2005–06 Sunderland A.F.C. season

During the 2005–06 season, Sunderland competed in the FA Premier League.

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

Season Summary

Despite most fans believing Sunderland's top-flight return couldn't possibly go worse than the way they left it in 2003, somehow it did. A run of five consecutive losses at the start of the season was cause for concern, if not immediate alarm, seeing how the previous two seasons had similarly poor starts and ended in finishes of 3rd and 1st respectively. A three-match unbeaten run just before the international break in October saw Sunderland move out of the relegation zone and seemingly in the right direction; unfortunately, a loss to Manchester United after the season resumed dropped them right back into the bottom three, and Sunderland never left it after that point.

With the club losing every single match in-between the international break and Christmas Day, it became increasingly apparent that Sunderland were unlikely to avoid an immediate relegation. Their second win of the season didn't come until late January, and even that was against second-bottom West Bromwich Albion. Even the cups offered little respite, with the club struggling past League Two side Cheltenham Town in their first League Cup round before losing 3-0 to Arsenal in the next round, and experiencing a humiliating FA Cup exit to League One side Brentford in the fourth round.

More dismal form saw Mick McCarthy sacked after almost exactly three years as manager, and Kevin Ball was left in charge as caretaker manager for the remainder of the season, with it being clear that the most that could be hoped for was that Sunderland would at least avoid doing worse than their own record for the lowest points total in a Premier League season. Ultimately, not only did Sunderland not succeed in avoiding that dishonour, but they broke Stoke City's 21-year-old record for the fewest points under the 3 points for a win system. The only mercies that Sunderland had were that they at least avoided equalling their own record from three years prior for fewest goals scored in a top-flight season (having scored five more goals this season), and that they would only hold their new record for two years, with Derby County going on to record fewer points and fewer goals than both of Sunderland's records.

Transfers

In

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

Out

Date Pos Name To Fee
14 June 2005 DF Mark Lynch Hull City Free[15]
1 July 2005 MF Jeff Whitley Cardiff City Free[16]
1 July 2005 FW Marcus Stewart Bristol City Free[17]
1 July 2005 FW Brian Deane Perth Glory Free
11 July 2005 MF Sean Thornton Doncaster Rovers £175,000[18]
25 July 2005 GK Thomas Myhre Fredrikstad Free
25 July 2005 FW Michael Bridges Bristol City Free[19]
12 August 2005 DF Neill Collins Hartlepool United Loan[20]
31 August 2005 GK Mart Poom Arsenal Loan
8 September 2005 FW Chris Brown Hull City Loan[21]
23 September 2005 MF Grant Leadbitter Rotherham United Loan[22]
21 October 2005 GK Joe Murphy Walsall Loan
24 November 2005 MF Carl Robinson Norwich City Loan
24 November 2005 FW Daryl Murphy Sheffield Wednesday Loan
12 January 2006 DF Dan Smith Huddersfield Town Loan
17 January 2006 MF Carl Robinson Norwich City £50,000
20 January 2006 DF Alan Stubbs Everton Free
23 January 2006 GK Mart Poom Arsenal Free
17 February 2006 DF Neill Collins Sheffield United Loan
1 March 2006 MF Andy Welsh Leicester City Loan
16 March 2006 FW Andy Gray 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  ENG Kelvin Davis
2 DF  ENG Stephen Wright
3 DF  NIR George McCartney
4 MF  IRL Rory Delap[notes 1]
5 DF  IRL Gary Breen (captain)
6 DF  SCO Steven Caldwell (vice-captain)
7 MF  IRL Liam Lawrence
8 MF  ENG Dean Whitehead
9 FW  ENG Jon Stead
10 FW  IRL Stephen Elliott
11 MF  SCO Andy Welsh[notes 2]
12 DF  ENG Nyron Nosworthy[notes 3]
13 GK  ENG Ben Alnwick
14 MF  ENG Tommy Miller
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 DF  WAL Danny Collins[notes 4]
16 FW  SCO Kevin Kyle
17 FW  FRA Anthony Le Tallec (on loan from Liverpool)
18 FW  SCO Andy Gray[notes 5]
19 MF  SCO Martin Woods
20 FW  ENG Chris Brown
23 MF  ENG Grant Leadbitter
25 DF  SCO Neill Collins
26 FW  IRL Daryl Murphy
28 DF  ENG Dan Smith
30 GK  IRL Joe Murphy
31 MF  FRA Christian Bassila
32 DF  ENG Justin Hoyte[notes 6] (on loan from Arsenal)
33 MF  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  WAL Carl Robinson (to Norwich City)
21 MF  ENG Matt Piper (released)
22 DF  ENG Alan Stubbs (to Everton)
No. Pos. Nation Player
24 GK  EST Mart Poom (to Arsenal)
MF  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  SCO Kevin Smith
24 GK  NIR Trevor Carson
No. Pos. Nation Player
27 DF  ENG Ben Christensen
29 DF  ENG Sean Taylor

Results

Sunderland's score comes first.

