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Early years and league triumphs
Sunderland-based schoolteacher James Allan founded the Sunderland & District Teachers Association Football Club on 17 October 1879. The club changed its name to Sunderland Association Football Club in 1881, after allowing other professions to join. This increased the pool of players, thereby enlarging the amount of funds the club could draw on. However, Allan grew dissatisfied with the changing attitude in the club towards professionalism and left. He founded Sunderland Albion, and the two Sunderland clubs formed a rivalry that lasted until Albion's demise in 1892.
Sunderland was admitted into The Football League for the 1890–91 season. They replaced Stoke City, who had failed to be re-elected, and became 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 7–2 win against Aston Villa. Sunderland won the league championship in the 1891–92 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 1919–20, when West Bromwich Albion set a new record.
Sunderland came close to winning a third successive league championship in the 1893–94 season, finishing second behind Aston Villa. However, they regained the title in the 1894–95 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 5–3 and were announced "champions of the world". Sunderland came close to winning another league title in the 1897–98 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 1900–01, the club won its fifth league title in the 1901–02 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 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. The Football Association investigated the payment, and determined 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, 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 9–1; Billy Hogg and George Holley each scored hat-tricks. The club won the league again in 1913,[16] but lost its first FA Cup final 1–0 to Aston Villa.This was the closest the club has ever come to winning the league title and the FA Cup in the same season. Two years 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 1922–23 season, when they were runners-up to Liverpool. They also came close the following season; they came third, four points from the top of the league.The club escaped relegation from the First Division by one point in the 1927–28 season despite 35 goals from Dave Halliday. The point was won after 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 1935–36 season,and they finally won the FA Cup the following season, after a 3–1 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 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, its highest finish since the 1936 championship.
Financial troubles and cup success
The late 1950s saw a sharp downturn in Sunderland's fortunes. In 1957 the club were once again implicated in a major financial scandal. Found guilty of making payments to players in excess of the maximum wage, the club was fined a record £5,000, and the club 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 1962–63 season. Sunderland required only a draw for 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 finished their last game 7–0 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 surprise 1–0 victory over Don Revie's Leeds United in the FA Cup Final. Sunderland, a Second Division club at the time, won the game, mostly due to the efforts of their goalkeeper Jimmy Montgomery; he saved in quick succession two of Peter Lorimer's shots at goal. 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 3–0 on aggregate, and drew against Lisbon club Sporting in the second round. They won the first leg 2–1 at Roker Park but were defeated 2–0 in the away leg, and were knocked out of the competition 3–2 on aggregate. After spending six seasons in the Second Division, Sunderland were promoted to Division One in the 1975–76 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 due to health problems at the start of the season. The club celebrated their 100 year centenary in the 1979–80 season, which they celebrated with a testimonial against an England XI side, where they were beaten 2–0.
Sunderland appeared in their only League Cup final in 1985, but lost 1–0 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 1–0 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. Davy lamp monument standing outside the Stadium of Light
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 2–0 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 1995–96 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 under 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 2007–08 season by Derby County, who finished on eleven points.
Following their relegation, the club was taken over by the Irish Drumaville Consortium,headed by ex-player Niall Quinn, who appointed former Manchester United captain Roy Keane as their new manager. Under Keane, the club rose steadily up the table with an unbeaten run of 17 games[65] to win promotion to the Premier League, and were named winners of the Championship after beating Luton Town 5–0 at Kenilworth Road on 6 May 2007. The club's form in the 2007–08 season was better than during their last season in the Premier League as they finished 15th with 39 points. However, an inconsistent beginning to the 2008–09 season led to Keane's resignation. This was followed by the instating of Ricky Sbragia as caretaker manager, and his position was later made permanent following a string of encouraging results.
After keeping Sunderland in the Premier League, Sbragia stepped down from his managerial post. Meanwile off the pitch, Irish-American tycoon Ellis Short completed a full takeover of the club from the Irish Drumaville Consortium, and Steve Bruce was announced as the new manager on 3 June. One of his first signings, Darren Bent, cost a club record fee of £10 million. Sunderland started their first season under Bruce strongly, including victories against Arsenal and Liverpool, but then went 14 matches without a win over the winter, eventually finishing the 2009–10 season 13th. Sunderland completed the signing of Ghana international Asamoah Gyan in August 2010 for a fee around £13 million, becoming their new record transfer fee. Sunderland started the next season strongly, this time with a seven match unbeaten run against teams including Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United. However, the run was ended with a 5–1 defeat to local rivals Newcastle United on October 31, 2010. Sunderland bounced back with another good run, the highlight being a 3–0 victory against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. This run left Sunderland challenging for a European qualification place by the end of 2010. However, striker Darren Bent left Sunderland for Aston Villa in January 2011 in a deal potentially worth £24 million (a record transfer fee received for the club). Following Bent's departure Sunderland suffered a mid-season slump and finished 10th — their highest top-flight finish for 10 years.
In July 2011, Sunderland signed a partnership agreement with Ghanaian club Asante Kotoko. Ellis Short replaced Quinn as chairman in October 2011, with Quinn becoming Director of International Development.[78] Bruce was sacked on November 30, 2011, following a poor run of results, and was replaced by Martin O'Neill. O'Neill made an instant impact, with Sunderland taking 13 points from a possible 18 in his first six games in charge, including a 1–0 defeat of leaders Manchester City on New Year's Day 2012. O'Neill was named the Premier League Manager of the Month for December. Sunderland also beat Peterborough United in the Third Round of the FA Cup, and advanced to the Fifth Round after an extra time winner from Stéphane Sessègnon in an a replay with Middlesbrough. In the fifth round, the Black Cats defeated Arsenal 2–0 to reach the quarter finals for the first time since 2004. On 20 February 2012, Niall Quinn left the club with immediate effect. On his departure, Quinn said: "Everything is in place for Sunderland to really make a statement, which was always my aim.On 24th August 2012, Sunderland announced the signing of Steven Fletcher from Wolverhampton Wanderers for a fee of £12 million and England international winger Adam Johnson from Manchester City.
This post has been edited by booooster: Sep 1 2012, 09:05 PM
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