The return to England's top flight however has seen a return to the depressing days of the 2002-03 season when wins, goals, and points were scarce. Sunderland, for the first time in their history, failed to win a home game before Christmas. They still failed to win a home game by the end of February and embarrassment was compounded when they were knocked-out of the FA Cup at the 4th round stage by Football League One League One side Brentford F.C. Brentford. On March 6 2006, McCarthy was sacked by the club, the day after a 2-1 defeat at Manchester City F.C. Manchester City. Former club captain and Academy coach Kevin Ball took control as caretaker manager for the remainder of the season. It appears as though Sunderland are destined to remain a ''Yo yo club Yo-Yo club'' for the next few years at least unless drastic action is taken now to remedy the mailase that seems to have infected this great club over the past 5 years.

Statistics
:''Main article: Sunderland A.F.C. Statistics''
:''Current season: 2005-06 Season for Sunderland A.F.C.'' Sunderland are currently lying bottom of the Premier League. This is their 105th full professional league season, and their 76th in England's top division. In 115 years they have played over 4000 league games, of which they have won 41%, drawn 24% and lost 35%. Sunderland have an all-time positive league goal-difference of over 600. Sunderland last won the league in 1936. Since then, their highest league finish was 3rd in 1950, although they did reach 7th in consecutive seasons at the turn of the 21st century. Since they were first relegated in 1958, Sunderland have not spent longer than 6 years in a division without being promoted or relegated.

Nicknames
In 2000 following a poll on the official SAFC website, Sunderland announced the new club nickname would be "The Black Cats". The other options at the time were: "The Light Brigade", "The SOLs", "The Miners" and the "The Mackem Mackems". The club had been without a nickname since 1997 when it moved away from Roker Park - the nickname "The Rokerites" was no longer relevant. There is a long historical link between Black Cat Black Cats and Sunderland; including the "Black Cat Battery", a battery gun based on the River Wear. Black Cats have appeared in numerous photos around the club, and a black cat was even resident at Roker Park for a number of years, his entrance sparking a long winning-streak. This link is reinforced by folklore in which the black cat is said to bring luck. Since the 1960's the emblem of the ''Sunderland AFC Supporters Association'' has been a black cat. After 2000, Sunderland's Mascot became "Samson the Cat" and a few years later he was joined by Delilah. Samson was originally named after shirt sponsor at the time (Vaux Breweries Vaux Samson bitter (beer) bitter). Delilah was given her name to create the "Samson and Delilah" pairing; the name of a bible biblical couple. As well as the "Team of All Talents" at the turn of the 20th century, Sunderland were also known as the "Bank of England club" during the 1950's. This was due to the club's huge spending on the Transfer Market transfer market at the time, which saw the transfer-record broken twice. In recent years, despite corporate attempts to introduce nicknames (such as the unpopular "Rokermen" and "Rokerites"), Sunderland fans have generally adopted their own unofficial nickname - including, rather simply, "The Lads" (The phrase "Ha'way the Lads" is emblazoned across the North Stand seats at the Stadium of Light), and also the "Mackem Mackems" which was originally coined as an insult by Geordies but has since been adopted by the people of Sunderland. This nickname was not officially adopted by Sunderland AFC because it refers specifically to a resident of Sunderland, and the club did not wish to alienate it's fans from further afield.

Honours

Top Flight
*Football League First Division Football League Champions: '''6''' **1892, 1893, 1895, 1902, 1913, 1936 *Football League First Division Football League runners-up: '''5''' **1894, 1898, 1901, 1923, 1935

Second Flight
*Football League Championship winners: '''1''' **2005 *'New' Football League First Division winners: '''2''' **1996, 1999 *'Old' Football League Second Division winners: '''1''' ** 1976 *'Old' Football League Second Division runner-up: '''1''' ** 1964

Third Flight
*'Old' Football League Third Division winners: '''1''' ** 1988

Cup Competitions
*FA Cup winners: '''2''' ** 1937, 1973 *FA Cup beaten finalists: '''2''' ** 1913, 1992 *Football League War Cup War Cup beaten finalists: '''1''' ** 1942 *League Cup (''Milk Cup'') beaten finalists: '''1''' ** 1985 *Charity Shield winners: '''1''' ** 1936 *Sheriff of London Charity Shield winners: '''1''' ** 1903 *Charity Shield runners up: '''1''' ** 1937

