2006–07 Sunderland A.F.C. season

Sunderland A.F.C.

2006–07 season
Chairman	Niall Quinn
Manager	Niall Quinn (until 30 August) Roy Keane (from 28 August)
Championship	1st (88 points, promoted to the Premier League)
FA Cup	Third round
League Cup	First round
Top goalscorer	League: David Connolly (13) All: David Connolly (13)
Highest home attendance	44,448 (v Burnley, 27 April 2007)
Lowest home attendance	24,242 (v West Bromwich Albion, 28 August 2007)
← 2005–06 2007–08 →

The 2006–07 season was the 112th full season in Sunderland A.F.C.'s history and their 106th in the league system of English football. After recording a record low total of 15 points in the 2005–06 season, Sunderland finished bottom of the league and were relegated to the Football League Championship.

Background

Sunderland began the 2005–06 season with Mick McCarthy as manager, having been promoted as champions the previous season.^[1] Before the start of the season, McCarthy recruited Daryl Murphy,^[2] Nyron Nosworthy,^[3] Jonathan Stead,^[4] Kelvin Davis,^[5] Tommy Miller,^[6] Martin Woods,^[7] Alan Stubbs,^[8] Joe Murphy and Andy Gray.^[9][10] Their first match back in the Premier League came against Charlton Athletic where they were beaten 3–1.^[11] Sunderland's first victory of the season came in the Tees-Wear derby, when goals from Tommy Miller and Julio Arca saw them to a 2–0 victory.^[12] After this win, they had to wait until January to record their next victory when they beat West Bromwich Albion.^[13]

On 6 March 2006, McCarthy was sacked, and former player Kevin Ball was brought in for the final ten games of the season.^[14] In a match against Fulham heavy snow forced the game to be abandoned while Sunderland were 1–0 down. The rearranged fixture was won by Sunderland, as they narrowly avoided being the only Premier League club to not win a home game.^[15] They finished the season with 15 points, which was a record low until Derby County broke it with 11 points in the 2007–08 season. This also broke their own record low number of points, beating the 19 points they achieved in 2002–03.^[16]

Review

Pre-season

Much of the summer had involved rumours of a takeover deal between former player Niall Quinn and a consortium consisting mainly of Irish businessmen.^[17] Talks were confirmed between Quinn and the club on 28 April,^[18] and a takeover fee of £10,000,000 was later agreed.^[19] Just days before the takeover was complete, Quinn himself was appointed manager, with the start of the Championship looming.^[20] Quinn and the Drumaville Consortium completed the £10,000,000 takeover for 72.59% of the club's shares on 27 July.^[21] The pre-season transfer activity started with five signings for Sunderland and three players being transferred to other clubs. They recruited experienced players Kenny Cunningham,^[22] Darren Ward and Robbie Elliott for free transfers.^[23][24] Trevor Carson and Peter Hartley were promoted through the club's youth system.^[25] Sunderland allowed Kelvin Davis to join Southampton for £1,250,000,^[26] and former fan favourite Julio Arca left to join rivals Middlesbrough.^[27]

As Kevin Ball returned into his coaching role at the club, Kevin Richardson took charge of pre-season affairs.^[28] Their first pre-season match was against non-league Forest Green Rovers, which Sunderland won 3–0 with goals from Liam Lawrence, Daryl Murphy and Dean Whitehead.^[29] This was followed up by a 2–0 win against Rotherham United; Daryl Murphy and Jonathan Stead were the scorers.^[30] Murphy continued his pre-season scoring streak with a goal against Irish outfit Shelbourne; Rory Delap scored the other goal in a 2–0 victory.^[31] Sunderland finished their pre-season schedule with a 3–0 win over Carlisle United. Jonathan Stead, Liam Lawrence and Grant Leadbitter were the scorers, giving Sunderland an unbeaten pre-season record scoring ten goals, and not conceding any goals.^[32]

