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Sunderland A.F.C. are a football club from Sunderland, on Wearside in the North-East of England. For most of the late 1990s, under the management of Peter Reid, they were in the FA Premier League; however, after a dreadful run of results they finished bottom of the league in 2002-2003 (with a record-low 19 points) and were relegated to the Football League First Division (now called the Football League Championship). During the 2002-2003 season Sunderland appointed two new managers - Howard Wilkinson and, after Wilkinson's disastrous spell in charge, Mick McCarthy. While McCarthy led the club to ten consecutive Premiership defeats, he largely escaped criticism for the club's relegation having inherited a team low on confidence. 2003-2004 saw the club shed its highest earning players - including post-war top scorer Kevin Phillips and USA international captain Claudio Reyna - as they struggled to cope with the financial realities of Division One. McCarthy restored the team spirit that had been sadly lacking over the previous season and steered the club to a 3rd placed finish. Only a disputed injury-time goal against Crystal Palace forced them into a penalty shooutout, which they subsequently lost, and prevented Sunderland from reaching the playoff final.
They are known as the "Black Cats"; formerly they were the "Rokermen" after Roker Park, the stadium they played in from 1898 until 1997, when they moved to the newly-built Stadium of Light. They have been the English champions six times, but not since 1936. They have also won the FA Cup twice, most famously as a Second Division club in 1973, when they beat the then-mighty Leeds United of Don Revie, Billy Bremner, et al.
Sunderland A.F.C were founded in 1879 under the name of 'Sunderland & District Teachers Association'. The team quickly changed their name to Sunderland AFC and began to recruit players who were not teachers. SAFC turned professional in 1885, the same year they recruited their first international players with a number of Scotsmen.
Sunderland were admitted to the Football League in 1890 after beating their rivals Sunderland Albion FC. In the early years of the English league the club were the most northerly top flight team and often had to pay their opposition's travel expenses. Over six seasons they lost only one home game and were the first side to win the league three times.
The club moved to their long-standing home Roker Park in 1898, having previously played at the unfortunately named Newcastle Road from 1886-98.
In 1913 Sunderland narrowly missed out on becoming one of the first clubs to win the double when they were beaten by Aston Villa — their major rivals for silverware at the time — in the FA Cup final.
When the league restarted after World War II, Sunderland?s fortunes took a turn for the worse; in 1958 they were relegated from Division One for the first time in their history. In the following years they had several spells in the top flight, such as from 1964-70; however, they have yet to permanently regain their place in the top flight of English football.
In 1997 Sunderland moved to their current home at the Stadium of Light and changed their club crest from their traditional simple shield-shaped one to a logo more like a coat of arms.
Old division 1 champions:
1891/1892 1892/1893 1894/1895 1901/1902 1912/1913 1935/1936
Old division 1 runners up:
1893/1894 1897/1898 1900/1901 1922/1923 1934/1935
New division 1 champions:
1995/1996 1998/1999
Old division 2 champions:
1975/1976
Old division 2 runners up:
1963/1964
Old division 3 champions:
1987/1988
FA Cup winners:
1936/1937 1972/1973
FA Cup runners up:
1912/1912 1941/1942 1991/1992
League Cup runners up:
1984/1985
Charity Shield winners:
1901/1902 1936/1937
Charity Shield runners up:
1937/1938
| This article is part of the series: Football League Championship 2004/05 | ||
| Brighton & Hove Albion | Burnley | Cardiff City | Coventry City | Crewe Alexandra | Derby County | Gillingham | Ipswich Town | Leeds United | Leicester City | Millwall | Nottingham Forest | Plymouth Argyle | Preston North End | Queens Park Rangers | Reading | Rotherham United | Sheffield United | Stoke City | Sunderland | Watford | West Ham United | Wigan Athletic | Wolverhampton Wanderers
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