retired_amyslack

Season 1 (Stage1)

June 2006

It had been a pretty bad couple of years for Sunderland – not only had they gone through three managers, they had also ended the 2005/2006 season second from bottom of the Championship thereby dropping into League One. After relegation from the Premiership in 2003, Mick McCarthy had come agonisingly close to taking them back at his first attempt, a 3rd place finish seeing them lose out in the playoffs. A poor 13th place finish in the next season saw McCarthy replaced by former Leeds man Kevin Blackwell but with the team slipping ever further down the table he too was dismissed and Harry Redknapp, himself sacked by Southampton at the end of 2005, was tasked with preserving their place in the Championship. When he failed in that task he took the money and ran, leaving the club facing the prospect of life in League One with no manager in place.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pos | Inf | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | C | Sheff Utd | 46 | 23 | 10 | 13 | 62 | 50 | +12 | 79 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | P | Cardiff | 46 | 21 | 10 | 15 | 61 | 56 | +5 | 73 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Leeds | 46 | 21 | 9 | 16 | 64 | 47 | +17 | 72 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Man City | 46 | 20 | 12 | 14 | 57 | 46 | +11 | 72 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Portsmouth | 46 | 22 | 5 | 19 | 55 | 50 | +5 | 71 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | P | Ipswich | 46 | 19 | 13 | 14 | 64 | 58 | +6 | 70 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | West Brom | 46 | 20 | 9 | 17 | 61 | 51 | +10 | 69 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Q.P.R. | 46 | 18 | 15 | 13 | 63 | 54 | +9 | 69 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Coventry | 46 | 19 | 12 | 15 | 58 | 51 | +7 | 69 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Barnsley | 46 | 19 | 12 | 15 | 57 | 52 | +5 | 69 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Reading | 46 | 19 | 9 | 18 | 57 | 58 | -1 | 66 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Nottm Forest | 46 | 17 | 12 | 17 | 54 | 50 | +4 | 63 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Preston | 46 | 15 | 17 | 14 | 55 | 56 | -1 | 62 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Derby | 46 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 61 | 64 | -3 | 62 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Gillingham | 46 | 17 | 10 | 19 | 53 | 56 | -3 | 61 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Burnley | 46 | 17 | 8 | 21 | 50 | 63 | -13 | 59 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Millwall | 46 | 17 | 7 | 22 | 61 | 64 | -3 | 58 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Stoke | 46 | 16 | 9 | 21 | 53 | 59 | -6 | 57 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | West Ham | 46 | 14 | 14 | 18 | 51 | 54 | -3 | 56 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | | Swindon | 46 | 16 | 7 | 23 | 55 | 74 | -19 | 55 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 21st | | Stockport | 46 | 14 | 12 | 20 | 54 | 63 | -9 | 54 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 22nd | R | Rotherham | 46 | 14 | 12 | 20 | 52 | 62 | -10 | 54 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 23rd | R | SUNDERLAND | 46 | 12 | 16 | 18 | 51 | 58 | -7 | 52 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 24th | R | Plymouth | 46 | 14 | 10 | 22 | 54 | 67 | -13 | 52 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>
Step up Archibald Jones. “Archibald who?” everybody asked. “Never heard of him – how is an unknown with no track record going to restore our once-great club to the pinnacle of English football” they said – or words to that effect. So what did Archie find when he stepped through the doors at the Stadium of Light all those years ago? Well the first thing that struck him was of course the stadium itself – with a capacity of close on 50,000 it was an impressive sight. Sadly the recent decline of the club saw the arena barely half full in those days but he had plans to change all that.

Financially the club was not in great shape – over £35M in outstanding loans and a wage bill some £45,000 over the weekly budget, but Chairman Bob Murray was still prepared to make around £2M available for players in return for capturing the League One title in the forthcoming season. Archie found a surprisingly scant backroom team and it was clear that the frequent managerial changes had wrought havoc in that area and that some remedial action was required. On the playing front he found just under 50 players on the books, almost a dozen of whom would be out of contract before the end of the month. Morale was unsurprisingly low and frankly his appointment had not exactly helped matters as none of the players had heard of our Archie either.

As the new boss began to dig into events of the season just gone a picture of mismanagement and underachievement began to surface and Archie formulated some pointed questions. Why had the club’s top scorer managed just 11 goals all season? Why, just three months ago, had the club spent £3M to bring in two left backs when they already had the excellent Julio Arca in place? Why, with top keeper Mart Poom moving to Leeds at the end of his contract, had nothing been done to find an able replacement? The list went on and on – Archie had a lot of work to do to turn this lot around.

By early July much had been achieved. The manager had boosted his coaching and physiotherapy staff and new training regimes were being developed. The playing squad had been cut back drastically with some 20 youngsters released and an initial “shopping list” of potential new signings had been drawn up. Several senior players had also departed – Gary Breen was sold to Swindon for £90K, Mark Lynch went to Stockport for £16K and both Poom and striker Kevin Kyle left on pre-arranged moves, Kyle joining Barnsley.

During the course of the month Archie and his team worked hard with the players that were left and gradually introduced some new faces at the Stadium of Light. First through the door was goalkeeper Julian Speroni who joined on a £30K deal from Crystal Palace. Next to arrive was midfielder Joey Gudjonsson who cost £140K from Leicester. Another keeper soon followed, Czech stopper Radek Cerny joining after being released by Tottenham after spending two seasons in London and playing just one game. Veteran Danish midfielder Morten Wieghorst was next, the 35 year old having spent a season at Wigan before being released. Finally the club welcomed midfielder Jody Morris after he left Millwall and striker Marian Pahars who had been let go by Southampton.