August

Sunderland's season started against Coventry City on 6 August 2006. They had taken the lead with a goal from Daryl Murphy, but ended up losing the match 2–1.^[33] On 8 August, Sunderland signed Clive Clarke from West Ham United for £400,000.^[34] Captain George McCartney went the opposite way for £1,000,000 after eight seasons at Sunderland.^[34] Sunderland's next game was against Birmingham City on 9 August; they lost the game 1–0.^[35] They further bolstered their squad with the signing of Barcelona B player Arnau Riera for a free transfer.^[36] Sunderland continued their poor start to the season with a defeat against Plymouth Argyle on 12 August. They initially led the match after a Daryl Murphy goal, but finished up 3–2 losers; Stephen Elliott was the other scorer for Sunderland.^[37] They recorded their fourth defeat in as many games against Southend United on 19 August, being beaten 3–1. Jonathan Stead grabbed a consolation goal late on, but Sunderland went to the bottom of the league.^[38] On 22 August Sunderland began their League Cup campaign against Bury who were bottom of the Football League; they were beaten 2–0. Arnau Riera was sent off after making his first start for the club.^[39] Quinn secured the signings of William Mocquet from Le Havre for an undisclosed fee,^[40] and Tobias Hysén from Djurgårdens for £1,700,000.^[41] He also allowed Kevin Kyle to join Coventry City for £600,000.^[42]

With prospective manager Roy Keane watching in the crowd, Sunderland and Quinn achieved their first victories of the season. They beat West Bromwich Albion 2–0 on 28 August with goals from Dean Whitehead and Neill Collins.^[43] Keane was appointed Sunderland manager on the same day, signing a three-year contract, with Tony Loughlan as assistant manager.^[44] On the transfer window deadline day, Keane secured the signings of Dwight Yorke from Sydney,^[45] Ross Wallace and Stanislav Varga from Celtic for a combined fee of £1,100,000.^[46] He also brought in Liam Miller from Manchester United,^[47] Graham Kavanagh and David Connolly who both joined from Wigan Athletic.^[48][49]

September

With a strengthened squad, Keane achieved his first win as a manager over Derby County on 9 September, when Chris Brown and debutant Ross Wallace scored.^[50] Sunderland continued their successful start under the new manager with a 3–0 win over Leeds United on 13 September. The goals came from new recruits Graham Kavanagh and Liam Miller while Stephen Elliott grabbed the other goal.^[51] Their next opponents were Leicester City on 16 September. This game was Keane's first at home, and Tobias Hysén scored a goal to make sure they remained unbeaten under him.^[52] Sunderland experienced their first defeat under the new manager against Ipswich Town on 23 September. They originally took the lead through a Jason de Vos own goal, but were eventually beaten 3–1.^[53] They returned to winning ways the next match on 30 September, as a Grant Leadbitter strike lead them to a 1–0 win against Sheffield Wednesday.^[54]

October

During the break for international games, Sunderland allowed Rory Delap and Jonathan Stead to join Stoke City and Derby County respectively on loan deals.^[55][56] They played their next match against Preston North End on 14 October, where they were beaten 4–1; Stanislav Varga scored the only Sunderland goal.^[57] They then met Stoke City on 17 October where they were beaten 2–1 despite having taken the lead through a Dwight Yorke goal. Delap, who was making his debut after recently joining Stoke on loan from Sunderland, suffered a broken leg after a tackle from Robbie Elliott.^[58] Sunderland themselves dipped into the loan market, signing left back Lewin Nyatanga from Derby County until January.^[59] They played Barnsley on 21 October, and goals from Dean Whitehead and Chris Brown earned them a 2–0 win.^[60] Sunderland achieved back-to-back wins when they beat Hull City 1–0 on 28 October. Ross Wallace scored a last minute goal but was sent off after removing his shirt in celebration.^[61] Sunderland played Cardiff City next on 31 October, and were beaten 2–1. Manager Keane said "We were very, very poor. We lost it everywhere — the goal we gave away, our passing, our tackling, our movement; everything really was poor."^[62]

