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Sunderland and Oxford United have shared some quality players - and major characters - over the years.
As Régis Le Bris’ side prepare for Sunday’s FA Cup fourth-round tie at the Kassam Stadium, we look at five of the best players to play for the Black Cats and the U’s.
Marco Gabbiadini
One half of the infamous “G Force”, it may come as a slight surprise to some to see Oxford on Gabbiadini’s CV.
The striker scored 87 goals in 185 appearances for Sunderland between 1987 and 1991, forming a prolific partnership with Eric Gates as the Black Cats escaped the Third Division and eventually returned to the top flight – most famously, after he scored in a memorable play-off victory at Newcastle.
In September 1991, Gabbiadini was identified as Ian Wright’s replacement at Crystal Palace, scoring seven goals in 25 appearances. But he was sold to Derby just four months later, and spent five years in the East Midlands, netting 68 goals in 227 games. Knee injuries would later limit his opportunities at the Rams before a brief – and largely forgotten – loan spell to Oxford arrived in 1997, where he made just five appearances.
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John Byrne
A pivotal figure in Sunderland’s 1992 FA Cup run, Byrne spent just one year on Wearside – but it was a season packed with memorable moments in red-and-white. Alongside a brace against Watford and winners against Derby and Wolves in the Second Division, Byrne scored in every round of the FA Cup on the road to Wembley.
And – he came agonisingly close to adding his name into the competition's history books, missing a first-half chance in the final against Liverpool to become the 13th player to score in every round, failing to connect with Kevin Ball’s knock-down only yards from goal. Denis Smith, the man who brought Byrne to Wearside, clearly admired the striker, signing him for the U’s a year after departing Wearside, where the striker scored 18 goals in 55 appearances.
Billy Whitehurst
Nicknamed the ‘hardest man in football’, Whitehurst’s footballing career was rarely dull. Following 69 goals in 270 appearances for Hull and Newcastle, the forward swapped Tyneside for Oxfordshire in 1986, following a spat with Newcastle supporters.
However, after 49 appearances at the U’s, a similar theme appeared, leaving Oxford after a clash with assistant manager Ray Graydon. Less than a year later, Whitehurst arrived on Wearside – scoring three times in 18 appearances.
Dean Whitehead
Oxford-born Whitehead made 136 appearances for the U’s after progressing through the club’s academy and was named Player of the Year in the 2003-04 season. After originally joining the Black Cats on a free transfer in June 2004, the Wearsiders were later forced to pay Oxford £150,000 following a tribunal – a fee that proved money well spent.
An industrious and gritty midfielder, Whitehead twice won the Championship on Wearside, making 200 appearances before joining Stoke City in 2009 and being named captain during Keane’s two-year spell in charge... not a bad indicator of his quality and influence.
Chris Maguire
One of the few bright sparks during the club’s lowest ebb, Maguire provided some big moments during his time in red-and-white – but only after making his mark at Oxford. The Scotsman played a key role in Oxford’s 2015-16 promotion to League One, scoring four goals in the last six games, before netting a career-best 17 goals in the following season.
Yet, after a failed move to Bury, the ‘King’ was born on Wearside. 28 goals and 26 assists in 125 games, including the decisive strike in the League One play-off semi-final against Portsmouth and stunning goals against Burton and Southend, helped cement Maguire as a crucial figure under Jack Ross and Phil Parkinson.
However, his contract expired, following a falling-out with Lee Johnson, at the end of 2020-2021 season but would memorably return to the Stadium of Light for Lincoln in the following season, scoring a hat-trick and celebrating in front of his former manager.
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