Page 10 - 360633 LP236168 A Love Supreme 48pp A5 (April 2022)

JOHN COOKE’S
TESTIMONIAL
South Shields are hosting a testimonial for Sunderland legend John Cooke, who was at the club for an outstanding 35 years. Cookie was a player who went on to become kitman and is massively respected by those involved with the club. Sal- ford born Cookie joined the Lads as an apprentice in 1978 from Barhill Boys Club
in Manchester, turning professional a year later and immediately made his debut against Bristol Rovers. A typically energetic performance on the right side of mid- field helped us to a 3-2 victory, with goals from Shaun Elliott, Stan Cummins, and Pop Robson. With the team’s established players performing well that campaign, young John had to wait a couple of months for his second game, and when the chance came against Luton, he scored the only goal of the match in a hard-fought encounter that also saw the debut of Joe Hinnigan. He squeezed in a further two appearances as we went on a fourteen-game unbeaten run and finished second to Leicester, winning promotion to Division One. There were 19 appearances in ’80-’81, and that included a goal in the 2-0 defeat of Man City.
The following season he found games hard to come by, but when given the opportunity he scored the only goal of our game at Molyneux. ’82-83 season proved more fruitful, with 19 appearances and a goal against Norwich in a 4-1 win, but an influx of experienced players kept John out of the side for most of season ’83-’84 and he managed only five games, with his customary single goal being against Cambridge in the League Cup. A further bunch of experienced players arrived in the summer of ’84, including Clive Walker, Howard Gayle, and David Hodgson, so Cookie only managed seven games before he went out on loan to Carlisle just before Christmas. After half a dozen games and a couple
of goals he was back, but didn’t play for us again, joining Sheffield Wednesday. There were no games for him there, so he quickly re-joined Carlisle, this time on a permanent basis, and had the most productive spell of his career. Over the next three seasons he was an integral part of the Cumbrians’ side, making 106 league appearances and scoring eleven times. Fifty eight games over two seasons at Stockport brought another seven goals, with
an almost identical return from his two years at
Chesterfield before he dropped out of League football in 1992.
Back in the North East, he spent time with Gateshead and Spennymoor before coming home to Roker in 1993 and the legend that is Kit Man Cookie was born. It didn’t take long before the fans worked out that Cookie did so much more than just make sure the shirts were on the right pegs at Roker and the kit basket correctly packed for away games. He was there on the bench, very much part of the backroom staff in terms
of encouraging players and offering advice. He followed Reidy to the Stadium of Light, and grew into the larger environs with ease, growing his job to match. One of his more visual contributions was the T-shirt he’d made (with a big felt pen) to celebrate SuperKev’s one hundredth Sunderland goal against Bolton in 2001. Handmade? You bet. Heartfelt? Damned right it was. For the subsequent seasons, Cookie remained an integral part of the backroom staff, so it
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