Match results

Legend

Win

Draw

Loss

Pre-season

Game	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers	Notes
1	15 July 2007	Forest Green Rovers	Away	3–0	1,450	Lawrence, Murphy, Whitehead	[29]
2	19 July 2007	Rotherham United	Away	2–0	–	Murphy, Stead	[30]
3	24 July 2007	Shelbourne	Away	2–0	–	Murphy, Delap	[31]
4	29 July 2007	Carlisle United	Away	3–0	7,036	Stead, Lawrence, Leadbitter	[32]

Championship

Sunderland recorded the highest average attendance during the 2006–07 Football League Championship season

Game	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers	Notes
1	6 August 2006	Coventry City	Away	1–2	22,366	Murphy	[33]
2	9 August 2006	Birmingham City	Home	0–1	26,668		[35]
3	12 August 2006	Plymouth Argyle	Home	2–3	24,377	Murphy, Elliott	[37]
4	19 August 2006	Southend United	Away	1–3	9,848	Stead	[38]
5	28 August 2006	West Bromwich Albion	Home	2–0	24,242	Whitehead, N. Collins	[43]
6	9 September 2006	Derby County	Away	2–1	26,502	Brown, Wallace	[50]
7	13 September 2006	Leeds United	Away	3–0	23,037	Miller, Kavanagh, Elliott	[51]
8	16 September 2006	Leicester City	Home	1–1	35,104	Hysen	[52]
9	23 September 2006	Ipswich Town	Away	1–3	23,311	De Vos (O.G.)	[53]
10	30 September 2006	Sheffield Wednesday	Home	1–0	36,764	Leadbitter	[54]
11	14 October 2006	Preston North End	Away	1–4	19,603	Varga	[57]
12	17 October 2006	Stoke City	Away	1–2	14,482	Yorke	[58]
13	21 October 2006	Barnsley	Home	2–0	27,918	Whitehead, Brown	[60]
14	28 October 2006	Hull City	Away	1–0	25,512	Wallace	[61]
15	31 October 2006	Cardiff City	Home	1–2	26,528	Brown	[62]
16	4 November 2006	Norwich City	Away	0–1	24,852		[63]
17	11 November 2006	Southampton	Home	1–1	25,667	Wallace	[64]
18	18 November 2006	Colchester United	Home	3–1	25,197	Elliott (2), Connolly	[65]
19	24 November 2006	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Away	1–1	27,203	Elliott	[66]
20	28 November 2006	Queens Park Rangers	Away	2–1	13,108	Murphy, Leadbitter	[67]
21	2 December 2006	Norwich City	Home	1–0	27,934	Murphy	[68]
22	9 December 2006	Luton Town	Home	2–1	30,445	Murphy, Connolly	[69]
23	16 December 2006	Burnley	Away	2–2	14,798	Leadbitter, Connolly	[70]
24	22 December 2006	Crystal Palace	Away	0–1	17,439		[71]
25	26 December 2006	Leeds United	Home	2–0	40,116	Connolly, Leadbitter	[72]
26	30 December 2006	Preston North End	Home	0–1	30,460		[73]
27	1 January 2007	Leicester City	Away	2–0	21,975	Hysén, Connolly	[74]
28	13 January 2007	Ipswich Town	Home	1–0	27,604	Connolly	[75]
29	20 January 2007	Sheffield Wednesday	Away	4–2	29,103	Yorke, Hysén, Connolly, Edwards	[76]
30	30 January 2007	Crystal Palace	Home	0–0	26,958		[77]
31	3 February 2007	Coventry City	Home	2–0	33,591	Yorke, Edwards	[78]
32	10 February 2007	Plymouth Argyle	Away	2–0	15,247	Connolly, Stokes	[79]
33	17 February 2007	Southend United	Home	4–0	33,376	Connolly, Hysen, John (2)	[80]
34	20 February 2007	Birmingham City	Away	1–1	20,941	Edwards	[81]
35	24 February 2007	Derby County	Home	2–1	36,049	Connolly, Miller	[82]
36	3 March 2007	West Bromwich Albion	Away	2–1	23,252	Yorke, John	[83]
37	10 March 2007	Barnsley	Away	2–0	18,207	Leadbitter, Connolly	[84]
38	13 March 2007	Stoke City	Home	2–2	31,358	Whitehead, Murphy	[85]
39	17 March 2007	Hull City	Home	2–0	38,488	Evans, John	[86]
40	31 March 2007	Cardiff City	Away	1–0	19,353	Wallace	[87]
41	7 April 2007	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Home	2–1	40,748	Murphy, Wallace	[88]
42	9 April 2007	Southampton	Away	2–1	25,766	Edwards, Leadbitter	[89]
43	14 April 2007	Queens Park Rangers	Home	2–1	39,206	Whitehead, Leadbitter	[90]
44	21 April 2007	Colchester United	Away	1–3	6,042	Yorke	[91]
45	27 April 2007	Burnley	Home	3–2	44,448	Murphy, Connolly, Edwards	[92]
46	6 May 2007	Luton Town	Away	5–0	10,260	Murphy (2), Stokes, Wallace, Connolly	[93]

FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers	Notes
3	6 January 2007	Preston North End	Away	0–1	10,318		[94]

League Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers	Notes
1	22 August 2006	Bury	Away	0–2	2,930		[39]

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Sunderland (C)	46	27	7	12	76	47	+29	88	Promotion to Premier League
2	Birmingham City (P)	46	26	8	12	67	47	+20	86
3	Derby County (P)	46	25	9	12	62	46	+16	84	Qualification to League Championship playoffs
4	West Bromwich Albion	46	22	10	14	81	55	+26	76
5	Wolverhampton Wanderers	46	22	10	14	59	56	+3	76
6	Southampton	46	21	12	13	77	53	+24	75
7	Preston North End	46	22	8	16	64	53	+11	74
8	Stoke City	46	19	16	11	62	41	+21	73
9	Sheffield Wednesday	46	20	11	15	70	66	+4	71
10	Colchester United	46	20	9	17	70	56	+14	69
11	Plymouth Argyle	46	17	16	13	63	62	+1	67
12	Crystal Palace	46	18	11	17	59	51	+8	65
13	Cardiff City	46	17	13	16	57	53	+4	64
14	Ipswich Town	46	18	8	20	64	59	+5	62
15	Burnley	46	15	12	19	52	49	+3	57
16	Norwich City	46	16	9	21	56	71	−15	57
17	Coventry City	46	16	8	22	47	62	−15	56
18	Queens Park Rangers	46	14	11	21	54	68	−14	53
19	Leicester City	46	13	14	19	49	64	−15	53
20	Barnsley	46	15	5	26	53	85	−32	50
21	Hull City	46	13	10	23	51	67	−16	49
22	Southend United (R)	46	10	12	24	47	80	−33	42	Relegation to League One
23	Luton Town (R)	46	10	10	26	53	81	−28	40
24	Leeds United (R)	46	13	7	26	46	72	−26	36

Source: The Football League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
Leeds United deducted 10 points for entering administration.
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Player details

All players at the club with season in progress included. Duplicate squad numbers indicate departed players and current players.^[95][96]

