2005–06 Sunderland A.F.C. season

Sunderland
2005–06 season
ChairmanBob Murray
ManagerMick McCarthy (until 13 February)
Kevin Ball (caretaker) (from 7 March until 31 May)
Niall Quinn (from 25 July)
StadiumStadium of Light
FA Premier League20th (relegated)
FA CupFourth round
League CupThird round
Top goalscorerLeague:
Liam Lawrence
Tommy Miller
Dean Whitehead
Anthony Le Tallec (3)
All: Anthony Le Tallec (5)
Highest home attendance44,003 (vs. Arsenal, 1 May 2006)
Lowest home attendance28,226 (vs. Fulham, 4 May 2006)

During the 2005–06 season, Sunderland competed in the FA Premier League. A total of 38 matches were played in which they finished last in 20th, with 15 points.

Season Summary

Sunderland's season began with a streak of five consecutive losses. A brief respite came with a three-match unbeaten run before the October international break, lifting the team out of the relegation zone. However, this momentum was short-lived; a defeat to Manchester United post-break plunged them back into the bottom three, a position they never recovered from. The period between the international break and Christmas was particularly bleak, with the team losing every match.

Their second victory of the season came in late January against West Bromwich Albion, who were just above them in the standings. Cup competitions were poor as well, as Sunderland struggled against League Two's Cheltenham Town in the League Cup's first round before a 3–0 defeat to Arsenal, and suffered a demoralizing exit in the FA Cup's fourth round to League One's Brentford.

The poor performance led to the dismissal of Mick McCarthy, the manager of nearly three years, with Kevin Ball stepping in as caretaker manager. The season's modest goal became to avoid setting a new low for the fewest points in a Premier League season, a record Sunderland themselves held. Not only was the new record set, but they also broke Stoke City's 21-year record for the lowest points under the three-point-win system. Sunderland marginally improved on their previous record for the fewest goals in a top-flight season The league's new low-point record was surpassed by Derby County two years later, who recorded 11 points in contrast to Sunderland's 15.

Transfers

In

Date Pos Name From Fee
3 June 2005 FW Republic of Ireland Daryl Murphy Republic of Ireland Waterford United £100,000[1]
10 June 2005 DF England Nyron Nosworthy England Gillingham Free[2]
13 June 2005 FW England Jon Stead England Blackburn Rovers £1,800,000[3]
14 June 2005 GK England Kelvin Davis England Ipswich Town £1,250,000[4]
22 June 2005 MF England Tommy Miller England Ipswich Town Free[5]
6 July 2005 MF Scotland Martin Woods England Leeds United Free[6]
2 August 2005 DF England Alan Stubbs England Everton Free[7]
2 August 2005 FW France Anthony Le Tallec England Liverpool Season-long loan[8]
9 August 2005 GK Republic of Ireland Joe Murphy England West Bromwich Albion Free[9]
10 August 2005 FW Scotland Andy Gray England Sheffield United £1,100,000[10]
24 August 2005 MF France Christian Bassila France Strasbourg Free[11]
31 August 2005 DF England Justin Hoyte England Arsenal Season-long loan[12]
25 January 2006 FW Scotland Kevin Smith England Leeds United Free[13]
31 January 2006 MF Republic of Ireland Rory Delap England Southampton Free[14]

Out

Date Pos Name To Fee
14 June 2005 DF England Mark Lynch England Hull City Free[15]
1 July 2005 MF Northern Ireland Jeff Whitley Wales Cardiff City Free[16]
1 July 2005 FW England Marcus Stewart England Bristol City Free[17]
1 July 2005 FW England Brian Deane Australia Perth Glory Free
11 July 2005 MF Republic of Ireland Sean Thornton England Doncaster Rovers £175,000[18]
25 July 2005 GK Norway Thomas Myhre Norway Fredrikstad Free
25 July 2005 FW England Michael Bridges England Bristol City Free[19]
12 August 2005 DF Scotland Neill Collins England Hartlepool United Loan[20]
31 August 2005 GK Estonia Mart Poom England Arsenal Loan
8 September 2005 FW England Chris Brown England Hull City Loan[21]
23 September 2005 MF England Grant Leadbitter England Rotherham United Loan[22]
21 October 2005 GK Republic of Ireland Joe Murphy England Walsall Loan
24 November 2005 MF Wales Carl Robinson England Norwich City Loan
24 November 2005 FW Republic of Ireland Daryl Murphy England Sheffield Wednesday Loan
12 January 2006 DF England Dan Smith England Huddersfield Town Loan
17 January 2006 MF Wales Carl Robinson England Norwich City £50,000
20 January 2006 DF England Alan Stubbs England Everton Free
23 January 2006 GK Estonia Mart Poom England Arsenal Free
17 February 2006 DF Scotland Neill Collins England Sheffield United Loan
1 March 2006 MF Scotland Andy Welsh England Leicester City Loan
16 March 2006 FW Scotland Andy Gray England Burnley Loan

