A strange choice to kick off proceedings, I hear you cry. The rock star's inclusion owes much to one single incident, a common theme in the study. It wasn't the fact that he is an avid Sunderland fan, nor has had any on the field footballing connections with the club. It all harps back to one of Bowie's tours in the 1986/87 relegation season, when his road show hit Roker Park. A world music icon in Sunderland, his first words...'Good evening Newcastle'. Cue bottles of Lager.

The second participant in our hall of fame is one of Sunderland's sporting sons. Billy Hardy is easily the North East region's biggest boxing star produced in modern times. The Ginger warrior's notable achievement in my eyes, in terms of craziness, was entering the same boxing ring as Prince Naseem Hamed. To do it wearing the Red and White striped shorts of Sunderland was sheer class. Top lad.

Mr. Discopants is more akin to landing the top slots in most fans charts when it comes to his on and off field honors for the club and city. On this occasion the Irish legend is near the rear end of the list, his common sense approach most likely outshining most of his foes in this pile. Quinny's status in the poll reflecting one aspect of football madness. It can only be his re-enactment of Superman at Bradford, as Niall now covering for the concussed Thomas Sorensen in goal, attempted to claim a cross, missed the ball and probably Einstein's theory of gravity to produce a moment of comical genius.

The gifted ball juggling, greased up football magician was only at the club for a short period in his soccer road show career. None the less his place is guaranteed based on his mad carnation milk comb over, coupled with the trademark Mexican gunslinger moustache. Pair these two trends of fashion wank together and it's almost certain that something out of the ordinary occurred in Annabels or Fifth Avenue in the mid eighties.

Son of Man City playmaker Mike, Winterwasp lived with the burden of filling his father's boots constantly. The ex-Swindon winger still possessed a right foot with more verve than Beckham, with the randomness of Gascoigne. More than a cog in the wheel of the record breaking promotion side of 1999, Summerbee loved the game and the high life rewards it brought. The man with the hardest shot in football was synonymous with crosses as with his flamboyance off the pitch. Reportedly had his own taxi driver one night arriving on the lash from Durham to Sunderland, to Newcastle, back to Durham, then onto Sunderland again. His SAFC career ended abruptly after a falling out with Peter Reid. The rumours were rife, with over-social indulgence a key ingredient.

Dubbed the son of Pele, Smithy certainly had the skills to grace any Wearside Hall of Fame. On this occasion though, the ex-Monkey House pupil appears here courtesy of an act of balls and lunacy towards the dark side, lodged up the road in the same season as the lads had triumphed 2-1, Smithy was plying his trade for Sheffield United in a FA Cup tie. Unfortunately for him, he was on the wrong side of a 4-1 defeat. Coupled with the fact that he was substituted in front of barcodes barracking him on the score line, with chants of 'Mackem what's the score?' reverberating around his bonce, the Smithmeister gave a hand signal of 2-1...of course.

Like the previous entry in this chart dedicated to the asylum, Superkev's brief flirtation with all things crazy heavily relies on a confrontation with all things black and white. The event occurs in the 2001/02 season, when Phillips does what every Mackem dreams of and scores in front of the Gallowgate. To round things off SuperKev wheels out the two fingered salute, incensing the enemy beyond belief. Pure magic.

Some observers amongst you may think we are being prejudice towards our North East neighbours and you'd be correct. To reinforce this attitude, the next candidate is another Geordie wind up merchant. This time it's the turn of Don 'sell me own granny' Hutchison. The former black and white fan, rubbed it in their faces, as he jumped, danced and berated his own kind, after scoring for us on Derby day. He then repeated the same feat, this time in the colours of West Ham. A quality act of balls, or pure crackpot stupidity?

In the early years of his Sunderland career, Mickey Gray's main contribution to Wearside folklore was mainly to do with one way conversations with Annabel's bouncers. Regularly seen more lagered up than Frank Gallagher from Shameless, Castletown's finest's other famous conversation came with referee Graham Poll. Incensed at an earlier handball incident, which had led to a goal for Man United at the SOL, Gray immediately hauled back the man in black to vent his disgust at such a decision. Not one to mince his words, Poll was called a 'Cheating c**t' and Mickey was sent off.