Football NEIL MOXLEY
TWO decades ago, Wearside was bouncing – Sunderland were on the cusp of something special. Or at least they appeared to be. Led by Peter Reid, one of the grand old names of English football was beginning to stir.
As the year that ushered in the new Millennium drew to a close, the Merseysider had just been crowned as manager of the month.
Striker Kevin Phillips was banging in the goals.
Off the pitch, the bounce gained from moving into the Stadium of Light had created an irresistible force.
And it all came to a head on the opening day of 2001 as Ipswich Town went the way of so many – leaving Wearside with their ears ringing from the crowd’s noise and with their tails between their legs following a four-goal hiding.
It took the Black Cats to the 41point mark. They were being talked about as a serious club – if not title contenders, then certainly in the frame for the Champions League.
How times have changed. These days, sitting mid-table in League One, it must seem like light years since Phillips & Co were tearing it up. For Reid, it seems like yesterday. He said: “We were in a good place. There had been a momentum building over a few years and that game on New Year’s Day came off the back of a draw at Arsenal where Gavin McCann scored late on.
“That wasn’t a fluke, by the way – scoring that late goal at Highbury. It was a good group.
“What had happened is that a momentum had built up between the crowd and the players. The supporters began to trust the players and rarely got on their backs.
“And the confidence just built. I’m a great believer in that. We’ve seen it with Aston Villa this season. They stayed up by the skin of their teeth and look at them now.
“That’s what happened with us. That’s what it was. We’d got to 40 points in the first week of January. Incredible to think now, isn’t it?”
Since winning 2-1 at St James’ Park in mid-November, the Wearsiders rattled off six victories from their next eight games.
Reid said the flexibility of the dressing-room to adapt, the quality of his senior professionals and the overall strength of his squad meant that Sunderland were able to punch their weight.
He said: “It was a good dressingroom, we sorted that out early on. I could go through that side, Chris Makin, Jody Craddock, Thomas Sorensen – solid professionals. Even the likes of Paul Butler. We had a good mix and it was important that they were able to play in different positions as we started to pick up a few injuries.
“If I remember right, it was the same in that game against Ipswich. I played Don Hutchinson narrow on the right and Stefan Schwarz on the left, also tucked in.
“What it did was allow the two