This is a collection of short biographies on the great Sunderland players named as Player of the Year who helped to define the club's image and set the standard for its future stars. It is a must-have for any true fan interested in the history of their beloved club. Each chapter is illustrated and gives season by season stats and total appearances. The list of names featured in the book will bring back many great memories. As well as focusing on the individual, the chapters seek to tell the story of the season - be it one of delight or disaster - in an attempt to put the Player of the Year's contribution into context. Most of the Players of the Year have been tracked down and interviewed specifically for this book. Where individuals were impossible to locate then their contemporaries have remembered them or I have researched their thoughts of the time from programme interviews that they did with me. What was consistent in the recollections of all the players spoken to was how much being Player of the Year meant to them. Once the boots are hung up for the final time, regardless of whether the player has a cupboard full of medals and caps or none, if they have been Player of the Year it shows how much the fans have appreciated their efforts. Enjoy the memories.

Liverpool's magnificent number 7s is 112 pages full of everything a football fan could ever want to know about the most iconic players to have not only worn the Number 7 shirt, but to have played at one of the most iconic clubs in the world. Packed with features, including a detailed account of their time at the club. Also included are in-depth statistics, facts, trivia, most memorable games, and an unmatched historical account of the famous Number 7s to have elevated the club.

Sunderland AFC’s official historian Rob Mason brings us a fascinating alternative history of the club as he ponders what could have been. How would Sunderland have fared if they had appointed Brian Clough, who was turned down as manager? What might have happened if Jock Stein, who visited managerless Sunderland hoping for an opportunity before taking over at Celtic, had been given a chance? What if Bobby Robson hadn’t changed his mind after agreeing to leave Ipswich? Diego Maradona, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Kevin Keegan, Jackie Milburn and Ruud van Nistelrooy would make some forward line. All of them were potential signings. Imagine that quintet in red and white stripes! What if Coventry City had kicked off on time against Bristol City in 1977 instead of delaying their kick-off and being able to relegate a youthful Sunderland side that had come back from the dead? These and many other key moments are discussed by Mason as he considers what could have happened had these turning points taken a different direction.

A collection of short biographies of the great Sunderland players named as Player of the Year who helped to define the club's image and set the standard to its future stars.

This book is a must for the bookcase of any true Sunderland fan! What makes a player a cult hero? Well he has to give 100 per cent, and he has to be lovable. As much as any set of supporters, the fans of Sunderland - shown to be the noisiest in the country by a study of decibel levels - love their heroes and take them to their hearts. In this official "Sunderland AFC book, Sunderland Cult Heroes", the club's publications editor Rob Mason speaks to nine cult heroes, including 1973 Cup winners Vic Halom and Dick Malone, sublime schemers Kevin Arnott and Julio Arca, hard-man full-backs Joe Bolton, John Kay and Chris Makin, modern-day cult figure Nyron Nosworthy and the inimitable goalkeeper from the 1970s and 1980s Barry Siddall. To show that cult heroes are not just a modern-day phenomenon, a goalkeeper from a century ago, L.R. Roose, is also featured - perhaps the biggest cult hero of them all.

A dozen Sunderland legends come together to tell the stories behind their favourite ever games for the club - enabling Black Cats fans of all ages to relive these magic moments through the eyes and emotions of the men who were there, playing their hearts out for the red-and-white stripes...Niall Quinn relives the rollercoaster 1998 League Division Two play-off final which went to 4-4 before Charlton pinched it 7-6 on penalties; Jim Montgomery recounts heroic tales of the landmark 1973 FA Cup Final. Ever the crowd pleaser, Gary Rowell waxes lyrical about a 4-1 defeat of Newcastle at St James' Park, while the club's all-time record scorer Bobby Gurney remembers a ten-goal thriller back in 1935! Sunderland greats Marco Gabbiadini, Len Ashurst and Charlie Hurley also turn in characteristic star performances, winding back the clock to relive treasured memories of the Match of Their Lives for the Black Cats.

From the thousands of matches ever played by Sunderland, stretching from the club's Victorian foundation across more than 120 years to the Premier League era, here are 50 of the club's most glorious, epochal and thrilling games of all! Expertly presented in evocative historical context, and described incident-by-incident in atmospheric detail, Sunderland Greatest Games offers a terrace ticket back in time, taking in the games that sealed six top-flight titles, all four of the lads' FA Cup finals and the all-time top-flight record away win of 9-1 at Newcastle in 1908. An irresistible cast list of club legends - Niall Quinn and Bobby Gurney, Marco Gabbiadini, Raich Carter and Ian Porterfield - springs to life in a thrilling selection of cup crackers, promotion parties and hard-fought derbies. In all, a journey through the highlights of Black Cats history which is guaranteed to make any fan's heart swell with pride.

The Official Sunderland AFC Annual 2022 is packed with facts and stats vital for red and white fans of all ages. Featuring every first team player along with a review of the 2020/21 season, including the Papa John's Trophy Wembley win, there is plenty to keep you entertained. Quizzes and puzzles galore combine with exclusive looks at the history of your favourite club, including how the Black Cats and Stadium of Light get their names. We look ahead to the biggest games coming up in the second half of the season and, with 2022 being a FIFA World Cup year, we turn the spotlight on SAFC's World Cup connections. The Official Sunderland AFC Annual 2022 is essential reading for all Black Cats fans!

From 1890 to 1958, Sunderland were part of football's elite with a 68-year unbroken run in the top flight. The shock of a first relegation in 1958 was matched by the elation of a first promotion in 1963/64. Starting with that season, the book celebrates every occasion Sunderland went up. What was the secret to each Black Cats promotion? And who did the fans have to thank? Rob Mason gets the inside story through exclusive interviews with players and managers who were at the heart of the action. Moments of magic and mystery are revealed as the story of each season unfolds. From Charlie Hurley's much-loved 1963/64 side, through to the second Bob Stokoe side to win a trophy at Sunderland in 1976, Ken Knighton winning promotion in his first season as a manager and the teams of Denis Smith and Peter Reid - who each won promotion twice - then on to the 'Sund-Ireland' era when promotion was won under Mick McCarthy and then Roy Keane, all the great days and great games are here to cherish and enjoy.