- Niall Quinn
Niall John Quinn (Honorary) MBE (b. October 6, 1966 in Dublin, Ireland) is a former Irish international footballer, and the current chairman of Sunderland FC. He is also heavily involved in the management side of horse racing.
- Peter Reid
Peter Reid (born June 20, 1956 in Whiston, Knowsley, Lancashire (Now Merseyside) is an English former professional football player, manager and pundit. In his playing career Reid played for Bolton Wanderers, Everton and QPR, as well as representing his country, after which he managed Manchester City, Sunderland, Leeds and Coventry. He currently works as a TV pundit and as a football agent.
- Michael Chopra
Michael Chopra (born 23 December 1983 in Newcastle upon Tyne) is an English footballer playing professionally for the Premier League side Sunderland. A striker, he has previously played for Newcatle United and Cardiff City and has spent loan spells at Watford, Nottingham Forest and Barnsley. He has represented England at the Under-15, Under-16, Under-17, Under-18, Under-19, Under-20 and Under-21 levels. The son of an English mother and an Indian father, …
- Kevin Phillips
Kevin Mark Phillips (born July 25 1973 in Hitchin, Hertfordshire) is an English footballer who currently plays for West Bromwich Albion. He holds the Sunderland record for most post-war goals, breaking a record previously set by Gary Rowell. He has also had spells at Watford, Southampton and Aston Villa. His favoured position is centre forward alongside a target man, which was the basis for his success at Sunderland, …
- Mick McCarthy
Michael Joseph McCarthy (born 7 February 1959) is a former professional football player who moved into club management with Millwall, the Republic of Ireland, Sunderland, and currently Wolverhampton Wanderers. He has also worked as a television football pundit.
- Kieran Richardson
Kieran Edward Richardson (born 21 October 1984 in Greenwich, London) is an English footballer currently playing for Sunderland. He is a left-sided midfielder who is also comfortable playing in central midfield. He has also played at left back during Manchester United's 2006-07 injury crisis.
- Anthony Stokes
Anthony Stokes (born July 25, 1988 in Dublin) is an Irish footballer, who currently plays for Sunderland. He normally plays as a striker. He is a current Irish Under-21 international.
- Carlos Edwards
Carlos Edwards (born 24 October 1978 in Diego Martin) is a Trinidadian football player who currently plays as a midfielder for Sunderland.
- Paul Robinson
Paul Robinson (born 20 November 1978) is an English former professional footballer, who recently played for Horden Colliery Welfare in the Northern League Division One. Robinson is a much-travelled player, having featured for no fewer than a dozen teams in his career. Due to his frequent moving, he has only passed thirty league appearances for one club, during his time with Hartlepool United. Robinson was born in Sunderland and began his career as a trainee with Darlington, …
- Kevin Ball
Kevin Ball (born Hastings, England, United Kingdom on 12 November, 1964) is a former professional footballer and now coach. Between 6 March and 8 May, 2006 Ball acted as Sunderland caretaker manager for the last ten games of the 2005-06 season following the sacking of Mick McCarthy, taking five points from these games. Although Ball expressed his interest in the manager's job on a full-time basis, …
- Daryl Murphy
Daryl Murphy is an Irish football (soccer) player who is currently playing for Sunderland as a forward. He had a largely disappointing loan spell at Sheffield Wednesday last season where he failed to score a single goal and looked to be out of his depth before he was recalled by Sunderland. The 24-year-old Irishman signed a two-year contract at the Stadium of Light after completing a £100,000 transfer from Irish side Waterford United in 2005.
- Nyron Nosworthy
Nyron Paul Nosworthy (born 1980-10-11 in Brixton, South London) is an English footballer of Jamaican descent. He is currently playing as a defender for Sunderland in the Premier League. He is also known in many songs, including: you try to take the ball off nyron and he says a no, no, no. and... nuggsy for england.
- David Connolly
David Connolly (born June 6, 1977 in Willesden, England) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a striker. He currently plays for Sunderland. After being educated at St Joan of Arc in Hertfordshire, he started his career with Watford where he scored 15 goals in 34 games. That impressive record earned him a move to Dutch team Feyenoord. He was at one point the highest paid player in Dutch football.