Club Records
* Attendance **Highest (Roker Park): '''75,118''' (v Derby County F.C. Derby County, FA Cup 6th Round Replay, March 8th, 1933)
**Highest (Stadium of Light): '''48,355''' (vs Liverpool F.C. Liverpool, FA Premiership, April 13th, 2002)
**Lowest (Stadium of Light): '''11,450''' (vs Chester City F.C. Chester City, League Cup Carling Cup First Round, August 24th, 2004)
* Scorelines **Biggest victory (League): '''9-1''' (v Newcastle United F.C. Newcastle United, Division One, 5th December 1908)
**Biggest victory (cup): '''11-1''' (v Fairfield, County Durham Fairfield, FA Cup First round, 2nd February 1895)
**Biggest Defeat: '''8-0''' (v West Ham United (19 October 1968); v Watford F.C. Watford (25 September 1982))
* Players **All-time appearances: '''623''' - Jimmy Montgomery (537 league, 78 cup, 8 other)
**All-time goalscorer: '''224''' - Charlie Buchan (209 league, 15 cup)
**Post-war goalscorer: '''113''' - Kevin Phillips (footballer) Kevin Phillips
**Most goals in a season: '''43''' - Dave Halliday, 1928/29 season
**Highest transfer fee paid: '''Â£8m''' (Tore Andre Flo from Rangers F.C. Rangers)
*Sequences **Most back-to-back league wins: '''13''' (November 14th, 1891 - April 2nd, 1892) **Most back-to-back league draws: '''6''' (March 26th, 1949 - April 19th, 1949) **Most back-to-back league losses: '''17''' (January 18th, 2003 - August 23rd, 2003) **Longest run of consecutive league wins: '''19''' (May 3rd, 1998 - November 11th, 1998) **Longest run without a league win: '''22''' (December 21st, 2002 - August 23rd, 2003)

