1992 may have been deemed Queen Elizabeth II’s infamous annus horribilis, but for Sunderland’s own head of state it was the year before that looked like it would take its toll.
Bob Murray, later to become CBE in the 2003 New Year Honours and a Sir in the Queen’s own 2010 Birthday Honours, endured a testing start to his Sunderland chairmanship when he became SAFC owner in the 1980s and the problems followed him into the next decade too, with another relegation on the pitch and a bitter power battle
off it draining much of his energy in 1991.
The settlement of a high-profile court case in the summer regarding his shareholdings may have gone in his favour and allowed him to now look towards the future at least, but that too caused headaches, with historical financial restraints on Wearside and the fact the wider game was going through an identity crisis both making it hard to breath new life into the club.
Murray’s big hope was that a stadium move would transform Sunderland, but having grown up going to Roker Park himself he knew that in addition to it being a major undertaking any switch would be a hugely emotional issue too. That said, the reaction he got from some quarters of the fanbase was even more vehement than he had imagined, and as the year drew to a close the battle lines were being drawn up once more.
You always know things are going wrong at a football club when it starts to appear on the front page of the newspapers almost as often as it does the sports sections, and on the 7th of December The Echo’s chief football writer Geoff Storey, by now used to covering the various boardroom strife, was once again forced to swap team news and the like for a lead story on page one, the headline for which was simply ‘The Fight For Roker’.
In pure footballing terms, that evening’s Sport Echo seemed to sum the general state of play up perfectly – that afternoon the Lads lost to Wolverhampton Wanderers in calamitous fashion having had two players sent off if the opening ten minutes of the game, whilst plenty of other space in the paper was dedicated to the shock recent dismissal of popular assistant Viv Busby, a situation that whilst created by manager Denis Smith only added to Murray’s woes.
The Wolves match was meant to have been a new start, with Malcom Crosby having stepped into Busby’s role and record signing Don Goodman making his bow at Molineux. That it instead became the latest example of ‘Typical Sunderland’ only increased the amount of frustration being felt both in the boardroom and on the terraces, and with the relationship between the club’s hierarchy and its supporters already strained, this was the last thing anybody needed.
For some, sorting immediate results felt more pressing than anything else, particularly now that it was clear that any chance of a quick return to Division I was fading quickly. Murray meanwhile was firm in his belief that long term success could only be reached if the club was overhauled from the ‘ground’ up, and that is why he had featured in the regular weekend edition of the paper in the first place, following the launch of a new group hoping to force Sunderland to remain at Roker Park.
The ’fight’ had prompted local businessman Terry Scott to gather up like minded fans and form The Roker Supporters Trust Ltd, who then distributed leaflets to the travelling red and white army ahead of kick-off at Wolves. Worried that fans would not be consulted over plans for a rumoured new 40,000 stadium that estimates suggested would cost around £50 million, the group’s stated aims were to gather more information on the proposals from those in charge, whilst also setting up a fully independent feasibility study into the possibility of staying put and instead redeveloping the club’s current Roker base.
Vice-chairman Graham Wood had already been tasked with such an undertaking, yet as Scott outlined to Storey, there seemed to be some doubts about whether this was ever going to be a genuine consideration:
“From what I understand the club is more interested in moving than preserving and updating what after all is our heritage.”
“Other big clubs like Arsenal, Tottenham and Everton have no better access than Roker Park. Yet they have developed their grounds and have no intentions of moving.
“But our directors would prefer to move to some desolate greenfield site near Washington which will be almost totally funded by grants. This is a preposterous proposal.
“I know from speaking to different architects that Roker Park can de developed into at least a 30,000 all-seater stadium.”
Scott also hoped that the public would be given the chance to buy shares in the club, and at first it looked as if the group were getting some traction, for in the days that followed Sunderland AFC did promise a referendum before any final decisions were made. The timeframe for this however, expected to be some time in March when full plans for the scheme were due to be unveiled, suggested that this was always going to be on the cards anyway, with a defiant Murray expressing, again to a busy Geoff Storey, that he had said “a referendum will take place and it will do so at the appropriate moment.”
“We have got to give the fans the facts” he continued
“But what we have been very keen not to do is put plans on the table of location, capacities and models. We have steered clear from that. The fans will be informed by mail and other means, and if at the end they say no, then there is no need to do anything. We are taking about land we don’t currently own so we are putting the cart before the horse.”
With Sunderland potentially seeking contributions from the FA Murray also confirmed during his statement on the 10th that he was open to the possibility of a ground share even, although in reality this merely lip service to strengthen their case should a bid for monies be lodged. As for the more realistic desire to either improve or move, he continued:
“I am 50-50 at the moment about moving from Roker Park. The more I see of it, the more I get excited about it.”
“The stadium is 90 years old. What people have to realise is we are patching and mending all the time. We are replacing bolts and washers – it’s an ongoing thing. We have safety meetings every month.”
Key to Murray’s argument was his concern that if capacity at Roker Park was slashed to around 17,000, as it seemed might be the case, it would be hard for the club to make ends meet. Playing at a new site off the A19 Hylton Bridge was thought to be the preference of his board members, but Scott and his Trust saw things differently – they were due to hold an inaugural meeting the following day but prior to that responded to the latest developments:
“The club can’t replace the supporters.”
“We are the lifeblood of the club and without us they cant survive.”
“What the club is doing is totally illogical, why spend all this money on feasibility studies and meetings if they say they are going to hold a referendum?”
“The chairman has the choice to become a hero or the villain.
“He has the goodwill of the supporters at the moment, but he won’t if he goes against their wishes.
“If the decision to modernise the ground is favourable, then it should be done as quickly as possible.
“We would propose moving to somewhere like Gateshead Stadium for a season to complete the work instead of what some other clubs have done.
“We will distribute leaflets at Saturday’s home game against Leicester City informing supporters what we plan to do.”
Following these quotes it was felt by some readers that the Trust were already moving the goalposts somewhat, with some of the submissions into the vibrant ‘Your Letters’ section of the Sports Echo in the coming weeks keenly pointing out that this group did not speak on the behalf of all fans. When the party released their own plans in March 1992 showing how they felt Roker could look, the club dismissed them as ‘impractical’, with the need to excavate five metres below current ground level to prevent the redesigned stands from dwarfing neighbouring residential properties proving to be a major drawback.
Nevertheless, the Trust remained a prominent voice throughout the stadium debate, as did Gary Stevens, who by created the Independent Sunderland Fans Organisation and by 1995 was the Chairman of the Supporters Liasion Group. Whilst recognising the efforts of the Trust, Stevens was in favour of a move to a newly purpose-built home and often represented the other side of the ‘should we stay or should we go’ argument.
The Clash of opinions was something Murray had to pick his way through whilst planning Sunderland’s next steps. At least he had highlights during 1992 with the Lads reaching the FA Cup final amidst the backdrop of uncertainty, and it was of course the year that the Queen herself bestowed city status on Sunderland – one of her more enjoyable moments during the 12 months presumably.
The rebrand helped put the old town back on the map and in time so would Murray, as once a resolution was found and the Stadium of Light completed in 1997, one of his own crowning glories was finally complete.
