Having flattered to deceive throughout his tenure, and with rumours of widespread player rancour constantly circulating, it came as no surprise that Sunderland manager Ian McColl failed to see out the full 1967/1968 campaign.
Indiscipline and tension often seemed to be hanging over the club during his reign, and whilst there was the occasional flash of promise to temporarily lift spirits, even these began to dry up towards the end, and that was when the board of directors were forced to consider their
options.
Their solution, unsurprisingly, was to relive McColl of his duties, and yet there was an element of irony to it all as the season during which the axe fell was also the one that he’d started in the best form.
An impressive opening day draw at Leeds United and a win over Everton a week later — which ended with the Lads in their highest league position under McColl as they momentarily stood second in the table — sandwiched the midweek visit to Roker Park of Fulham that took place on this day.
The news before kick off was that star striker Neil Martin would be back in the team following a bout of tonsilitis and that was certainly a boost to his colleagues, who built on their Elland Road display with another high-power performance.
It was Martin that got the first goal of the evening shortly before the break when he was fouled thirty yards out. The resulting free kick was lofted into the box by Jim Baxter for Martin to head in and give Sunderland a deserved lead, the strike coming after a period of intense pressure that Fulham were partially to blame for starting in the first place.
An early burst of pushing and shoving not only resulted in Allan Clarke being cautioned but visibly riled the hosts, who used their anger to push themselves on and play a authoritative and attacking style of football.
Goalkeeper Ian Seymour had to be at his best to stop Sunderland scoring earlier than they did, but once the second half began the barrage continued and both Colin Suggett and Ralph Brand were able to beat him at the Fulwell End.
Suggett’s goal came from twelve yards out when he was first to react to a block from John Dempsey, whilst Brand was able to find the target once George Herd had thwarted a Fulham move and kick started a swift counterattack.
Brand, making his home debut having recently joined from Manchester City, had looked sharp throughout, with John Parke and captain George Kinnell also being singled out for praise in the following day’s local press coverage.
The man that got the most the column inches however was Baxter, who was dismissed midway through the second half after tangling once more with Mark Pearson, with whom he had been engaged in a running battle all night. The latest spat prompted a wider brawl between the two sets of players, and the end result was that both Baxter and youngster Terry Parmenter were ordered off for their part in the fracas.
Sunderland had been the better side when it was eleven vs eleven, and once it was ten vs ten, they remained on top, with their hard work amid a rare period of squad harmony being enough to see them past their West London opponents.
It was in the return match in the capital though, after the encouraging opening trio of outings, that the Lads lost their unbeaten tag, and whilst the initial reaction to defeat at Craven Cottage was strong, the performances thereafter proved to be the beginning of the end for McColl.
With an unhappy camp and a slide down the table to contend with, the powers that be knew that now was the time, and he was relieved of his duties in February 1968.
Saturday 23 August 1967
Football League Division One
Roker Park
Attendance: 30,692
Sunderland 3 (Martin 42’, Suggett 65’, Brand 80’. Baxter sent off 70’)
Fulham 0
Sunderland: Montgomery; Irwin, Parke, Todd; Kinnell, Baxter, Herd; Suggett, Martin (Heslop 84’), Brand; Mulhall.
