Best & Worst: Sunderland

Matthew Crichton, of Roker Report, revels in shocking shootouts – less so, Will Grigg and awful own goals

XI

BEST: Jordan Pickford, Phil Bardsley, Jonny Evans, Younes Kaboul, Danny Rose, Jordan Henderson, Stephane Sessegnon, Kieran Richardson, Yann M’vila, Kevin Phillips, Darren Bent.

WORST: Lee Camp, Brendan Galloway, Donald Love, Papy Djilobodji, Glenn Loovens, Didier Ndong, Darron Gibson, Jack Rodwell, Danny Graham, James Vaughan, Will Grigg.

PLAYER

B: Phillips [ right] remains the one and only Englishman to win the European Golden Shoe, and bagging 30 league goals for a newly promoted side was incredible. No Black Cats forward has matched his consistency since.

W: Camp initially signed because our other keepers were out of their depth, but somehow managed to play even worse. Selling Vito Mannone relegated us that season [ 2017- 18].

MOMENT

B: I haven’t witnessed a worse penalty shootout than ours at Old Trafford in the 2013- 14 League Cup semis, but the feeling when Mannone saved Rafael’s spot- kick will stick with me for the rest of my life.

W: Relegation to League One in 2018. Losing 2- 1 to Burton at the Stadium of Light symbolised just how low we had fallen. It was an unthinkable reality and damning way to go.

SEASON

1999- 2000. In December we were in the Champions League places, but failed to push on and finished seventh. What could have been if we’d carried on that form...

2017- 18. No fan foresaw consecutive relegations. Going from the Premier League to League One in the space of two years is criminal.

SIGNING

B: Jermain Defoe [ above]. Imagine straight- swapping a striker who scored only one top- flight goal ( Jozy Altidore), for an England international who hit the back of the net on a regular basis. A marvellous piece of business.

W: Ricky Alvarez. In 2015, Sunderland paid millions for a guy who never even joined. After long- winded court battles over a loan clause, we were forced to pay Inter his € 10.5 million fee and the Argentine’s wages, despite him never kicking a ball for us again following his initial temporary spell. Grim.

MANAGER

B: Roy Keane guided us from bottom of the Championship back to the Premier League and brought some fantastic players to the club. He set us up for our 10- year stint in the top flight.

W: Phil Parkinson compared the club to Accrington and set out to draw every away match. That was never going to be too popular on Wearside – he took standards to the floor.

KIT

B: Retro crest and Vaux sponsor [ right]. Many fans prefer the old shipyard- themed badge, and several of the late- 80s/ early- 90s home kits were sublime.

W: 2017- 18’ s pick ‘ n’ mix number. This shirt perfectly epitomised our displays on the pitch that season – disgraceful.

CHANT

B: “God took Messi and Pele, mixed the two to make one, and he came up with Stephane Sessegnon.” Unique, catchy – plus he was a brilliant player.

W: Will Grigg’s on fire? Please show me even a spark, as there certainly hasn’t been one since he signed in 2019.

AWAY TRIP

B: Manchester United. I’ll never forget the atmosphere of 9,000 Sunderland fans singing their hearts out, and the sheer jubilation when we reached the League Cup final at Wembley.

W: Southampton. Picture travelling six hours to see your team concede eight goals. Eight! I’ll never quite understand Santiago Vergini’s own goal that day.

OPPONENT

B: Jordan Henderson. We won’t grow tired of seeing the academy graduate succeeding at an elite level. I pray he returns to Sunderland one day.

W: Darren Bent. A former fan favourite cupping his ears at the crowd having scored [ for Burton] and contributed to our relegation was rubbing salt into the wound. Many won’t forgive him for his mid- season exit to Aston Villa in 2011.

HAIRCUT

B: Djibril Cissé. Red, blue, green – he changed his hair colour more often than his boots.

W: I can’t imagine that Steven Fletcher enjoyed playing in the rain. Sometimes, it’s just better to shave it off.