Current squad
''As of 3 March, 2006'': {| width=95% |- bgcolor=#9799F3 !width=5%|Number !width=5%| !!width=25%|Player !width=5%|Position !width=10%|Year Signed !width=30%|Previous Club |- !colspan=6 bgcolor=#EFEFEF|Goalkeepers |- bgcolor=#D0E7FF |align=center|'''1''' |align=center|{{flagicon|England}} |Kelvin Davis |align=center|GK |align=center|2005 |Ipswich Town F.C. Ipswich Town |- bgcolor=#D0E7FF |align=center|'''13''' |align=center|{{flagicon|England}} |Ben Alnwick |align=center|GK |align=center|2004 |Academy of Light |- bgcolor=#D0E7FF |align=center|'''30''' |align=center|{{flagicon|IRL}} |Joe Murphy (footballer) Joe Murphy |align=center|GK |align=center|2005 |West Bromwich Albion West Brom |- !colspan=6 bgcolor=#EFEFEF|Defenders |- bgcolor=#D0E7FF |align=center|'''2''' |align=center|{{flagicon|England}} |Stephen Wright |align=center|RB |align=center|2002 |Liverpool F.C. |- bgcolor=#D0E7FF |align=center|'''3''' |align=center|{{flagicon|Northern Ireland}} |George McCartney |align=center|LB/CB |align=center|1998 |Academy of Light |- bgcolor=#D0E7FF |align=center|'''5''' |align=center|{{flagicon|Republic of Ireland}} |Gary Breen (captain) |align=center|CB |align=center|2002 |West Ham United F.C. West Ham United |- bgcolor=#D0E7FF |align=center|'''6''' |align=center|{{flagicon|Scotland}} |Steven Caldwell |align=center|CB |align=center|2004 |Newcastle United F.C. Newcastle United |- bgcolor=#D0E7FF |align=center|'''12''' |align=center|{{flagicon|England}} |Nyron Nosworthy |align=center|RB |align=center|2005 |Gillingham F.C. |- bgcolor=#D0E7FF |align=center|'''15''' |align=center|{{flagicon|Wales}} |Danny Collins |align=center|CB/LB |align=center|2004 |Chester City F.C. Chester City |- bgcolor=#D0E7FF |align=center|'''27''' |align=center|{{flagicon|England}} |Ben Christensen |align=center|CB |align=center|2000 |Wallsend Boys Club |- bgcolor=#D0E7FF |align=center|'''28''' |align=center|{{flagicon|England}} |Dan Smith (footballer) Dan Smith |align=center|LB |align=center|2005 |Academy of Light |- bgcolor=#D0E7FF |align=center|'''29''' |align=center|{{flagicon|England}} |Sean Taylor(footballer) Sean Taylor |align=center|CB |align=center|1995 |Alnwick Town F.C. Alnwick Town |- bgcolor=#D0E7FF |align=center|'''32''' |align=center|{{flagicon|England}} |Justin Hoyte |align=center|CB/RB/LB |align=center|2005 |(on loan from Arsenal F.C. Arsenal) |- bgcolor=#D0E7FF |align=center|'''33''' |align=center|{{flagicon|Argentina}} |Julio Arca |align=center|LB/LW |align=center|2000 |Argentinos Juniors |- !colspan=6 bgcolor=#EFEFEF|Midfielders / Wingers |- bgcolor=#D0E7FF |align=center|'''4''' |align=center|{{flagicon|Ireland}} |Rory Delap |align=center|CM/RW |align=center|2006 |Southampton F.C. |- bgcolor=#D0E7FF |align=center|'''7''' |align=center|{{flagicon|England}} |Liam Lawrence |align=center|RW |align=center|2004 |Mansfield Town F.C. Mansfield Town |- bgcolor=#D0E7FF |align=center|'''8''' |align=center|{{flagicon|England}} |Dean Whitehead |align=center|CM/RW |align=center|2004 |Oxford United F.C. Oxford United |- bgcolor=#D0E7FF |align=center|'''14''' |align=center|{{flagicon|Scotland}} |Tommy Miller |align=center|CM |align=center|2005 |Ipswich Town F.C. Ipswich Town |- bgcolor=#D0E7FF |align=center|'''17''' |align=center|{{flagicon|France}} |Anthony Le Tallec |align=center|CM/AM/CF |align=center|2005 |(On season long loan from Liverpool F.C.) |- bgcolor=#D0E7FF |align=center|'''19''' |align=center|{{flagicon|Scotland}} |Martin Woods |align=center|CM |align=center|2005 |Leeds United F.C. Leeds United |- bgcolor=#D0E7FF |align=center|'''23''' |align=center|{{flagicon|England}} |Grant Leadbitter |align=center|CM |align=center|1993 |Academy of Light |- bgcolor=#D0E7FF |align=center|'''31''' |align=center|{{flagicon|France}} |Christian Bassila |align=center|DM |align=center|2005 |RC Strasbourg |- !colspan=6 bgcolor=#EFEFEF|Forwards |- bgcolor=#D0E7FF |align=center|'''9''' |align=center|{{flagicon|England}} |Jonathan Stead |align=center|CF |align=center|2005 |Blackburn Rovers F.C. Blackburn Rovers |- bgcolor=#D0E7FF |align=center|'''10''' |align=center|{{flagicon|Republic of Ireland}} |Stephen Elliott |align=center|CF |align=center|2004 |Manchester City F.C. Manchester City |- bgcolor=#D0E7FF |align=center|'''16''' |align=center|{{flagicon|Scotland}} |Kevin Kyle |align=center|CF |align=center|2002 |Academy of Light |- bgcolor=#D0E7FF |align=center|'''20''' |align=center|{{flagicon|England}} |Chris Brown (footballer) Chris Brown |align=center|CF |align=center|2005 |Academy of Light |- bgcolor=#D0E7FF |align=center|'''26''' |align=center|{{flagicon|Ireland}} |Daryl Murphy |align=center|CF |align=center|2005 |Waterford United |- bgcolor=#D0E7FF |align=center| - |align=center|{{flagicon|Scotland}} |Kevin Smith (footballer) Kevin Smith |align=center|CF |align=center|2006 |Leeds United F.C. Leeds United |- !colspan=6 bgcolor=#EFEFEF|Manager |- bgcolor=#D0E7FF |align=center| - |align=center|{{flagicon|England}} |Kevin Ball |align=center| - |align=center|2006 |Sunderland A.F.C. Sunderland |}

