Roker Report were saddened to learn of David Young’s passing earlier in the month, so for our latest ‘On This Day’ feature we have decided to look at the context surrounding a game where the Sunderland
defender excelled…
Given the FA Cup exploits that soon followed it is easy to forget that Bob Stokoe’s initial target when appointed as Sunderland manager in late 1972 was to steer the club away from the danger of relegation. It is understandable of course that once the cup run started gathering pace ties against some of the big boys took most of the focus, but in the background league form remained important and slowly but surely the new gaffer dragged the Lads up the Division Two table.
The improvements were due mainly to Stokoe getting the best out of the players already at the club, but he did look to bring a couple of new faces into the mix as well and in January brought three new buys into the group having used the spare time on his hands due a flu enforced string of match postponements to dip into the transfer market. First through the door was David Young, who was soon followed by his ex Newcastle United teammate Ron Gurthie, two solid performers that were expected to help tighten things up, whilst the search for attacking reinforcements continued a while longer after serious interest in striker John O’Hare was rebuffed.
Ironically, Guthrie’s arrival was delayed due to him also suffering with illness, but Young quickly settled in – his old gaffer at St James’ Park Joe Harvey being happy to let him move on for a knock down price as a thank you for his service on Tyneside (and not, presumably, because Harvey had been best man at Stokoe’s wedding!). Comfortable in both defence and midfield, this flexibility later secured Young’s spot on the bench in the cup final and was a big talking point prior to his debut, with Stokoe thought to be considering him as a sweeper. In the end he opted to hand his new recruit a more traditional role at centre back and the outcome proved him right – Young helping earn a clean sheet as Sunderland swept Brighton & Hove Albion aside 4-0.
It was the first home win in over three months and with Young appearing cool and composed his presence was said to have raised the levels of some of the less experienced players around him. A 14-day signing rule meant that he then had to sit out the first few games of the cup adventure, but back in the league he impressed again during a draw at Swindon Town and then retained his place for a crucial game with Millwall that took place on this day. Joining him in the starting XI meanwhile was John ‘Yogi’ Hughes, brother of crowd favourite Billy, who had been brought in from Crystal Palace.
Stokoe had perhaps guessed that his old adversary Brian Clough would want to veto any approaches to Nottingham Forest for ex Roker man O’Hare, and upon learning that ex Celtic hero Yogi was keen to get back north moved his attentions to the big man (hence his nickname, in reference to the cartoon character Yogi Bear). Making his debut four days later his playing career was about to come to an abrupt stop, whereas Young gave another commanding display.
The first half saw the Lads and Lions going back and forth at each other with both defences being put under extreme pressure. With Young refusing to let his side crack though, the hosts were able to hang onto another clean sheet and then make the most of that foundation with two goals after the break. The first goal came moments after the restart and was from Dennis Tueart, who collected a pass from Yogi and struck a ferocious drive into the corner, with Bobby Kerr getting the clincher when Tueart turned provider with eight minutes to go.
It had been tense at points and it was just as well that Young did such a good job, for Millwall did have their moments even after they had gone behind, yet the one time they thought they had got through – Alan Dorney putting the ball into the net – Roy Keane’s would be pal Eamon Dunphy was adjusted to have been offside. It was a tight call admittedly, and would have no doubt been discussed at length in the queues for FA Cup 4th round tickets that began to form around the ground immediately after full time.
The points that had just been won and the continuation of an encouraging unbeaten run that was forming under the new management would have also been part of the wider conversation, and it’s highly likely that Yogi would have been spoken about too, as whilst he was already known to be cup tied and would therefore be ineligible to play against Charlie Hurley’s Reading, he had shown some nice touches and seemed promising. His signature had attracted the largest league gate on Wearside for over a year, and initial match reports backed up the feeling that he had played well, but little did people know that following a tackle only seconds after kick-off he was already feeling a problem in his knee that would actually make this his swansong. There was no obvious indication even of him even having an issue at first however, and it was midweek before the local press found that fluid had since formed on his knee since and he would therefore be seeing the club doctor.
A seemingly innocuous niggle at first, the story only really began to pick up pace in the period that followed. Even when Vic Halom was signed in February to partly act as cover the general feeling was that Yogi would be back in another couple of weeks, and so it came as a huge surprise when at the end of March the club accepted medical advice that he would not be able to play again. The issue having grown steadily worse since the Millwall date seemingly, Stokoe when confirming the news was clearly very disappointed but assured Hughes that his contract would still be honoured.
As for Young, he too suffered a setback in the next league fixture when he badly sprained his ankle away at Sheffield Wednesday. The issue led to Richie Pitt’s loan at Arsenal being terminated after only three days, but whilst that saw him taking over in the cup side Young, once fully fit again, continued to be an important part of the league team that eventually finished 1972-73 in sixth place – an incredible achievement in itself given that they were hovering near the bottom when he debuted.
He then started the following campaign as a first choice and featured in all four of Sunderland’s European Cup Winners Cup outings before moving on to Charlton Athletic in 1974. A promotion winner with the Addicks and then Southend United also, Young evidently took the same level of know-how with him to those two clubs that he had shown on Wearside previously. Although he then settled down south and worked in sport centre management after retiring from playing, he often returned to the area to meet his old Roker teammates and alongside them was awarded the Freedom of the City of Sunderland in 2022.
Saturday 27 January 1973
Football League Division Two
Sunderland 2 (Tueart 49’, Kerr 81’) – Millwall 0
Sunderland: Montgomery; Malone, Watson, Young, Guthrie; B Hughes, Kerr, Horswill, Porterfield, Tueart; J Hughes Unused: Pitt
Roker Park, attendance 22,781