Archie was reasonably confident that his signings had plugged the worst of the gaps in the squad, although he was still on the lookout for another centre back as several of his targets for this position had been denied work permits.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Name | Position | Nat | Age | Value | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Radek Cerny | GK | CZE | 30 | £425K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Julián Speroni | GK | ARG | 27 | £80K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Terry Bartlett | D R | ENG | 19 | £12K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | George McCartney | D LC | NIR | 25 | £130K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Danny Collins | D LC | WAL | 25 | £70K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Stephen Caldwell | D C | SCO | 25 | £220K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Stephen Wright | D/DM R | ENG | 26 | £140K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Andy Dawson | D/DM L | ENG | 27 | £45K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Matt Richards | D/DM L | ENG | 21 | £775K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Julio Arca | D/DM L | ARG | 25 | £1.8M | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Damien Delaney | D/DM LC | IRL | 25 | £400K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Morten Wieghorst | DM C | DEN | 35 | £14K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Joey Gudjonsson | DM C | ISL | 26 | £150K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Dean Whitehead | M RC | ENG | 24 | £90K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Sean Thornton | M RC | IRL | 23 | £170K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Jody Morris | M C | ENG | 27 | £250K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Carl Robinson | M C | WAL | 29 | £400K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Liam Lawrence | AM R | ENG | 24 | £475K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Matthew Piper | AM R | ENG | 24 | £130K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Marian Pahars | F RLC | LVA | 29 | £210K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Michael Bridges | S C | ENG | 28 | £600K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Stephen Elliott | S C | IRL | 22 | £850K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| | Chris Brown | S C | ENG | 21 | £160K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

retired_karamelkel

Nice start Bob. I assume the "Championship" league is the old Divsion One and that "League One" is the old "Second Divsion"?

retired_amyslack

You're right Bryan (about the divisonal names I mean, not the good start, but thanks for that anyway )

Archie was delighted to get an opening day win at home to Plymouth, local hero Michael Bridges scoring the only goal of the game in the second half, although with the visitors striking the bar twice the result could have been quite different. The very next day unsettled midfielder Sean Thornton signed for Premiership newcomers Cardiff in a £170K deal. Over the next couple of days keeper Hans Vonk also left for a nominal fee and Archie spent almost half of his remaining transfer funds to bring in young centre back Calum Davenport from Spurs.

The new manager then endured a frustrating midweek match at Rotherham as his team spurned chance after chance, finally conceding a late goal against the run of play to suffer a 1-0 defeat. He was much happier with the result in their next match at home to Watford as midfielder Carl Robinson and club captain Stephen Caldwell proved the goals in their 2-0 win. The next weekend Stephen Elliott opened his account when he scored both goals in a pleasing 2-0 win at Huddersfield and Archie was beginning to see some encouraging signs as his new team started to knit together as a unit.

Davenport made his debut in the midweek League Cup tie at home to Yeovil and recovered from an early booking to put in a sold performance. Pahars scored the only goal of the game to get off the mark for the season and give Sunderland a 1-0 win. The final game of the month gave Archie an insight into the character of his team as they came from behind to beat Walsall 2-1. They lost keeper Cerny and striker Bridges to injury but still managed to turn the game around with two late goals. Young striker Chris Brown came off the bench to equalise and Elliott found the winner with just two minutes of the 90 remaining.

If his first month in charge was anything to go by then it looked like his team would be pretty solid in defence – two goals conceded in six games was quite impressive – but would not exactly be free-scoring in attack. Jody Morris had settled into his position in the centre of Archie’s three-man midfield immediately and the 27-year-old former Chelsea player was runner up in the Player of the Month award, the same position as Archie himself in the managerial equivalent.

For much of their first league match in September Archie watched his team dominate visiting Chesterfield without scoring but the late addition of Pahars provided the breakthrough goal, the Latvian forward netting in the 90th minute. A stoppage-time strike by Carl Robinson made sure of the three points and the Mackems rose to the top of the table for the first time that season. Before their next match Archie accepted a £40K offer from Swindon for left back Andy Dawson as he felt that he had more than enough cover in that position. Their next match at Doncaster saw the team recover after conceding a goal against the run of play midway through the first half. A quick reply from Pahars took them into the break level and a dominant second half performance saw Pahars score again before Stephen Elliott bagged a brace in the last ten minutes to seal a deserved 4-1 win.

A few short days later the rookie manager faced the biggest game of his fledgling career as his team travelled to Old Trafford to face the might of Manchester United in the 2nd round of the League Cup. They went into the game with Bridges missing with a knee injury and the experienced Wieghorst unable to take his place on the bench after an accident in training. Nonetheless his team gave the home side a shock when captain Stephen Caldwell nodded home a Jody Morris corner inside ten minutes. United found an equaliser ten minutes before the break through Ariel Ortega and the teams went into the interval with the scores tied. The visitors continued to play well though and Pahars put them back in front ten minutes after the restart to quieten the Old Trafford crowd once more. But the Premiership side proved to be just too strong and Louis Saha equalised on the hour before United captain Roy Keane scored the winner with less than ten minutes to play. Despite the defeat, Archie was delighted with his team’s performance and the fighting spirit that they showed.

Sunderland’s excellent league form continued with a 2-0 win at home to Leyton Orient in their next match. Calum Davenport opened the scoring in the first half when he got his head to a corner having hit the bar with a similar effort just minutes earlier. Jody Morris sealed the win 15 minutes from time with his first goal for the club, the midfielder capping another effective display for his new team. A Tuesday evening tie in the LDV Vans Trophy gave Archie an excellent opportunity to give some of his fringe players a run out and a tough match at home to Darlington was eventually won on penalties after an unwelcome 30 minutes of extra time. A crowd of just over 18,000 was noted as a record low for the club in recent seasons and Archie had some sympathy for the disinterest of the supporters in that particular competition.