Players out on loan
*11. {{flagicon|SCO}} Andy Welsh ''(on loan to Leicester City F.C. Leicester City)'' *18. {{flagicon|SCO}} Andy Gray (1977) Andy Gray ''(on loan to Burnley F.C. Burnley)''

Grounds
* 1879 - Blue House Field, Hendon, Sunderland Hendon * 1882 - Groves Field, Ashbrooke * 1883 - Horatio Street * 1884 - Abbs Field, Fulwell * 1886 - Newcastle Road * 1898 - Roker Park * 1997 - Stadium of Light

Managerial History
{| |valign="top"| * 1888 - Tom Watson (football) Tom Watson {{flagicon|ENG}} * 1896 - Bob Campbell * 1899 - Alex Mackie {{flagicon|SCO}} * 1905 - Bob Kyle * 1928 - Johnny Cochrane {{flagicon|SCO}} * 1939 - Bill Murray {{flagicon|SCO}} * 1957 - Alan Brown * 1964 - George Hardwick {{flagicon|ENG}} * 1965 - Ian McColl {{flagicon|SCO}} * 1968 - Alan Brown * 1972 - Bob Stokoe {{flagicon|ENG}} * 1976 (c) - Ian MacFarlane * 1976 - Jimmy Adamson {{flagicon|ENG}} * 1978 (c) - David Merrington {{flagicon|ENG}} |width="50"| |valign="top"| * 1978 - Billy Elliott {{flagicon|ENG}} * 1979 - Ken Knighton {{flagicon|ENG}} * 1981 (c) - Mick Docherty {{flagicon|ENG}} * 1981 - Alan Durban {{flagicon|WAL}} * 1984 (c) - Bryan 'Pop' Robson Bryan Robson {{flagicon|ENG}} * 1984 - Len Ashurst {{flagicon|ENG}} * 1985 - Lawrie McMenemy {{flagicon|ENG}} * 1987 (c) - Bob Stokoe {{flagicon|ENG}} * 1987 - Denis Smith (football manager) Denis Smith {{flagicon|ENG}} * 1991 - Malcolm Crosby {{flagicon|ENG}} * 1993 - Terry Butcher {{flagicon|ENG}} * 1993 - Mick Buxton {{flagicon|ENG}} * 1995 - Peter Reid {{flagicon|ENG}} * 2002 - Howard Wilkinson {{flagicon|ENG}} * 2003 - Mick McCarthy {{flagicon|IRL}} * 2006 (c) - Kevin Ball {{flagicon|ENG}} |} (c) - Caretaker Manager

Notable Managerial Achievements
*Bob Stokoe - Guided Sunderland to their finest moment in 1973, when as a Second Division side they achieved a shock 1-0 win over Leeds United - then one of Europe's most feared sides - in the F.A Cup final. *Denis Smith (football manager) Denis Smith - Took Sunderland to the old Third Division title in 1988 and into the First Division two years later. *Peter Reid - Took over during the 1994-95 season when Sunderland were struggling in Division One, and during eight seasons at the helm he oversaw the relocation to a new stadium and an upturn in on-the-field fortunes which saw the Wearsiders achieved two seventh-placed finishes which followed their second promotion to the Premiership in 1999.

Notable Sunderland players
{| |valign="top"| * Sam Allardyce * Stan Anderson * Julio Arca * Len Ashurst * Kevin Ball * Jim Baxter * Paul Bracewell * Michael Bridges * George Burley * Raich Carter * Alf Common * Brian Clough * Trevor Ford * Marco Gabbiadini - Prolific goalscorer in the late 80's \ early 90's * Eric Gates * Michael Gray * Bobby Gurney * Charlie Hurley |width="50"| |valign="top"| * Johnny Mapson * Claudio Marangoni * Gavin McCann * Ally McCoist * Jimmy Montgomery * Thomas Myhre * Ian Porterfield - Midfielder whose goal in the 1973 F.A Cup final sealed a shock victory over Leeds United. * Kevin Phillips (footballer) Kevin Phillips - Scored 30+ goals during his first three seasons on Wearside after arriving in 1997. * Nick Pickering * Niall Quinn - 6ft 3in Irish striker whose goals were a major factor in Sunderland's rise to the Premiership in 1999. * Don Revie * Claudio Reyna * Leigh Richmond Roose * Gary Rowell * Stefan Schwarz * Len Shackleton * Thomas SÃ¸rensen * Colin Todd * Tony Towers * Dennis Tueart * Barry Venison * David Vernon Watson Dave Watson * Frank Worthington |}

