Ah, the summer of 1996 - what a time to be alive.
Euro 96’, three lions on a shirt, the mags had just blown their chance of winning the FA Carling Premiership, and Sunderland had won Division One to get back to the top flight when nobody expected them to.
It came from nowhere, and as Bobby Saxton emotionally said on the day we lifted the trophy, “money can’t buy this”.
Almost exactly twelve months earlier - the 24th March 1995 to be exact - Sunderland were in trouble. Mick Buxton’s side travelled to Oakwell to take on Danny Wilson’s Barnsley with a side that included two new signings, Brett Angell and Dominic Matteo, but we lost 2-0.
In the aftermath of the defeat, it not only left us close to the drop zone that would head to the third tier, but it turned out we could potentially face a point deduction due to the Matteo transfer not being completed correctly before he put on a shirt.
Oh, and Buxton was sacked after the game as well - never a dull day.
In a departure from the strategy that saw the three previous managers being appointed from the existing backroom staff, the board went all out and brought Peter Reid in a deal that initially only covered the final seven games of the season.
SUNDERLAND, ENGLAND - January 14: David Kelley of Sunderland and Peter Reid manager of Sunderland on the side line during the League Division 1 match between Sunderland and Norwich City at Roker Park on January 14, 1996 in Sunderland, England. (Photo by Michael Mayhew/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
SUNDERLAND, ENGLAND - January 14: David Kelley of Sunderland and Peter Reid manager of Sunderland on the side line during the League Division 1 match between Sunderland and Norwich City at Roker Park on January 14, 1996 in Sunderland, England. (Photo by Michael Mayhew/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
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Optimism spiked immediately, and not only did the results keep us up, but the Matteo thing magically went away as well. Which meant that in the summer of 1995, we could hand Reid a two-year contract and start again.
Rumours swirled during the summer that Reid might tempt ex-England teammates like Chris Waddle to come to Roker, but in the end, it was just Paul Bracewell who joined as player-assistant manager and John Mullin who arrived from Burnley.
Nobody quite knew what to expect with just a couple of players arriving, and consolidation in Division One would have been seen as a success. When we won just two of the first seven league games - and were knocked out by Third Division Preston in the League Cup first round - you might have thought alarm bells were ringing, but that wasn’t the case.
It was obvious to see the improvement in the side, and they were getting better with each time they took to the pitch. By October, we occupied a play-off place, and in mid-December we went top of the league by beating leaders Millwall 6-0 at Roker (incidentally, Millwall went on to be relegated). But after this, we won just one in nine.
SUNDERLAND, ENGLAND - March 9: Martin Scott of Sunderland on the ball during the League Division 1 match between Sunderland and Derby County at Roker Park on March 9, 1996 in Sunderland, England. (Photo by Paul Mcfegan/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
SUNDERLAND, ENGLAND - March 9: Martin Scott of Sunderland on the ball during the League Division 1 match between Sunderland and Derby County at Roker Park on March 9, 1996 in Sunderland, England. (Photo by Paul Mcfegan/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
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A win against Ipswich Town in mid-February got things back on track, and Reid’s side didn’t look back. Seven more successive wins followed, which included a 3-0 victory over title chasers Derby County at Roker. Things were taking off, with Daydream Believer being sung on the terraces and then released as a record with new lyrics directed at Reid.
We’d also picked up a kid from Blackburn to play in goal and found he was pretty good as Shay Given kept six clean-sheets in seven games ahead of Graeme Sharp’s Oldham visiting Roker on this day in 1996.
The Latics came with a game plan, which was to place every man behind the ball and frustrate Sunderland. Craig Russell and Paul Stewart began the game up front, but as the sides went in for the break, Reid swapped Stewart for Michael Bridges, who was breaking through spectacularly, but Oldham were still keeping us at arm’s length.
Russell made way for Lee Howey with around twenty minutes to go, but with less than ten minutes to go, it took a set piece to split the two sides. Martin Scott’s free-kick finally beat Paul Gerrard in the Oldham goal at the Fulwell End to make it eight wins on the bounce, and three more were to follow as the Lads marched to the league title and the Premier League.
Saturday 23rd March, 1996
Division One
Sunderland 1-0 Oldham
[Scott 81’]
Roker Park
Sunderland: Given, Kubicki, Melville, Ord, Scott, Agnew, Bracewell, Ball, Gray, Russell (Howey), Stewart (Bridges)
Oldham: Gerrard, Snodin, Serrant, Rickers, Graham, Redmond, Halle, Richardson, McCarthy, Barlow, Gannon (Beresford). Substitutes not used: Hallworth, Lonergan
Attendance: 20,631