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MY ALL-TIME GREATEST
GOAL SCORING SUNDERLAND XI (SORT OF...)
BY OLIVER BUTTON
Let`s face it. Growing up as a Sunderland fan since being born in 2005 hasn’t been easy. Constant relegation battles and relegation itself. There is one factor that causes all of this pain: A lack of goals. Which is why I have decided to come up with an entire team of Sunderland goalscoring greats in a 4-3-3 formation... this should be interesting...
DEFENCE:
GOALKEEPER:
MART POOM
Having previously been on loan at Sunderland from Derby County,
Poom (Poooooom!) now a permanent transfer, came up against his old
side for the first time in September 2003.The game initially was fairly unremarkable; however, Derby scored on 90 minutes, and it looked like we`d be heading back up the M1 with nothing to shout about. In additional time, all looked bleak. Sunderland had a corner. Poom wandered up from his box. He surely couldn’t, could he? The corner was swung in... and right onto the head of Poom, who nodded in a rocket of a header; even the Derby fans clapped and acknowledged
KEVIN PHILLIPS: RB
Sunderland`s greatest goal-scoring right back! Phillips actually played as a right back at Baldock Town, before a massive injury crisis within the squad resulted in him being chosen as a striker. Based
JOHN MACPHAIL: CB
John MacPhail joined Sunderland in 1987, reuniting him with former manager Denis Smith. Despite being a defender, he was Sunderland`s first choice penalty taker, and in the 1987-1988 season, scored his tenth consecutive penalty, against Northampton at Roker Park.
16 of his 22 goals during his time at Sunderland were scored in this season, an amazing 11 from the penalty spot! It was ultimately his ability to score goals for the lads whilst also being a tough, no-nonsense defender, which led us
to the Division Three title in 1988, and promotion from Division Two back to the top flight in 1990.
DAVID WATSON: CB
Signed by Alan Brown as an attacker for Sunderland, there were dim views on his arrival, as many fans thought that Watson would impede Sunderland`s chances of gaining promotion to Division 1. When Bob Stokoe arrived in 1972, he started playing him at centre back. This massively paid off during
the 72/73 campaign, when Sunderland would go on to lift the FA Cup; Stokoe praised the Nottingham-born lad after the game, saying he did a brilliant job keeping Leeds strikers Allan Clarke and Mick Jones quiet. In spite of his heroic showings, Watson’s attacking instincts still seeped through his defensive mould, scoring 27 goals during his 177 appearances for Sunderland. In fact,
in the run up to that 1973 final, Watson scored a header in the 2-0 FA Cup quarter final win against Luton in front of 53,000 fans at Roker Park. Watson played 65 times for England captaining his country three times. He was a world class player.
on his goal scoring return of 113 goals in 208 SAFC appearances, we had
to sneak him in the starting line up somehow.
their former employee. The only Sunderland keeper to ever score a goal. Wondering where Alisson got his inspiration from?
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