Win Draw Loss

League Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
2nd20 September 2005Cheltenham TownStadium of Light1–0 (after extra time)11,969Le Tallec
3rd25 October 2005ArsenalStadium of Light0–347,366

FA Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
3rd8 January 2006Northwich VictoriaStadium of Light3–019,323N. Collins, Whitehead, Le Tallec
4th28 January 2006BrentfordGriffin Park1–211,698Arca

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:
W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss
DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
13 August 2005Charlton AthleticStadium of Light1–334,446Gray
20 August 2005LiverpoolAnfield0–144,913
23 August 2005Manchester CityStadium of Light1–233,357Le Tallec
27 August 2005Wigan AthleticJJB Stadium0–117,223
10 September 2005ChelseaStamford Bridge0–241,969
17 September 2005West Bromwich AlbionStadium of Light1–131,657Breen
25 September 2005MiddlesbroughRiverside Stadium2–029,583Miller, Arca
1 October 2005West Ham UnitedStadium of Light1–131,212Miller
15 October 2005Manchester UnitedStadium of Light1–339,085Elliott
23 October 2005Newcastle UnitedSt James' Park2–352,302Lawrence, Elliott
29 October 2005PortsmouthStadium of Light1–434,926Whitehead (pen)
5 November 2005ArsenalHighbury1–338,210Stubbs
19 November 2005Aston VillaStadium of Light1–339,707Whitehead (pen)
26 November 2005Birmingham CityStadium of Light0–132,442
30 November 2005LiverpoolStadium of Light0–232,697
3 December 2005Tottenham HotspurWhite Hart Lane2–336,244Whitehead, Le Tallec
10 December 2005Charlton AthleticThe Valley0–226,065
26 December 2005Bolton WanderersStadium of Light0–032,232
31 December 2005EvertonStadium of Light0–130,567
2 January 2006FulhamCraven Cottage1–219,372Lawrence
15 January 2006ChelseaStadium of Light1–232,420Lawrence
21 January 2006West Bromwich AlbionThe Hawthorns1–026,464Watson (own goal)
31 January 2006MiddlesbroughStadium of Light0–331,675
4 February 2006West Ham UnitedBoleyn Ground0–234,745
12 February 2006Tottenham HotspurStadium of Light1–134,700Murphy
15 February 2006Blackburn RoversEwood Park0–218,220
25 February 2006Birmingham CitySt. Andrew's0–129,257
3 March 2006Manchester CityCity of Manchester Stadium1–242,200Kyle
11 March 2006Wigan AthleticStadium of Light0–131,194
18 March 2006Bolton WanderersReebok Stadium0–223,568
25 March 2006Blackburn RoversStadium of Light0–129,593
1 April 2006EvertonGoodison Park2–238,093Stead, Delap
14 April 2006Manchester UnitedOld Trafford0–072,519
17 April 2006Newcastle UnitedStadium of Light1–440,032Hoyte
22 April 2006PortsmouthFratton Park1–220,078Miller
1 May 2006ArsenalStadium of Light0–344,003
4 May 2006FulhamStadium of Light2–128,226Le Tallec, Brown
7 May 2006Aston VillaVilla Park1–233,820D. Collins

Statistics

Appearances and goals

No. Pos Nat Player TotalPremier LeagueFA CupLeague Cup
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Goalkeepers
1 GK Kelvin Davis 3503302000
13 GK Ben Alnwick 70500020
Defenders
2 DF Stephen Wright 20200000
3 DF George McCartney 1301300000
5 DF Gary Breen 36133+211000
6 DF Steven Caldwell 2512310020
12 DF Nyron Nosworthy 32024+600020
15 DF Danny Collins 27122+112020
28 DF Dan Smith 501+20001+10
32 DF Justin Hoyte 3012712010
33 DF Julio Arca 26222+212100
Midfielders
4 MF Rory Delap 615+110000
7 MF Liam Lawrence 33319+1032020
8 MF Dean Whitehead 414373210+20
11 MF Andy Welsh 16011+200+101+10
14 MF Tommy Miller 31327+232000
19 MF Martin Woods 801+600010
23 MF Grant Leadbitter 1208+400000
31 MF Christian Bassila 14012+100010
Forwards
9 FW Jon Stead 34121+912020
10 FW Stephen Elliott 16211+42000+10
16 FW Kevin Kyle 1419+411000
17 FW Anthony Le Tallec 31512+1531+1121
18 FW Andy Gray 22113+810+1000
20 FW Chris Brown 13110+310000
26 FW Daryl Murphy 2015+1310+100+10
Players transferred out during the season
4 MF Carl Robinson 703+200020
21 MF Matt Piper 10000010
22 DF Alan Stubbs 1118+211000

References

  1. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/sunderland/4606097.stm
  2. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/sunderland/4080198.stm
  3. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/sunderland/4089430.stm
  4. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/sunderland/4586385.stm
  5. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/sunderland/4599349.stm
  6. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/sunderland/4653755.stm
  7. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/sunderland/4737377.stm
  8. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/4740071.stm
  9. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/sunderland/4136306.stm
  10. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/sunderland/4131608.stm
  11. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/sunderland/4172698.stm
  12. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/s/sunderland/4201830.stm
  13. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/sunderland/4650384.stm
  14. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/sunderland/4666014.stm
  15. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/hull_city/4093078.stm
  16. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/cardiff_city/4119326.stm
  17. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/bristol_city/4613217.stm
  18. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/d/doncaster/4675401.stm
  19. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/bristol_city/4708569.stm
  20. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/hartlepool_united/4146610.stm
  21. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/hull_city/4227266.stm
  22. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/r/rotherham_utd/4275496.stm
  23. http://www.footballsquads.co.uk/eng/2005-2006/faprem/sunder.htm

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.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.