SUNDERLAND'S GLORY DAY

COLIN ALLAN REVISITS A FAMOUS FA CUP FINAL FROM HALF A CENTURY AGO...

- COLIN ALLAN

BOOKIES had quoted odds of 250-1 on Sunderland winning the 1973 FA Cup final.

After all, it had been 42 years since a Second Division side had lifted the famous trophy, when West Bromwich Albion beat Birmingham City 2-1 back in 1931.

Furthermore, the team from Wearside faced a star-studded Leeds United side packed with international players.

Don Revie’s Leeds were one of Europe’s top teams. They were the reigning FA Cup holders, had won the league title in 1969 and been runners-up in the next three seasons.

And yet Sunderland could not be dismissed so easily. The club’s fortunes had been transformed by the appointment of Bob Stokoe as their manager in the previous November.

Not only had they climbed up the Second Division under his tutelage but they could boast two Division One scalps on their great run to the final.

Sunderland had beaten Manchester City in the sixth round (quarter-finals) and Arsenal in the semi-final at Hillsborough.

Stokoe had rekindled Sunderland’s long-held dream of cup success (they had won the trophy in 1937) and gained hero status at the club’s Roker Park ground.

Yet when Stokoe took over attendances for league games had slumped to around 12,000. The club seemed in decline.

But Stokoe held a footballing status. He had played for Newcastle United in the 1955 final when the Geordies had beaten Manchester City (whose side included the aforementioned Revie).

His no-nonsense style and ability to foster a great club spirit gave Sunderland belief as they prepared to face the might of Leeds United.