No Premier League games this Easter-‘International Friendly’-weekend and just a smattering of football league matches has us pondering those long put off DIY jobs or, should we blessed with a dry day, a venture into the garden. If you're hankering for a slice of Sunderland in the mean time we relive some Easter highlights from our colourful history and ponder what lessons we should have learned.
As the tension builds ahead of Sunday’s huge game against Newcastle, why not relive some of your favourite derby memories at the newly located SAFC fans museum?
Few things in life are more special than a Sunderland goal against the Mags. In honour of six in a row (and counting), we take a look at six Wearside classics.
During the recent game against Southampton, Vito Mannone became the fourth goalkeeper to reach 50 Premier League appearances for Sunderland. In those appearances, he kept 13 clean sheets and conceded 75 goals.
During Tuesday night’s 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace, three Stadium of Light milestones were reached. Firstly, Connor Wickham’s first goal was the 400th league goal Sunderland have conceded at the Stadium of Light. Fabio Borini then scored Sunderland’s 600th goal in all competitions in the stadium. The draw was also the 100th league tie since moving from Roker Park in 1997.
Often a hot-topic in Premier League football is how English and home-grown players do not feature prominently enough in today's game. Sunderland have netted 36 times in all competitions, that excludes 4 own goals we have benefitted from. Whilst it is not the trend for most clubs, English-born players have netted most of Sunderland's goals this campaign, scoring 25 of the 36 goals we have scored.
Ahead of our dress rehearsal (can I call it that?) against Manchester City tomorrow, we take a look at the players that have played for both sides and dwell in the past to see what they did for us as well as where are they now.
During the recent defeat against Manchester City, French-born Lamine Kone and Wabhi Khazri made their Sunderland debuts along with Senegalese forward Dame N’Doye. But how many different nationalities have represented Sunderland throughout their long history?
We are 15 league games into Sam Allardyce’s reign as Sunderland boss and the club find themselves deep inside the relegation zone, five points from safety. But how does Allardyce’s start compare to our previous managers in the Premier League?
Sunderland come into this game against Tottenham on the back of a disappointing 1-0 defeat at home to Liverpool. Opponents Spurs beat Burnley midweek in the FA Cup, coming from 2-0 down to win 4-2. Spurs are currently a great run of form having lost just once in their last 10 domestic games – a 2-1 defeat against Pardew’s Palace which is their most recent league game.