Players

First-team squad

Squad at end of season[23]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK England ENG Kelvin Davis
2 DF England ENG Stephen Wright
3 DF Northern Ireland NIR George McCartney
4 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Rory Delap[notes 1]
5 DF Republic of Ireland IRL Gary Breen (captain)
6 DF Scotland SCO Steven Caldwell (vice-captain)
7 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Liam Lawrence
8 MF England ENG Dean Whitehead
9 FW England ENG Jon Stead
10 FW Republic of Ireland IRL Stephen Elliott
11 MF Scotland SCO Andy Welsh[notes 2]
12 DF England ENG Nyron Nosworthy[notes 3]
13 GK England ENG Ben Alnwick
14 MF England ENG Tommy Miller
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 DF Wales WAL Danny Collins[notes 4]
16 FW Scotland SCO Kevin Kyle
17 FW France FRA Anthony Le Tallec (on loan from Liverpool)
18 FW Scotland SCO Andy Gray[notes 5]
19 MF Scotland SCO Martin Woods
20 FW England ENG Chris Brown
23 MF England ENG Grant Leadbitter
25 DF Scotland SCO Neill Collins
26 FW Republic of Ireland IRL Daryl Murphy
28 DF England ENG Dan Smith
30 GK Republic of Ireland IRL Joe Murphy
31 MF France FRA Christian Bassila
32 DF England ENG Justin Hoyte[notes 6] (on loan from Arsenal)
33 MF Argentina ARG Julio Arca

Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
4 MF Wales WAL Carl Robinson (to Norwich City)
21 MF England ENG Matt Piper (released)
22 DF England ENG Alan Stubbs (to Everton)
No. Pos. Nation Player
24 GK Estonia EST Mart Poom (to Arsenal)
— MF Republic of Ireland IRL Colin Healy (to Livingston)

Reserve squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
21 FW Scotland SCO Kevin Smith
24 GK Northern Ireland NIR Trevor Carson
No. Pos. Nation Player
27 DF England ENG Ben Christensen
29 DF England ENG Sean Taylor

Results

Sunderland's score comes first.

Win Draw Loss

League Cup

Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
2nd 20 September 2005 Cheltenham Town Stadium of Light 1–0 (after extra time) 11,969 Le Tallec
3rd 25 October 2005 Arsenal Stadium of Light 0–3 47,366

FA Cup

Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
3rd 8 January 2006 Northwich Victoria Stadium of Light 3–0 19,323 N. Collins, Whitehead, Le Tallec
4th 28 January 2006 Brentford Griffin Park 1–2 11,698 Arca

Premier League

Main article: 2005–06 FA Premier League
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
16 Aston Villa 38 10 12 16 42 55 −13 42
17 Portsmouth 38 10 8 20 37 62 −25 38
18 Birmingham City (R) 38 8 10 20 28 50 −22 34 Relegation to the Football League Championship
19 West Bromwich Albion (R) 38 7 9 22 31 58 −27 30
20 Sunderland (R) 38 3 6 29 26 69 −43 15
Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(R) Relegated