The final game of the month at bottom of the table Grimsby proved to be hard going as a combination of some excellent goalkeeping and wasteful finishing restricted the visitors to a single goal, Michael Bridges first half strike proving to be just enough for the 1-0 win. The League One table made pleasant reading for the fans of the Black Cats and their new manager.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pos | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | SUNDERLAND | 9 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 3 | +13 | 24 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | Swansea | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 8 | +11 | 20 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | Plymouth | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 5 | +10 | 20 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | Sheff Wed | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 6 | +9 | 18 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | Hull | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 18 | 10 | +8 | 17 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | Rotherham | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 7 | +7 | 17 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | Oxford | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 11 | +3 | 17 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | Colchester | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 11 | +2 | 17 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | Hartlepool | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 8 | +4 | 16 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | Watford | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 8 | +5 | 14 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | Huddersfield | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 12 | +4 | 12 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | Port Vale | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 18 | -3 | 12 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | Brighton | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 13 | -3 | 11 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | Luton | 9 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 9 | +6 | 10 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | Walsall | 9 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 15 | -3 | 10 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | Bournemouth | 9 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 15 | 22 | -7 | 9 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | Doncaster | 9 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 17 | -8 | 9 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | Blackpool | 9 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 16 | -4 | 8 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | Leyton Orient | 9 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 15 | -8 | 8 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | Chesterfield | 9 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 14 | -5 | 7 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 21st | York | 9 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 19 | -11 | 7 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 22nd | Bradford City | 9 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 14 | -7 | 6 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 23rd | MK Dons | 9 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 14 | -11 | 5 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 24th | Grimsby | 9 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 7 | 19 | -12 | 3 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>
A single defeat thus far saw the team topping the standings and their fine form was recognised in the September awards as Marian Pahars was voted Player of the Month with Archie once again runner up in the managerial standings.

Euro2008 qualifiers meant a delayed start to league action in October and when battle commenced they soon found themselves a goal down at struggling Bradford City. Archie’s team were looking rather rusty and not playing with their usual spark but they did manage to grind out an equaliser when Damien Delaney scored his first goal of the season. Key midfielder Morris was absent for the midweek visit of Hull after picking up an injury in the previous game so Archie gave Dean Whitehead a start in the first eleven. The 24-year-old proved to be an able deputy and played his part in the 2-1 win, Gudjonsson and Elliott providing the goals. Morris was back in the lineup for the visit of Blackpool but with both Bridges and Pahars struggling with knocks, Archie’s striking options were limited. Having fallen behind to an early goal the manager was delighted to see his team fight back, two goals from Elliott and another from Delaney giving them a good 3-1 win.

retired_amyslack

Archie had been keen to expand the club’s scouting system and his investment in this area was beginning to produce a steady stream of scouting reports for the manager and his coaching team to assess. The first result of this activity came when Archie made a bid for 23-year-old German striker Sebastien Kneissl, agreeing to match the £230K release clause in his contract with Stuttgarter Kickers. Personal terms were agreed and the striker would join his new team when the German transfer window opened in the New Year. Archie was particularly keen to expand his goalscoring options and the next day he negotiated a three-month loan deal with Chelsea for 19-year-old prospect Jack Watkins.

Stephen Elliott kept his rich vein of scoring going with another brace in the excellent 4-0 win at Oxford. Damien Delaney joined him on the scoresheet as he continued to impress in midfield. The 25-year-old Irishman had cost Sunderland £1.3M last season when signed as a left back but Archie had recognised that the player had qualities that would allow him to operate in a different role and his experiment of playing him in midfield had proved to be extremely effective as his 3 goals and 4 assists from 12 games indicated. Jody Morris continued to catch the eye with his powerful performances in midfield being a key factor in his team’s form.

The final day of October saw the team in action at Scunthorpe in the 2nd round of the LDV Vans Trophy. Archie once again took the opportunity to rotate his team with loan signing Watkins making his debut. A close encounter was finally settled late on when Morten Wieghorst headed home a Liam Lawrence corner five minutes from time to avoid another extra time marathon.

November kicked off with a trip to Luton and captain Caldwell failed to make the trip after he suffered an injury in training so Northern Ireland international George McCartney was drafted in off the bench. Carl Robinson opened the scoring on 20 minutes with a superb free kick from distance and Jody Morris doubled the advantage minutes later when he outjumped the home defence. Mike Newell’s team came back strongly and reduced the deficit just after the restart but Sunderland were able to hold on to gain their 12th win of the season.

The midweek visit of promotion-chasing Sheffield Wednesday was preceded by several public exchanges between the two managers – Archie responding to Paul Jewell’s suggestions that his team had the measure of Sunderland by stating that confidence was high at the Stadium of Light and that he looked forward to the promotion tussle. With Caldwell still absent, Davenport was wearing the armband and the acting captain put the home side ahead after half an hour when he fired home from a corner kick. Elliott doubled their advantage just before half time to send Archie’s team into the break well on top. A goal from Pahars five minutes into the second period underlined the home side’s advantage and the 3-0 scoreline at full time was a fair reflection of their dominance.

The games were now coming thick and fast – the next match a trip to Rochdale in the 1st round of the FA Cup. The squad was minus holding midfielder Gudjonsson, out with an injury. Top scorer Pahars left the fray after just five minutes but the Black Cats still reached the break in front thanks to Bridges who finished from a narrow angle after a swift passing move. Jody Morris wrapped up the win in the second half when he finally got a shot on target, the 2-0 victory ensuring that Sunderland would progress into the next round and setting a new club record of 7 consecutive wins.