Trivia
* Sunderland received the first 4-figure transfer-fee in football history; Â£1,000 was paid by Middlesbrough F.C. for Alf Common. *Arsenal F.C. Arsenal's highest ever attendance at Arsenal Stadium Highbury was against Sunderland; a crowd of 73,295 watched a First Division game on March 9 1935. The record attendance of Arsenal's local rivals Tottenham Hotspur was also against Sunderland - On March 5 1938 75,038 fans watched the game at White Hart Lane. *Sunderland were also the visitors for record attendances of Leeds United F.C. (57,892 at Elland Road on March 15 1967), Watford F.C. (all-seater record, 21,590 at Vicarage Road on November 27 1999), Bristol Rovers F.C. (record at the Memorial Ground, 11,433 on October 31 2000) and Yeovil Town F.C. in one of the most embarrassing moments in Sunderland's history, when they lost 2-1 to the then non-league club at Huish Park on January 29 1949 in the FA Cup 4th Round. *Sunderland's record attendance of 75,118 at Roker Park is the 5th highest record attendance of all league clubs - behind Manchester City (84,569), Chelsea F.C. (82,905), Everton F.C. (78,299) and Aston Villa (76,588). *Sunderland have broken the British football transfer record on at least five different occasions, and they have been the selling club on at least three occasions. *The 105 points Sunderland finished the 1998/99 season with is an English league record. *In 1895, after winning the English league for the 3rd time, Scottish champions Heart of Midlothian F.C. Hearts challenged Sunderland to an exhibition match, billed as the 'Championship of the World'. Sunderland won the game 5-3. *In 1903, Sunderland fans - disgruntled following a 1-0 home defeat at the hands of Sheffield Wednesday F.C. - stoned the referee and the Wednesday team bus. The FA banned Sunderland from playing their next game at Roker Park; instead they had to play it at St. James' Park in Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle. *Sunderland's record win, 9-1 at Newcastle United F.C. Newcastle United is still a record away win in England's top division. *In the 2002/03 season Sunderland finished the Premiership season with only 19 points, the lowest points tally ever recorded in the Premiership.

References
*Club Records - [http://www.onesunderland.com/news/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=28&Itemid=45 OneSunderland.com]

External links

Official website

- Sunderland A.F.C.

Other sites
{{BBC Football Info|BBClinkname=s/sunderland}}
- OneSunderland.com
- A Love Supreme
- Ready To Go
- Mackem Memories
- Sunderland Football Chants {{Sunderland_A.F.C.}} {{FA Premier League}} Category:English football clubs Category:FA Premier League Category:Sunderland A.F.C. Category:United Soccer Association teams cs:Sunderland AFC de:Sunderland A.F.C. es:Sunderland Association Football Club fi:Sunderland AFC fr:Sunderland Association Football Club it:Sunderland A.F.C. nl:Sunderland AFC ja:ã‚µãƒ³ãƒ€ãƒ¼ãƒ©ãƒ³ãƒ‰AFC no:Sunderland AFC nn:Sunderland AFC pl:Sunderland AFC pt:Sunderland AFC simple:Sunderland A.F.C. sv:Sunderland AFC vi:Sunderland A.F.C. zh:æ¡‘å¾·å…°è¶³ç?ƒä¿±ä¹?éƒ¨ Category:English football clubs Category:City of Sunderland Category:Sport in Tyne and Wear zh:Category:æ¡‘å¾·å…°è¶³ç?ƒä¿±ä¹?éƒ¨ {| class="toccolours" style="width: 30em; margin:0.5em auto; clear:both; text-align: center;" |- style="background-color: #DD0000; color:white" ! Sunderland Association Football Club |- || Sunderland A.F.C. The Club | History of Sunderland A.F.C. History | Sunderland A.F.C. Statistics Statistics | :Category:Sunderland A.F.C. players Players | :Category:Sunderland A.F.C. managers Managers |- || Stadium of Light | Roker Park |- || Sunderland A.F.C. Women Sunderland Women | Academy of Light |}

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