Results by matchday

Matchday1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738
ResultLLLLLDWDLLLLLLLLLDLLLWLLDLLLLLLDDLLLWL
Position1820202020201917191920202020202020202020202020202020202020202020202020202020
Source: [citation needed]
W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss
Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
13 August 2005 Charlton Athletic Stadium of Light 1–3 34,446 Gray
20 August 2005 Liverpool Anfield 0–1 44,913
23 August 2005 Manchester City Stadium of Light 1–2 33,357 Le Tallec
27 August 2005 Wigan Athletic JJB Stadium 0–1 17,223
10 September 2005 Chelsea Stamford Bridge 0–2 41,969
17 September 2005 West Bromwich Albion Stadium of Light 1–1 31,657 Breen
25 September 2005 Middlesbrough Riverside Stadium 2–0 29,583 Miller, Arca
1 October 2005 West Ham United Stadium of Light 1–1 31,212 Miller
15 October 2005 Manchester United Stadium of Light 1–3 39,085 Elliott
23 October 2005 Newcastle United St James' Park 2–3 52,302 Lawrence, Elliott
29 October 2005 Portsmouth Stadium of Light 1–4 34,926 Whitehead (pen)
5 November 2005 Arsenal Highbury 1–3 38,210 Stubbs
19 November 2005 Aston Villa Stadium of Light 1–3 39,707 Whitehead (pen)
26 November 2005 Birmingham City Stadium of Light 0–1 32,442
30 November 2005 Liverpool Stadium of Light 0–2 32,697
3 December 2005 Tottenham Hotspur White Hart Lane 2–3 36,244 Whitehead, Le Tallec
10 December 2005 Charlton Athletic The Valley 0–2 26,065
26 December 2005 Bolton Wanderers Stadium of Light 0–0 32,232
31 December 2005 Everton Stadium of Light 0–1 30,567
2 January 2006 Fulham Craven Cottage 1–2 19,372 Lawrence
15 January 2006 Chelsea Stadium of Light 1–2 32,420 Lawrence
21 January 2006 West Bromwich Albion The Hawthorns 1–0 26,464 Watson (own goal)
31 January 2006 Middlesbrough Stadium of Light 0–3 31,675
4 February 2006 West Ham United Boleyn Ground 0–2 34,745
12 February 2006 Tottenham Hotspur Stadium of Light 1–1 34,700 Murphy
15 February 2006 Blackburn Rovers Ewood Park 0–2 18,220
25 February 2006 Birmingham City St. Andrew's 0–1 29,257
3 March 2006 Manchester City City of Manchester Stadium 1–2 42,200 Kyle
11 March 2006 Wigan Athletic Stadium of Light 0–1 31,194
18 March 2006 Bolton Wanderers Reebok Stadium 0–2 23,568
25 March 2006 Blackburn Rovers Stadium of Light 0–1 29,593
1 April 2006 Everton Goodison Park 2–2 38,093 Stead, Delap
14 April 2006 Manchester United Old Trafford 0–0 72,519
17 April 2006 Newcastle United Stadium of Light 1–4 40,032 Hoyte
22 April 2006 Portsmouth Fratton Park 1–2 20,078 Miller
1 May 2006 Arsenal Stadium of Light 0–3 44,003
4 May 2006 Fulham Stadium of Light 2–1 28,226 Le Tallec, Brown
7 May 2006 Aston Villa Villa Park 1–2 33,820 D. Collins

Friendlies

Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
16 July 2005 Vancouver Whitecaps Swangard Stadium (Burnaby, British Columbia) 0–3 6,857
20 July 2005 Seattle Sounders Qwest Field (Seattle, Washington) 1–0 8,502 Lawrence
23 July 2005 Portland Timbers PGE Park (Portland, Oregon) 0–0 15,376

Statistics

Appearances and goals

No. Pos Nat Player Total Premier League FA Cup League Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Goalkeepers
1 GK England ENG Kelvin Davis 35 0 33 0 2 0 0 0
13 GK England ENG Ben Alnwick 7 0 5 0 0 0 2 0
Defenders
2 DF England ENG Stephen Wright 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0
3 DF Northern Ireland NIR George McCartney 13 0 13 0 0 0 0 0
5 DF Republic of Ireland IRL Gary Breen 36 1 33+2 1 1 0 0 0
6 DF Scotland SCO Steven Caldwell 25 1 23 1 0 0 2 0
12 DF England ENG Nyron Nosworthy 32 0 24+6 0 0 0 2 0
15 DF Wales WAL Danny Collins 27 1 22+1 1 2 0 2 0
28 DF England ENG Dan Smith 5 0 1+2 0 0 0 1+1 0
32 DF England ENG Justin Hoyte 30 1 27 1 2 0 1 0
33 DF Argentina ARG Julio Arca 26 2 22+2 1 2 1 0 0
Midfielders
4 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Rory Delap 6 1 5+1 1 0 0 0 0
7 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Liam Lawrence 33 3 19+10 3 2 0 2 0
8 MF England ENG Dean Whitehead 41 4 37 3 2 1 0+2 0
11 MF Scotland SCO Andy Welsh 16 0 11+2 0 0+1 0 1+1 0
14 MF England ENG Tommy Miller 31 3 27+2 3 2 0 0 0
19 MF England ENG Martin Woods 8 0 1+6 0 0 0 1 0
23 MF England ENG Grant Leadbitter 12 0 8+4 0 0 0 0 0
31 MF France FRA Christian Bassila 14 0 12+1 0 0 0 1 0
Forwards
9 FW England ENG Jon Stead 34 1 21+9 1 2 0 2 0
10 FW Republic of Ireland IRL Stephen Elliott 16 2 11+4 2 0 0 0+1 0
16 FW Scotland SCO Kevin Kyle 14 1 9+4 1 1 0 0 0
17 FW France FRA Anthony Le Tallec 31 5 12+15 3 1+1 1 2 1
18 FW Scotland SCO Andy Gray 22 1 13+8 1 0+1 0 0 0
20 FW England ENG Chris Brown 13 1 10+3 1 0 0 0 0
26 FW Republic of Ireland IRL Daryl Murphy 20 1 5+13 1 0+1 0 0+1 0
Players transferred out during the season
4 MF Wales WAL Carl Robinson 7 0 3+2 0 0 0 2 0
21 MF England ENG Matt Piper 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
22 DF England ENG Alan Stubbs 11 1 8+2 1 1 0 0 0