No.	Pos.	Name	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total		Discipline
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	Ben Alnwick	11 (0)	0	0	0	1	0	12 (0)	0	0	0
2	DF	Stephen Wright	2 (1)	0	0	0	1	0	3 (1)	0	1	0
3	DF	George McCartney	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	DF	Lewin Nyatanga	9 (2)	0	0	0	0	0	9 (2)	0	0	0
3	DF	Danny Simpson	13 (1)	0	0	0	0	0	13 (1)	0	2	0
4	MF	Rory Delap	6	0	0	0	1	0	7	0	1	0
4	DF	Jonny Evans	18	1	0	1	0	0	19	1	3	0
5	DF	Kenny Cunningham	11	0	0	0	1	0	12	0	1	0
6	DF	Steven Caldwell	11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
7	MF	Liam Lawrence	10 (2)	0	0	0	0 (1)	0	10 (3)	0	1	0
7	MF	Carlos Edwards	15	5	0 (1)	0	0	0	15 (1)	5	1	0
8	MF	Dean Whitehead (c)	43 (2)	4	1	0	1	0	45 (2)	4	7	0
9	FW	Jonathan Stead	1 (4)	1	0	0	0 (1)	0	1 (5)	1	0	0
9	FW	Anthony Stokes	7 (7)	2	0	0	0	0	7 (7)	2	1	0
10	FW	Stephen Elliott	15 (9)	5	1	0	1	0	17 (9)	5	0	0
11	FW	Daryl Murphy	27 (11)	10	1	0	1	0	29 (11)	10	1	0
12	DF	Nyron Nosworthy	27 (2)	0	0	0	0	0	27 (2)	0	4	0
13	GK	Darren Ward	30	0	1	0	0	0	31	0	0	0
14	MF	Tommy Miller	3 (1)	0	0	0	0	0	3 (1)	0	0	0
14	FW	Stern John	10 (5)	4	0	0	0	0	10 (5)	4	0	0
15	DF	Danny Collins	36 (2)	0	0 (1)	0	0 (1)	0	36 (4)	0	4	0
16	FW	Kevin Kyle	0 (2)	0	0	0	0	0	0 (2)	0	0	0
16	MF	Tobias Hysén	15 (11)	4	1	0	0	0	16 (11)	0	0	0
17	MF	Andy Welsh	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
18	MF	William Mocquet	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
19	MF	Arnau Riera	0 (1)	0	0	0	1	0	1 (1)	0	0	1
20	FW	Chris Brown	10 (6)	0	0	0	0	0	10 (6)	0	4	0
20	FW	Stern John	10 (5)	4	0	0	0	0	10 (5)	4	0	0
21	FW	Kevin Smith	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
22	DF	Clive Clarke	2 (2)	0	0	0	0	0	2 (2)	0	0	0
23	MF	Grant Leadbitter	24 (20)	7	1	0	1	0	26 (20)	7	3	0
24	GK	Trevor Carson	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
25	DF	Neill Collins	6 (1)	1	0	0	1	0	7 (1)	1	0	0
26	DF	Robbie Elliott	7	0	0	0	1	0	8	0	0	0
27	DF	Stanislav Varga	20	1	1	0	0	0	21	1	7	0
28	DF	Dan Smith	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
28	MF	Graham Kavanagh	10 (4)	1	0	0	0	0	10 (4)	1	3	0
29	DF	Peter Hartley	0 (1)	0	0	0	0	0	0 (1)	0	0	0
30	MF	Jake Richardson	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
31	MF	Christian Bassila	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
31	FW	David Connolly	30 (6)	13	1	0	0	0	31 (6)	13	1	0
32	GK	Márton Fülöp	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	0	0
33	MF	Ross Wallace	20 (12)	6	1	0	0	0	21 (12)	6	5	2
34	MF	Dwight Yorke	28 (4)	5	0 (1)	0	0	0	28 (5)	5	6	0
36	MF	Liam Miller	24 (6)	2	1	0	0	0	25 (6)	2	7	1