The team continued to roll over all-comers, the next victims being visitors Brighton who lost out to goals from Morris and Pahars. The win was gained despite losing Stephen Wright just before half time with Dean Whitehead coming off the bench to perform pretty well as an emergency right back. Tuesday night saw a trip to mid-table Port Vale and another three points in the bank courtesy of goals in each half from Pahars and Morris. The bad news was an injury to midfielder Carl Robinson in the first half with substitute Whitehead himself having to be replaced half an hour after coming on.

The trip to York took place without the injured Robinson and the suspended Morris, leaving the Sunderland midfield short of two key players. With the experienced Wieghorst in great form following Gudjonsson’s injury the Dane kept his place in the holding role with the fit-again Icelander coming into central midfield alongside Lawrence. Liam Lawrence it was who opened the scoring when he flighted home a free kick after just ten minutes. Pahars added to the lead with a goal in stoppage time at the end of the first half and the Latvian got his second late in the game to seal a comfortable 3-0 win.

At the end of the month Archie sent out his “second eleven” to face visiting Rotherham in the Quarter Final of the LDV Vans Trophy and a goal in the first half from Chris Brown had his team five minutes from victory before the visitors squared the game. With the scores still tied after the first period of extra time Archie sent in his “big three” of Gudjonsson, Morris and Pahars off the bench and the Latvian striker won the game within five minutes of his introduction.

Another storming month in the league saw Archie’s team now hold an eight-point lead over chasing Plymouth with the manager lifting his first ever monthly award, defender turned midfielder Damien Delaney taking the senior player plaudits and Carl Robinson taking Goal of the Month for his brilliant free kick against Luton at the start of the month.

retired_brianrt

good start bob, will be reading this closely. KUTGW :thup:

retired_amyslack

Thanks sherm

The first day of December saw a trip to Torquay for a Friday night FA Cup 2nd round tie and Archie’s team were rarely troubled during the course of their 2-0 win, the goals coming from Pahars and Delaney in the first half. The draw for the 3rd round produced a tie that all of Sunderland would want to see as their team came out of the hat at home to fierce rivals Newcastle, the game to be played in early January.

Carl Robinson made a welcome return to action at home to Colchester and after a goalless first half the midfielder opened the scoring in the 52nd minute. Archie’s team had the meanest defence in the division and not even a penalty kick allowed the opposition a goal, keeper Cerny guessing right and making the save to keep his team in front. The victory was assured when Pahars notched his 14th goal of the season with 20 minutes remaining to maintain his team’s winning run, a sequence that now ran to 13 games. A Tuesday evening visit by the MK Dons saw the run reach 14, two goals from Morris and a stoppage-time strike from Delaney completing a comfortable 3-0 win.

At the weekend Archie took his troops on the relatively short trip to Hartlepool, a team pushing Plymouth hard for the second automatic promotion place. Stephen Elliott got the team off to a flying start with a goal inside three minutes and Joey Gudjonsson struck again before the stadium clock showed 15:20. When Jody Morris made it three midway through the half the game looked to be over and the visitors were able to ease back a little. A late strike from Pahars completed a comprehensive 4-0 win and kept the Black Cats looking unbeatable.

As Christmas approached the club faced four games in ten days in the traditionally hectic festive period, beginning with a visit by struggling Bournemouth. A scrappy first half ended goalless but Pahars broke the deadlock ten minutes into the second period with a glancing header from a Robinson cross. A late goal by Stephen Elliott completed another comfortable win, the 20th league success of the season for Archie’s team. It also marked their eighth successive clean sheet in the league, an indication of just how solid they were defensively.

On Christmas Eve Sunderland Chairman Bob Murray called Archie into his office to give his manager a totally unexpected Christmas present – news that a consortium of local businessmen had taken over control of the club and made a “significant sum of money” available to bring in new players. When Archie found out that “a significant sum” meant no less than £6M he nearly fell off his seat in surprise. Mr. Murray was insistent that Archie should not hesitate to use the funds to bring in some quality players and build for the future. On current form it would take a collapse of catastrophic proportions to deny the club promotion back to the Championship and the new Board had their eyes firmly set on a quick return to the Premiership and they knew that would require a serious investment.

Archie was still trying to come to terms with the windfall when the team made the long trip to Plymouth on Boxing Day. Alan Pardew was having a fantastic season with the team that he took over back in April and some astute signings had seen them making a strong promotion challenge. Their league record was impressive to say the least – like Sunderland they had suffered but a single defeat thus far and something had to give in the battle of the top two. Archie’s team were given as hard a game as they had faced all season but their quality told and goals from Bridges and Delaney secured an impressive 2-0 win.

Over the next few days Archie gave much thought to the Board’s desire to invest in players. On the one hand his current starting eleven were doing the business and looked more than capable of securing promotion to the Championship so he did not want to disrupt the team unnecessarily. On the other hand he fully understood the need to bring in quality players to build for the future. He finally decided that the best course of action would be to follow up on some of the impressive youngsters that his new scouting network had identified and his first move was to secure the services of Arsenal youngster Ryan Smith on a loan deal for the remainder of the season. The 20 year old wide midfielder had been highlighted as a real prospect and the Sunderland boss was keen to see how he fared as Arsene Wenger may be prepared to sell the player in the summer.