- Liam Miller
Liam Miller (born February 13, 1981 in Cork) is an Irish football player currently playing for Sunderland. His favored position is in central midfield, although he can also play on the right-wing. Before earning his first full Irish cap, Miller was also eligible for the Scotland national football team through his Scottish father. He formerly played with his boyhood heroes at Celtic, …
- Darren Ward
Darren Ward (born 11 May 1974 in Worksop) is a Welsh professional football goalkeeper currently playing for Sunderland. He joined Norwich in July 2004 from Nottingham Forest, looking to gain experience in the Premier League. Ward began his professional career with Mansfield Town before moving to Notts County, then local rivals Nottingham Forest. He had limited chances to make the number 1 jersey his due to the consistently high performances of Robert Green.
- Dean Whitehead
Dean Whitehead (born January 21, 1982 in Abingdon, Oxfordshire) is a fast developing football midfielder. As a youngster he played for Abingdon Town F.C.'s youth team, before joining the YTS of his local league club, Oxford United. He progressed through the ranks at Oxford, developing a reputation as a tough-tackling midfielder with good passing skills. After playing for the club for around 5 seasons, …
- Danny Collins
Danny Collins (born August 6, 1980 in Chester, Cheshire) is a footballer who currently plays for Sunderland as a defender.
- Ross Wallace
Ross Wallace (born 23 May 1985 in Dundee, Scotland) is a professional footballer currently playing for Sunderland. He started is career with Celtic where he played as a left midfielder but under former Manager Gordon Strachan he played at left back for the reserves and eventually the first team. Towards the end of the 2005-06 season, new signing Mark Wilson, replaced him at the Left Back position even though it is not his natural position.
- Greg Halford
Gregory "Greg" Halford (born 8 December 1984, in Chelmsford, England) is a professional footballer currently with Sunderland.
- Ian Porterfield
John (Ian) Porterfield (born in Dunfermline, Scotland on 11 February 1946) is a retired footballer, and an experienced football coach who has worked at both club and international level in the past 25 years. He is currently the coach of the national football team of Armenia.
- Don Revie
Donald George Revie, OBE, (10 July 1927 - 26 May 1989), was a football player for Leicester City, Hull City, Sunderland, Manchester City and Leeds United as a deep-lying centre forward. After managing Leeds United (1961-1974) with great success, his reign becoming known as Leeds' "Glory Years", he managed England from 1974 until 1977.
- Graham Kavanagh
Graham Kavanagh (born December 2, 1973 in Dublin) is an Irish international football player for Sunderland, having also played for Home Farm F.C., Middlesbrough, Stoke City, Cardiff City and Wigan Athletic. Kavanagh is well known for his hard tackling abilities as well as being able to add a creative dimension to his play. Nicknamed the 'Silver Fox' he has recently operated in a holding central midfield role, a slight contrast to his previous role at Cardiff, …
- Jonny Evans
Jonathan "Jonny" Evans (born 3 January, 1988, Belfast, Northern Ireland) is a football central defender who currently plays for Premier League club Champions Manchester United. Evans progressed through Manchester United's football Academy, featuring in 2 of the clubs 3 games during the 2006 summer tour of South Africa, as well as domestic friendlies against Celtic and Preston North End. Evans also made a surprise appearance in the Amsterdam Tournament against Ajax.
- Jimmy Montgomery
Jimmy Montgomery (born 9th October 1943 in Sunderland) was a footballer who will be forever remembered as the goalkeeper who pulled off an incredible double save in the 1973 FA Cup final, the famous 1-0 victory for Sunderland A.F.C. over Leeds United F.C. He made a record 623 appearances for Sunderland (537 league, 41 F.A. Cup, 33 League Cup, 4 European Cup Winners Cup, 8 others). He later played for Birmingham City.
- Grant Leadbitter
Grant Leadbitter (born January 7, 1986 in Chester-le-Street) is an English footballer who currently plays for Sunderland. Leadbitter's first professional appearance for Sunderland, the team he supported as a boy, came as a substitute in a League Cup defeat against Huddersfield Town in September 2003, though he has been at the club ever since 1993. For two years unable to obtain a regular first-team place at the club, he was loaned to Rotherham United in September 2005.
- Andy Gray
Andrew David Gray (born November 15 1977 in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England) is a Scottish football player currently at Burnley F.C. He is the son of the former Scotland defender Frank Gray and nephew of Leeds United legend Eddie Gray. He started his career as a midfield player but later moved into a forward position. Andy began his career with Leeds United and has also played for Nottingham Forest, Bury, Preston North End, Oldham Athletic, Bradford City, …
- John Greig
John Greig MBE (born September 11, 1942 in Edinburgh) is a former Scottish professional football player who, despite his boyhood allegiance to hometown team Heart of Midlothian F.C., spent his entire career in Glasgow with Rangers F.C..