References

  1. ^ "Sunderland sign Irish star Murphy". BBC Sport. 3 June 2005.
  2. ^ "Sunderland seal Nosworthy signing". BBC Sport. 13 June 2005.
  3. ^ "Sunderland snap up striker Stead". BBC Sport. 13 June 2005.
  4. ^ "Davis completes Sunderland move". BBC Sport. 14 June 2005.
  5. ^ "Miller secures Sunderland switch". BBC Sport. 22 June 2005.
  6. ^ "Sunderland sign Leeds youngster". BBC Sport. 5 July 2005.
  7. ^ "Sunderland sign defender Stubbs". BBC Sport. 2 August 2005.
  8. ^ "Sunderland sign Le Tallec on loan". BBC Sport. 2 August 2005.
  9. ^ "Murphy reveals Sunderland switch". BBC Sport. 9 August 2005.
  10. ^ "Gray completes move to Sunderland". BBC Sport. 10 August 2005.
  11. ^ "Bassila agrees to Sunderland move". BBC Sport. 24 August 2005.
  12. ^ "Sunderland capture Hoyte on loan". BBC Sport. 31 August 2005.
  13. ^ "Sunderland sign Smith from Leeds". BBC Sport. 26 January 2006.
  14. ^ "Sunderland seal signing of Delap". BBC Sport. 31 January 2006.
  15. ^ "Defender Lynch seals move to Hull". BBC Sport. 14 June 2005.
  16. ^ "Whitley completes Cardiff switch". BBC Sport. 1 July 2005.
  17. ^ "Stewart agrees Bristol City move". BBC Sport. 6 June 2005.
  18. ^ "Thornton completes Doncaster move". BBC Sport. 12 July 2005.
  19. ^ "City put seal on Bridges signing". BBC Sport. 23 July 2005.
  20. ^ "Collins joins Hartlepool on loan". BBC Sport. 12 August 2005.
  21. ^ "Striker makes loan move to Hull". BBC Sport. 8 September 2005.
  22. ^ "Millers sign Leadbitter on loan". BBC Sport. 23 September 2005.
  23. ^ "FootballSquads - Sunderland - 2005/06". www.footballsquads.co.uk.

Notes

  1. ^ Delap was born in Sutton Coldfield, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally and made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in 1998.
  2. ^ Welsh was born in Manchester, England, but also qualified to represent Scotland internationally and has represented Scotland at U-19 level.
  3. ^ Nosworthy was born in Brixton, England, but also qualified to represent Jamaica internationally through his father and Guyana internationally through his mother, and would make his international debut for Jamaica in May 2012.
  4. ^ Collins was born in Chester, England, and represented them at C level, but also qualified to represent Wales internationally and made his international debut for Wales in February 2005.
  5. ^ Gray was born in Harrogate, England, but also qualified to represent Scotland internationally and made his international debut for Scotland in April 2003.
  6. ^ Hoyte was born in Waltham Forest, England, and represented them at U-16, U-19, U-20, and U-21 level, but also qualified to represent Trinidad and Tobago internationally and made his international debut for Trinidad and Tobago in March 2013.