The month, and indeed the year, ended with a Pahars goal giving them a 1-0 win at home to Rotherham, the narrow scoreline not reflecting the domination of the home side and Elliott missing an early penalty.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pos | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | SUNDERLAND | 24 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 52 | 7 | +45 | 67 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | Plymouth | 24 | 15 | 7 | 2 | 43 | 14 | +29 | 52 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | Hartlepool | 24 | 16 | 2 | 6 | 39 | 20 | +19 | 50 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | Sheff Wed | 24 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 40 | 22 | +18 | 46 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | Hull | 24 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 40 | 21 | +19 | 44 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | Watford | 24 | 11 | 10 | 3 | 33 | 15 | +18 | 43 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | Swansea | 24 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 38 | 23 | +15 | 43 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | Rotherham | 24 | 12 | 2 | 10 | 38 | 23 | +15 | 38 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | Brighton | 24 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 23 | 22 | +1 | 34 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | Huddersfield | 24 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 28 | 27 | +1 | 33 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | Leyton Orient | 24 | 10 | 2 | 12 | 28 | 29 | -1 | 32 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | Port Vale | 24 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 30 | 40 | -10 | 31 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | Walsall | 24 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 29 | 30 | -1 | 30 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | Colchester | 24 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 24 | 31 | -7 | 30 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | Luton | 24 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 30 | 25 | +5 | 29 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | Chesterfield | 24 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 25 | 31 | -6 | 28 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | Oxford | 24 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 21 | 34 | -13 | 28 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | Doncaster | 24 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 27 | 40 | -13 | 26 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | Bradford City | 24 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 17 | 33 | -16 | 22 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | Bournemouth | 24 | 5 | 6 | 13 | 34 | 52 | -18 | 21 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 21st | Blackpool | 24 | 6 | 2 | 16 | 32 | 47 | -15 | 20 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 22nd | York | 24 | 4 | 6 | 14 | 16 | 45 | -29 | 18 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 23rd | Grimsby | 24 | 5 | 1 | 18 | 18 | 43 | -25 | 16 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 24th | MK Dons | 24 | 4 | 2 | 18 | 9 | 40 | -31 | 14 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>
The League One table made pleasant reading indeed, a 15-point cushion at the top suggesting that Archie would be lifting a league title in his first season at The Stadium Of Light. For the second month in succession Archie and Delaney were recipients of monthly awards in recognition of their achievements in December.

retired_amyslack

As soon as new striker Kneissl arrived his manager asked him one simple question – “Are you match fit?” A positive response saw him included in the squad to visit Swansea on New Years Day although he would start on the bench. An enthralling contest was still even at the break as neither side managed to find the net but within ten minutes of the restart that all changed when Pahars started and finished as neat a passing move as you could wish for. One-twos with Delaney and Morris gave the Latvian a chance to beat the last defender and slide the ball home to put Sunderland in front. On the hour mark young Watkins hobbled off injured allowing Kneissl to come off the bench and ten minutes from time Wieghorst also retired, Gudjonnson replacing him. Just as the fourth official raised his board indicating that three minutes of stoppage time would be played the home side conjured up an equaliser. But Archie’s team weren’t quite finished and with literally seconds remaining their new striker made a dream debut when he latched on to a superb pass from Morris to fire home the winner.

A couple of days later Archie was presented with a tough decision when Bristol City came in with a cash plus player bid for Carl Robinson. The midfielder’s contract would expire in the summer and although he was having an outstanding season his manager was not totally convinced that he would be anywhere near as effective at a higher level. With a new contract unlikely to be forthcoming Archie had to decide if he should cash in on the player now or let him leave fro free in the summer. The player on offer was Northern Ireland international Tommy Doherty and Archie’s scouts were of the opinion that he would add little to the squad so the manager decided to re-negotiate – City would need to drop the player exchange and up the cash offer if they were to get their man. The West Country club agreed to the re-structured deal, accepting Robinson’s £650K valuation and began to discuss personal terms with the player. In light of events Archie also made his own enquiries for several players, a midfielder and a central defender top of his list.

Several other Sunderland players would also be out of contract come the end of June, one of whom was local favourite Julio Arca. The club’s top earner had refused to countenance a pay cut to stay within the current wage structure so it was clear that he would be taking his leave. To add insult to injury, hated rivals Newcastle offered the defender a contract, giving the player a very tough decision to take.

However, before any further progress was made on the transfer front Sunderland faced their biggest game of the season so far, the visit of loathed rivals Newcastle in the FA Cup. In the circumstances Archie thought it best that Arca should not feature in the squad, telling the press that the player had picked up a minor injury and was not fit to play. The biggest crowd of the season by far saw a classic “game of two halves” – the visitors dominating the first 45 minutes and the home side storming back after the break. By half time the game looked over as Jean-Alain Boumsong and Patrick Kluivert scored in a two-minute spell near the end of the half. The introduction of Stephen Elliott at the interval transformed the match, the Irish striker reducing the deficit on the hour before Pahars equalised with quarter of an hour remaining. The 2-2 draw meant that the teams would face each other once more in ten days time at St. James’s Park.

The day before the midweek trip to Watford, Carl Robinson agreed personal terms with Bristol City and his transfer was confirmed leaving Archie to ponder how to fill the gap in midfield. The answer for that game at least was to include new loan singing Ryan Smith in the starting eleven and the youngster didn’t look out of place in the 2-0 win. The scoreline flattered the visitors slightly as they did not play particularly well and had to wait until the last quarter of an hour to get their goals. Pahars opened the scoring with his 20th goal of the season and Kneissl made a late appearance off the bench to make the game safe.

In the next few days Archie secured his first summer signing when the man with the best nickname in football, Fitz Hall, agreed a no-fee move from Crystal Palace. “One Size” was a pretty decent centre back who could also play in midfield at a push and the manager was pretty pleased with the deal.

The visit of Huddersfield in their next league match started positively and turned into a rout as the visitors fell apart in the last 20 minutes. Kneissl continued his impressive start at the club with the opening goal after half an hour. He got his second with around 25 minutes remaining and then the floodgates opened. The third came from the penalty spot and was converted by Arca, on as a substitute for the tiring Lawrence. Jody Morris then struck five minutes later and ten minutes after that Pahars finished off the 5-0 drubbing.

