Points: 47 Appearances: 407 Goals: 17

Forget his crap last couple of seasons, Mickey Gray was a cracking little player for Sunderland. Beginning his Sunderland career on the left wing, Mickey soon demonstrated his repertoire of tricks. However, during the relegation season of 96/97, Reidy moved the floppy haired youngster to left back to accommodate Chrissy Waddle. The following season, Micky formed a magic partnership down the left wing with Allan Johnston. Despite missing the crucial play-off penalty at the end of the season, Mickey's career or haircut didn't suffer either. Equipped with a new bleached blonde look, Mickey continued to frighten defenders both in Division 1 and then the Premiership. He even got on the international scene, with 3 caps won under Keegan's ill-fated reign.

Pts: 48 Apps: 332 Goals: 82

In delivering the corner from which Ian Porterfield won the FA Cup, Billy Hughes placed himself in Sunderland immortality. A tricky pacey forward, Billy made his debut for Sunderland at just 18, and quickly established himself as a first team regular. In tandem with Dennis Tueart, Hughes had the ability to terrorise defences. During the '73 cup run, Hughes scored twice in the 5th round replay against Man City and then again in the semi-final against Arsenal, he scored the second and crucial goal. Hughes won one cap for Scotland, and was still a crucial Sunderland player in 1976, when Sunderland won the 2nd Division title.

Pts: 49 Apps: 232 Goals: 128

Where to start? SuperKev had so many glorious moments in a Sunderland shirt, that it is very difficult to summarize his career in red and white. Think of the goal in the rain at St James'; the belters to seize both promotion and the title at Bury and Barnsley; or the banana shot from about 375 yards at the SoL against Chelsea. Perhaps the most beautiful moment though, was the 2-2 comeback against the Mags at the SoL in 99/00. On scoring his second, Phillips ran to the North East corner and tried to do a sort of forward flip thing before being engulfed by a sea of ecstatic red and white bodies...priceless! The only blemish? She-Ra and Kaygoon combining to thwart his England career, and not even appearing at Euro 2000 after he had just scored 7 trillion goals in the Premiership.

Pts: 49 Apps: 112 Goals: 6

Sandy McNab was a Scottish international defender who was blessed with the kind of ginger hair that only Chris Lumsdon could talk about. Despite never being a regular in the side, Sandy played a leading role in two of the club’s greatest successes. He was on the pitch for the Championship clincher in 1936, and replaced injured captain Alex Hastings in the 1937 Cup Final. In 1938, Sunderland felt confident enough to let McNab go after West Brom came in with a £7,000 offer.

Pts: 50 Apps: 447 Goals: 35

The only player to have captained Sunderland, Newcastle and Middlesbrough, Stan Anderson was a right-half who loved to begin attacks from defence. With a unique crouched running style and a standard of passing that David Beckham would envy, Stan was a natural who inevitably went on to gain international honours with England. Horden-born Stan left Sunderland for Newcastle in 1963 after making nearly 450 appearances for the Lads. After two years at Sid James Park, Stan moved to the Boro as a player-coach. He was appointed manager of the Smogs in 1966, and gained promotion from Division 3 in his second season.

Pts: 50 Apps: 272 Goals: 44

Defenders who take penalties are usually rather good at them. Think about Martin Scott ending Sunderland’s appalling penalty record in 95/96, with his clean left-footed missiles rocketing into the bottom corner. Billy Clunas was so good at penalties that Raich Carter reckoned he was the best he had ever seen. Missing only two penalties at Roker throughout his career, Clunas was Sunderland’s undisputed right half throughout the 20s. A Scottish international, Clunas possessed excellent all-round ability, and particularly excelled in his distribution from defence.

Pts: 50 Apps: 227 Goals: 46

Joint top scorer in the 1902 Championship season with 10 goals, Jimmy Gemmell was an inside forward who was remarkably consistent. Gemmell was similar to Eric Gates, but didn’t suffer from the disadvantage of a crap mullet, or having to spend 5 days a week with MacDonald and Slaven. Just like Gates, Gemmell was a quality finisher who linked up effectively with his teammates. Gemmell played for Sunderland in two spells, with a three-season spell at Leeds sandwiched between.

Pts: 51 Apps: 228 Goals: 38

Signed from Aberdeen in 1907, Harry Low was a left half who was a regular in the 1913 championship season. Harry was an ever present during the campaign, and was on the losing side in the FA Cup final, which cost Sunderland the Double. Perhaps Harry’s greatest virtue was his loyalty to the club. This was fantastically demonstrated in the 1913 Cup semi-final replay against Newcastle. Harry had been called up to the Scotland squad for a friendly against Ireland in Dublin. He pulled out of the squad though, and played against the Mags, where Sunderland won 3-2. Unfortunately he was never called up for international football again.

Pts: 51 Apps: 328 Goals: 0

As player and manager, Bill Murray served the club for a total of 28 years. A stylish right back, Murray was signed from Cowdenbeath for £8,000 in 1927 and settled quickly in to the hugely successful Sunderland team of the inter-war years. A League Championship winner in 1936, Murray left the club the following season to return to Scotland. However, in 1939, Murray returned to the club to succeed Johnny Cochrane as manager. Murray’s team played attractive football with quality players such as Len Shackleton and Stan Anderson. Murray was forced to resign in 1957 though, over accusations of illegal payments to players.