Transfers

In

Date	Pos	Name	From	Fee	Notes
23 May 2006	GK	Trevor Carson	Youth system	–	[25]
23 May 2006	DF	Peter Hartley	Youth system	–	[25]
19 July 2006	DF	Kenny Cunningham	Birmingham City	Free	[22]
4 August 2006	DF	Darren Ward	Norwich City	Free	[23]
4 August 2006	DF	Robbie Elliott	Newcastle United	Free	[24]
8 August 2006	DF	Clive Clarke	West Ham United	£400,000	[34]
10 August 2006	MF	Arnau Riera	Barcelona B	Free	[36]
22 August 2006	MF	William Mocquet	Le Havre	Undisclosed	[40]
23 August 2006	MF	Tobias Hysén	Djurgårdens	£1,700,000	[41]
31 August 2006	MF	Dwight Yorke	Sydney	£200,000	[45]
31 August 2006	MF	Graham Kavanagh	Wigan Athletic	£500,000	[48]
31 August 2006	DF	Stanislav Varga	Celtic	£1,100,000	[46]
31 August 2006	MF	Ross Wallace	Celtic	£1,100,000	[46]
31 August 2006	MF	Liam Miller	Manchester United	Free	[47]
31 August 2006	FW	David Connolly	Wigan Athletic	£1,900,000	[49]
2 January 2007	GK	Márton Fülöp	Tottenham Hotspur	£500,000	[97]
2 January 2007	MF	Carlos Edwards	Luton Town	£1,500,000	[98]
8 January 2007	FW	Anthony Stokes	Arsenal	£2,000,000	[99]
29 January 2007	FW	Stern John	Coventry City	Undisclosed fee	[100]

Out

Date	Pos	Name	To	Fee	Notes
21 July 2006	GK	Kelvin Davis	Southampton	£1,250,000	[26]
26 July 2006	MF	Julio Arca	Middlesbrough	£1,750,000	[27]
31 July 2006	MF	Christian Bassila	Larissa	Free	[101]
8 August 2006	DF	George McCartney	West Ham United	£1,000,000	[34]
18 August 2006	DF	Dan Smith	Aberdeen	Undisclosed fee	[102]
25 August 2006	FW	Kevin Kyle	Coventry City	£600,000	[42]
2 January 2007	DF	Robbie Elliott	Leeds United	Free	[103]
2 January 2007	MF	Liam Lawrence	Stoke City	£650,000	[104]
2 January 2007	GK	Ben Alnwick	Tottenham Hotspur	£900,000	[97]
5 January 2007	DF	Neill Collins	Wolverhampton Wanderers	£150,000	[105]
9 January 2007	MF	Rory Delap	Stoke City	Free	[106]
11 January 2007	FW	Jonathan Stead	Sheffield United	£1,250,000	[107]
11 January 2007	FW	Chris Brown	Norwich City	£325,000	[108]
1 February 2007	DF	Steven Caldwell	Burnley	£400,000	[109]
23 March 2007	MF	Andy Welsh	Toronto	Free	[110]

Loans in

Date	Pos	Name	From	To	Notes
19 October 2006	DF	Lewin Nyatanga	Derby County	1 January 2007	[59]
23 November 2006	GK	Márton Fülöp	Tottenham Hotspur	1 January 2007	[111]
4 January 2007	DF	Jonny Evans	Manchester United	End of season	[112]
25 January 2007	DF	Danny Simpson	Manchester United	End of season	[113]

Loans out

Date	Pos	Name	To	Until	Notes
11 October 2006	MF	Rory Delap	Stoke City	9 January 2007	[55]
13 October 2006	FW	Jonathan Stead	Derby County	2 January 2007	[56]
16 October 2006	MF	Andy Welsh	Leicester City	31 December 2006	[114]
23 October 2006	MF	Clive Clarke	Coventry City	1 January 2007	[115][116]
2 December 2006	DF	Neill Collins	Wolverhampton Wanderers	2 January 2007	[117]
31 October 2006	FW	Kevin Smith	Wrexham	31 November 2006	[118]
14 November 2006	MF	Tommy Miller	Preston North End	1 January 2007	[119]
23 November 2006	MF	William Mocquet	Rochdale	4 January 2007	[120]
23 November 2006	MF	Arnau Riera	Southend United	1 January 2007	[121]
9 January 2007	FW	Kevin Smith	Dundee United	1 May 2007	[122]
23 March 2007	MF	William Mocquet	Bury	End of season	[123]

References

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7. Nick Alexander (6 July 2005). "Mick's six-pack". Sunderland A.F.C. Retrieved 8 May 2009.
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16. Jonathan Stevenson (29 March 2008). "Where do woeful Derby rank?". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 May 2009.
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