On the eve of the short trip to Newcastle, Archie dipped into his transfer kitty for the first time since he received his unexpected windfall when he completed a £1.4M fee with Notts Forest for 22-year-old centre back Wes Morgan. His arrival was met with unanimous approval by the club’s supporters as they reckoned that their manager had conducted a shrewd piece of business. With George McCartney having pre-empted any potential contract extension by accepting an offer to join Cardiff in the summer Archie had been keen to secure another central defender. The Mackems newest player made the journey to St. James’s Park but being cup-tied he sat not on the bench but in the stand, cheering on his new teammates. Unfortunately he was given little to cheer about as the home side proved to be just too strong, running out winners with a 3-1 scoreline. The defeat was Sunderland’s first in 26 games in all competitions and the three goals conceded the most that they had conceded, Man United the only other opponents to have scored more than twice.

Sunderland shrugged off the disappointment of their Cup defeat with a comprehensive 4-0 win at home to Walsall as they got back into league action. The hugely impressive Jody Morris provided their first two goals and Kneissl being denied the third when the dubious goals panel ruled that his deflected free kick should go down as an own goal. Calum Davenport’s power in the air produced the 4th as the Black Cats continued to steamroller their way through League One.

On the very day that Archie’s team faced Tranmere in the LDV Vans Northern Semi Final young Jack Watkins completed his loan period and went back to Chelsea. Once again the fringe players were called into action and despite having young right back Terry Bartlett sent off late on goals from Chris Brown and Dean Whitehead produced a good 2-0 win. Morgan was handed his debut in the centre of defence and the youngster performed well, showing every sign of settling in at his new team.

The visit of relegation threatened Doncaster degenerated into a niggling affair as the visitors tried to kick their way out of trouble and Archie watched Caldwell, Smith and Kneissl all limp off during the game. Unable to settle into an attacking rhythm the home side failed to find the net and recorded just their second draw of the season. As the transfer window came to a close Archie looked overseas to bring in a new midfielder, landing 22-year-old Norwegian Petter Vaagan Moen from Ham Kam for a £500K fee. His bid to bring Romanian Mihaita Plesan in floundered after his work permit application failed, much to Archie’s frustration. The manager also cashed in on two more players who would be otherwise be free agents in the summer, Dean Whitehead making a £65K move to Oxford and Neill Collins joining Brentford for a nominal fee.

On the last day of January the team travelled to Chesterfield minus Morris, who had a minor injury and Delaney, who was suspended. Moen made his debut and performed fairly well but the two key midfielders were clearly missed and Sunderland suffered just their second league defeat of the season, a first-half penalty doing the damage. Some deadline brinkmanship was required in the final few hours of January 31st as Archie landed another striker, beating off Sheffield United to sign Garry O’Connor from Hibs for a modest £275K. The fine form of Jody Morris was recognised as he lifted the Player of the Month award for January as he proved once again just what a good signing he had been for the club.

retired_amyslack

February began with a trip to Leyton Orient and Archie was able to field close to his first eleven for the match, the main absentee being left back Matt Richards. He had supplanted the departing Arca but had been out of action for several games. Once again the team fell behind from the penalty spot but this time they recovered, Elliott equalising before half time. Pahars shot them in front with 25 minutes remaining but the home side squared the game within minutes and Archie had to settle for a 2-2 draw.

Peter Taylor had his promotion chasing Hull side fired up for the visit of the champions elect the next weekend – perhaps too fired up as they had centre back Ronnie Wallwork sent off after just 6 minutes. Garry O’Connor scored the winner on his first start for his new club, showing composure and cool finishing to score on the stroke of half time. Only some heroics from on-loan keeper Carlo Nash kept the visitors at bay for the remainder of the game but Archie was nonetheless very satisfied with the win after Taylor’s provocative pre-match comments in the press.

On the Tuesday evening the Sunderland second string excelled in the 1st leg of the LDV Vans Trophy Northern Final by beating Chesterfield 4-0 at home. Archie was now so comfortable with his striking options that he paired Elliott and Kneissl up front and they provided three of the goals, midfielder Lawrence adding the 4th. With domestic transfer activity still permitted Archie allowed two more out of favour players to leave the club over the next couple of days. Liam Lawrence made a £325K move to Portsmouth and Matthew Piper joined Leicester for £70K. Archie was aware that he was leaving his midfield short of cover but felt that the offers were just too good to refuse for players that had no place in his plans.

In their next match visiting Grimsby were brushed aside as Archie’s team put in an excellent performance, taking a 4-0 lead into the break. Moen scored his first goal for the club and Pahars took the match ball home as well as the Man of the Match bubbly with his superb hat trick. They eased up a little in the second half and there was no further scoring, the defeat leaving their opponents precariously placed just outside the relegation zone.

Archie secured some midfield cover with a loan deal for Liverpool player Darren Potter, the Irish U21 international agreeing a three-month stint at the Stadium of Light. Jody Morris returned to action in the midweek game at Blackpool after a three-match layoff and he scored both goals in the 2-0 win. The visit of Oxford at the weekend resulted in yet another win for the Black Cats, the 5-0 scoreline underlining their dominance and guaranteeing them a minimum of a place in the playoffs. Young Potter came on as a substitute and scored with virtually his first touch of the ball, going on to net a second before the end. Pahars scored goal number 27, O’Connor made up for missing a penalty with a late goal and Davenport also scored, heading home the opening goal in the first half.

The final game in February saw Garry O’Connor set a new club record when he scored all four goals in the win at home to Bradford City. Moen was provider of three of the Scotsman’s strikes and Archie was pleased by how well he had settled into the side. Delaney put in another stellar display and his manager was by now fending off press speculation about the Irishman’s future almost every week.