- Dickson Etuhu
Dickson Etuhu (born 8 June 1982 in Kano) is an Nigerian professional footballer who plays for Sunderland. He attended St. Thomas the Apostle College in Nunhead. He is a strong, combative midfielder who has an eye for goal. His previous clubs were Manchester City ,Preston North End then Norwich City. He was very much a bit part player during Preston's successful season of 2004-2005, when the Whites reached the Play-off final. Despite his side losing to West Ham United, …
- Drumaville Consortium
The Drumaville Consortium is a group of eight Irish businessmen and one English businessman led by former footballer Niall Quinn, involved in the takeover of English football league club Sunderland A.F.C.. The consortium is named after the village of Drumaville in Donegal.
- Tom Watson
Tom Watson (April 1859 - May 1915) managed Sunderland A.F.C. and Liverpool F.C. He was in charge at Sunderland for six seasons from 1889-96. During this time, he led the club into the football league after defeating short-lived amateur side Sunderland Albion FC in a test match. Under his guidance, Sunderland won three league championships in 1891-2, 1892-3 and 1894-5 making him the most successful manager in their history.
- Stern John
Stern Christopher John (born October 30, 1976 in Trincity, Trinidad and Tobago) is a Trinidadian football player who currently plays for Sunderland He is a centre forward. John moved to the United States to attend Mercer County Community College in 1995. he joined the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer from the now-defunct New Orleans Riverboat Gamblers of the A-League for the 1998 season. John received a try-out with Crew based on the good word from his older cousin, …
- Julio Arca
Julio Andrés Arca is an Argentinian footballer, also former Argentinian Under-21 captain, currently playing for Middlesbrough. Arca's father was a bank manager. His Italian passport allows him to play in Europe without needing a work permit. Signed by Sunderland under Boss Peter Reid in 2000 from Argentinos Juniors with £3.5million five-year deal, while beat off competition from Newcastle United and Leeds United.
- Stanislav Varga
Stanislav Varga is a football player from Slovakia, currently playing as a defender for Sunderland. Varga is a tall and commanding centre-back was recruited by Peter Reid for £650,000 from Slovan Bratislava during the summer of 2000. Varga began his career at the Stadium of Light with an impressive opening day display in Sunderland's 1-0 victory over Arsenal, comfortably picking up the man of the match award.
- Raich Carter
Horatio Stratton "Raich" Carter (February 21, 1913 in Hendon, Sunderland - October 9, 1994 in Willerby, near Hull) was one of the greatest English footballers of the pre-war era. On the field, he captained Sunderland to the Football League title in 1936, at that time the youngest man ever to have captained a First Division title-winning side. He followed that up with victory in the FA Cup final a year later.
- Bob Stokoe
Robert "Bob" Stokoe was an English footballer and manager who was able, almost uniquely, to transcend the traditional north-east rivalry between the region's footballing giants, Newcastle United and Sunderland.
- Len Shackleton
Leonard Francis Shackleton was an English footballer of the post-World War II period. He came to the attention of the talent scouts by scoring 166 goals in six years of wartime football at Bradford Park Avenue. In February, 1948, after less than two years with Newcastle United F.C., where he was transferred for £13,000, he was signed to Sunderland for a then-record fee of £20,500.
- Mart Poom
Mart Poom is an Estonian football goalkeeper. He currently plays for Watford, whom he joined on May 26, 2007 from Arsenal.
- Jason McAteer
Jason Wynn McAteer (born on 18 June 1971 in Birkenhead, England) is a former Irish international football player. He announced his retirement from professional football on 12 June 2007. His primary position was in centre midfield, though he was an able left winger and full back. During his career, McAteer played for five professional clubs: Bolton Wanderers, Liverpool, Blackburn Rovers, Sunderland and finally Tranmere Rovers, …
- Danny Simpson
Daniel "Danny" Simpson (born January 4, 1987) is an English football player who plays right fullback. He was born in Salford, Greater Manchester. As a youth he played for Parkwyddn A.F.C. in Eccles before being picked up by Manchester United. Simpson is a product of the Manchester United youth system, having come up through the ranks into the reserve squad in 2005. He has yet to make an appearance for the first team. In early January 2006 he was sent on loan, …
- Charlie Buchan
Charles Murray Buchan (September 22 1891 - 25 June 1960) was an English football player and writer. Born in Plumstead, London, Buchan first played as an amateur for local club Woolwich Arsenal, joining the club in December 1909. However, having impressed in reserve games, he fell out with manager George Morrell over his expenses, and declined to sign to a professional contract.