It might only have been four months since Sunderland took on Liverpool at Wembley in the FA Cup final and five league games into the new season, but the dark clouds were already gathering over Roker Park and manager Malcolm Crosby.
The summer of 1992 was a chance to reset and ride the positivity that an FA Cup final appearance brings, but it didn’t turn out like that.
On returning from the capital after Sunderland’s defeat to Liverpool, captain Paul Bracewell collected his post that included a new
one-year offer from the club. As captain and a first-choice midfielder who made 49 appearances the previous season, he thought the request of a two-year contract was reasonable, but the club disagreed.
The former Everton and England man was then out of contract, resulting in his name being circulated on a list sent to other clubs, including Kevin Keegan up the road. We ended up losing our captain for £250,000 to Newcastle United after a tribunal – which was a nice way to begin the summer.
Paul Hardyman then left for a similar amount after falling out with Crosby following his omission from the side that took to the pitch at Wembley.
It should be remembered that twelve months earlier, Sunderland were one of the favourites to be promoted to the top-flight for an immediate return following relegation. But Crosby was only able to add winger John Colquhoun, Shaun Cunnington and Terry Butcher on a free transfer to improve the squad in the summer, and a heavy defeat by Spurs in the City celebration game leading into the opening game didn’t help.
On this day in 1992, Sunderland had climbed to 14th in the Division One table after a win at Oxford United in the fifth league game of the season, but rumours of multiple strikers potentially leaving the club were the main headlines following the game.
Although he was injured, West Ham were linked with potentially making a move for cup-hero John Byrne, and Don Goodman was seemingly watched by a different club in each game he played for Sunderland.
There were constant rumours that Leeds United were tracking Goodman, but on this day in 1992, Derby County were rumoured to be setting up a swap deal that involved Roker star Marco Gabbiadini.
The former Sunderland striker was out of favour at the Baseball Ground as Derby struggled to live up to their tag of promotion favourites, and Crosby was forced to talk about the rumours:
Nobody from Derby has been in touch with me. I want to keep Don and, if an offer did come in, I would recommend that we turn it down. Don is a big asset to the club. He knows and I know he can do better but at Oxford I thought, at times, he did very well. A goal won’t come amiss for him, but you can’t knock him down. I would like to keep him.
Another striker potentially leaving Roker was Peter Davenport, who had submitted a written transfer request 48 hours earlier. Crosby’s reaction to the request was to recommend to the board that his availability should be circulated and to not stand in his way if an acceptable bid was received:
I can maybe understand why he has asked for a move. He is not getting a regular game. I wouldn’t stand in his way if we receive an acceptable offer because he has been very patient. At the end of the day we have got to listen to offers so that we can create openings for the likes of Craig Russell and one or two other younger players to come through.
The striker also commented on the events of the past few days following Sunderland’s win at the Manor Ground:
I have not rushed into anything. I had a chat with the manager a couple of weeks ago and at least now my feelings are out in the open. The club will have to circulate my name a bit more. I feel I have a lot to offer somebody. I would like to do it here but that no longer seems to be the case. I want to play first team football.
Crosby was also on the lookout for a new midfielder to add to the squad and was quizzed about multiple players that assistant manager Bobby Ferguson had been sent on scouting missions to run the rule over. First on the list was Watford’s Sunderland-born midfielder Gary Porter:
We rang Watford, but they could not say if Porter was going to be in the side, so I did not bother going. I remember that he had a great game against us last season.
Then there was the duo at Norwich, Ian Crook and Jeremy Goss, who were also looked at:
Bobby just went to have a look. I’m not thinking of making a bid for either of them. Both are in the Norwich team and play in well for a side that are top of the Premier Division. I’ve heard about their interest in Gordon Armstrong, even though no one has contacted me, so we decided to see what they have got.
Last on the list was Wolves’ midfielder Paul Cook:
He prefers to play wide on the left and I’m looking for someone in the centre of midfield. But he’s a good player.
I probably don’t have to point out that there were no new signings until later in the season – when Crosby was no longer manager of Sunderland.