For the first time since Archie’s arrival his club made a clean sweep of the monthly awards, Delaney and Smith on the playing front and Archie taking the managerial plaudits. Arsenal youngster Smith had enjoyed a fantastic month and Archie was seriously considering making an offer if Wenger was still thinking of parting with the 20 year old. As things turned out though the Arsenal boss decided to keep hold of the youngster, partly on the evidence of his form on loan.

At the beginning of March Archie took his team to face Sheffield Wednesday, a team that gobby scouser Paul Jewell had now taken up to second place in the table and his opposite number was keen to engage in a war of words. Petter Vaagan Moen was missing, out for several weeks with a groin strain so Ryan Smith returned to the starting eleven. Archie asked his players to do his talking for him on the pitch and they responded with another fine display, Morris and Pahars securing a 2-1 win that would have been by a greater margin but for an inspired home keeper. Not only did the win wipe the smile off Jewell’s fat face, it also secured promotion for Sunderland, ensuring that they would make an immediate return to the Championship.

Tuesday evening saw Archie’s team book their place in the LDV Vans Trophy final despite playing very poorly and losing 2-0 at Chesterfield. Their substantial lead from the first leg was still more than enough to face Watford in the grand final. The bad news was another injury to a midfielder, Darren Potter picking up a groin strain that would keep him out of action for several weeks.

Archie’s team took to the field at home to Luton knowing that a win could secure them the League One title. Another dominant display produced goals in each half from Delaney and O’Connor and the championship was duly secured. His team had now won 33 of their 38 games and had passed the 100-point mark, conceding just 12 goals along the way. The Mackems looked set to smash every record in the book for their division, such was their superiority.

With no real midfield cover due to the injuries to Potter and Moen, Archie resorted to another loan deal to plug the gap, 21-year-old Ben Watson coming in from Arsenal for the remainder of the season. A minor upset was on the cards the next weekend at home to York after the visitors, battling desperately to avoid relegation, looked to be hanging on for a surprise point. The home side went ahead though Garry O’Connor but some superb goalkeeping kept them at bay from there on and the visitors snatched a breakaway equaliser in the second half. But new boy Watson came off the bench to set up a late winner for Kneissl to dash their opponent’s hopes.

The team travelled to Colchester for a Monday evening game with Smith and Watson both absent with the England U21 squad and a patched-up side went into the final quarter of an hour a goal down after some profligate finishing by Archie’s strikers. A triple substitution turned things around and a late goal from Elliott secured a point. On the final day of March they were on the road again, a trip to the south coast this time to face Brighton. Another comfortable win was obtained with Pahars on target twice to reach the 30-goal mark for the season and strike partner O’Connor adding one of his own as they ran out 3-0 winners.

retired_amyslack

For the second month is succession the club made a clean sweep of the awards, Archie, Jody Morris and Ryan Smith all picking up the glory. It was clear that they would shatter all existing records for their division, such was the difference in quality between them and the rest of the field. Goals from Smith and O’Connor gave them a 2-0 win at home to Port Vale in their first league match in April as they continued to lay waste to the division. In midweek they made the trip to the new Wembley Stadium to contest the final of the LDV Vans Trophy and Archie kept faith with many of the players that had got them that far. Playing in front of a near-90,000 crowd didn’t seem to overawe the players and goals from Danny Collins and Marian Pahars gave them a 2-0 victory over Watford.

The already relegated MK Dons never looked like derailing the Sunderland bandwagon and goals from Pahars and Smith produced an extremely comfortable 2-0 win, the scorline only kept respectable by the excellence of youngster Michael Adams in goal for the home side. There had been some interesting managerial developments in the Premiership and during the next week both Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger and Liverpool supremo Rafa Benitez were dismissed. With Alex Ferguson having been sacked by Manchester United the previous October and former Premiership bosses David O’Leary, Steve Bruce, Mark Hughes, Alan Curbishley, Jose Mourinho, Chris Coleman, Steve McLaren and Graeme Souness all having moved on, the top division maintained its reputation for being the toughest in the world.

With three league matches to play visitors Hartlepool still had an outside chance of automatic promotion – until they were disposed of through goals from Pahars and O’Connor. Sheffield Wednesday confirmed their runners-up position with a win and Sunderland’s opponents had to be happy with a place in the playoffs. The trip to Bournemouth for their final game in April and the penultimate match of the season, was made without top scorer Pahars who had been injured in training. Archie’s team breezed to another very easy win, Kneissl scoring twice with Smith, O’Connor and Delaney providing the remaining goals in our 5-0 victory.

As it turned out, Pahars had played his last game of the season for his team, his injury not having cleared up in time for the visit of Swansea. The home side took the lead early through Delaney but the visitors achieved the rare distinction of scoring against the Black Cats, just the 15th goal that they had conceded during their entire league programme. Normal service was restored just before half time through captain Caldwell and substitute Elliott wrapped up his team’s 40th league win of the season shortly before full time.

With their season over Archie could reflect on is team’s achievements – their domination in the league had been total and frankly had come as a surprise to the rookie manager. He was absolutely delighted with how the majority of his key players had performed, their effectiveness underlined by the official statistics from Opta.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Name | Apps | Gls | Ast | MoM | Pas | Tck | Drb | Sh T | Av Rat| | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Ryan Smith | 18 (2)| 3 | 9 | 5 | 78% | 2.68 | 2.56 | 40% | 8.20 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Garry O'Connor | 15 (1)| 12 | 4 | 3 | 85% | 0.61 | 3.62 | 65% | 8.13 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Damien Delaney | 46 | 9 | 23 | 12 | 78% | 2.29 | 3.17 | 31% | 8.07 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Jody Morris | 47 (1)| 14 | 26 | 10 | 84% | 1.06 | 0.86 | 42% | 8.00 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Petter Vaagan Moen | 6 (2) | 1 | 4 | - | 81% | 1.94 | 3.06 | 39% | 8.00 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Matt Richards | 26 | - | - | - | 81% | 1.84 | 0.97 | - | 7.81 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Stephen Wright | 46 | - | 3 | - | 77% | 2.68 | 1.17 | - | 7.61 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Darren Potter | 3 (4) | 2 | 4 | - | 86% | 2.80 | 2.29 | - | 7.57 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Joey Gudjonsson | 47 (6)| 2 | 8 | 1 | 80% | 3.34 | 0.44 | 50% | 7.57 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Calum Davenport | 48 | 4 | - | - | 79% | 2.75 | 0.25 | 59% | 7.56 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Marian Pahars | 41 (2)| 33 | 12 | 2 | 80% | 0.73 | 2.33 | 63% | 7.56 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Stephen Elliott | 29 (7)| 18 | 10 | 4 | 84% | 0.71 | 2.45 | 63% | 7.50 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Ben Watson | 1 (1) | - | 2 | - | 85% | 2.43 | 1.62 | - | 7.50 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Morten Wieghorst | 14 (5)| 1 | 3 | 1 | 81% | 2.61 | 0.34 | 45% | 7.42 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Sebastien Kneissl | 13 (5)| 9 | 1 | 1 | 83% | 0.47 | 1.56 | 58% | 7.33 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Stephen Caldwell | 44 (1)| 3 | 1 | 1 | 79% | 1.73 | 0.25 | 43% | 7.31 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Terry Bartlett | 13 | - | - | - | 65% | 2.87 | 0.44 | - | 7.31 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Danny Collins | 11 | 1 | - | - | 71% | 1.80 | 0.51 | - | 7.27 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Julio Arca | 30 (5)| 1 | 5 | 1 | 77% | 2.22 | 1.82 | 33% | 7.20 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | George McCartney | 16 (1)| - | 1 | - | 75% | 2.93 | 0.18 | - | 7.18 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Michael Bridges | 12 (6)| 4 | - | 1 | 82% | 0.34 | 1.78 | 72% | 7.17 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Wes Morgan | 6 (1) | - | - | - | 82% | 1.94 | 0.65 | - | 7.14 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Radek Cerny | 43 | - | - | 1 | 59% | - | - | - | 7.12 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Julián Speroni | 16 (1)| - | - | 1 | 60% | - | - | - | 7.00 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Chris Brown | 5 (4) | 3 | - | - | 85% | 1.01 | 1.17 | 58% | 6.89 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>
He was pleased with all of the new signings that he had made and it was the contribution of those players that had propelled the team to such heights – and the decision to move Damien Delaney into midfield he also reminded himself. Pahars’ 33 goals set a new club record and was the highest in the division, eight of their players were ranked in the top 15 for League One and three of them featured in the divisional select team and the departed Carl Robinson won goal of the season for a long range free kick against Luton back in November. There were no arguments when Archie collected his Manager of the Season award either, his peers recognising just how much he had achieved, as the league table amply demonstrated.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pos | Inf | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | C | SUNDERLAND | 46 | 40 | 4 | 2 | 107 | 15 | +92 | 124 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | P | Sheff Wed | 46 | 27 | 13 | 6 | 83 | 37 | +46 | 94 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | P | Plymouth | 46 | 26 | 11 | 9 | 77 | 39 | +38 | 89 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Hartlepool | 46 | 24 | 11 | 11 | 67 | 41 | +26 | 83 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Rotherham | 46 | 25 | 6 | 15 | 81 | 49 | +32 | 81 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Hull | 46 | 23 | 10 | 13 | 82 | 58 | +24 | 79 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Watford | 46 | 20 | 15 | 11 | 58 | 40 | +18 | 75 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Swansea | 46 | 20 | 12 | 14 | 67 | 54 | +13 | 72 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Luton | 46 | 18 | 14 | 14 | 65 | 49 | +16 | 68 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Walsall | 46 | 17 | 16 | 13 | 69 | 63 | +6 | 67 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Oxford | 46 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 48 | 60 | -12 | 63 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Chesterfield | 46 | 15 | 17 | 14 | 55 | 58 | -3 | 62 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Colchester | 46 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 56 | 60 | -4 | 61 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Bradford City | 46 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 45 | 56 | -11 | 61 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Brighton | 46 | 13 | 16 | 17 | 54 | 64 | -10 | 55 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Doncaster | 46 | 14 | 11 | 21 | 55 | 67 | -12 | 53 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Leyton Orient | 46 | 14 | 11 | 21 | 52 | 64 | -12 | 53 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Huddersfield | 46 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 51 | 67 | -16 | 52 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | Bournemouth | 46 | 12 | 10 | 24 | 59 | 91 | -32 | 46 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | | Blackpool | 46 | 11 | 10 | 25 | 52 | 77 | -25 | 43 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 21st | R | Grimsby | 46 | 12 | 6 | 28 | 52 | 80 | -28 | 42 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 22nd | R | Port Vale | 46 | 9 | 14 | 23 | 42 | 82 | -40 | 41 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 23rd | R | York | 46 | 8 | 10 | 28 | 39 | 81 | -42 | 34 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 24th | R | MK Dons | 46 | 4 | 7 | 35 | 20 | 84 | -64 | 19 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>
And so Archibald Jones looked back on a most successful season with a deal of satisfaction but was acutely aware that the real test was yet to come. For in the future he would be judged on his ability to restore the Mackems where they belonged – the Premiership!

retired_brianrt

well done on the promotion bob. The championship should be no trouble