October 10 - Sergeant Wilko Takes Charge

SO you’re two months into the season and your club’s languishing in the relegation zone having made a dismal start. The manager’s got to go, so who do you bring in? How about the last Englishman to land the title, who’s also the only man to manage the England side twice and the one that the FA had installed as their technical director? This was the logic that Sunderland Chairman Bob Murray showed today in 2002, when he gave Howard Wilkinson the reigns of his club. How could it fail? Er…

When Murray had decided that no-one was going to cheer up if Peter Reid stayed in charge of the Black Cats, he decided experience was the way to go. Wilkinson was most famous for guiding Leeds United to the last-ever old First Division title in 1992, with the help of the likes of Eric Cantona, Gary Speed, Lee Chapman and Gary McAllister. He had more recently filled in as caretaker England manager after the departures of Glenn Hoddle and Kevin Keegan, but his job outline at the Stadium of Light was a whole different kettle of fish. With no money to spend and a demoralised squad his mission was to save Sunderland from the dreaded drop.

It’s fair to say that the fan’s reaction was mixed at best, as they did not want to see the direct style that Wilko had bought to Leeds and Sheffield Wednesday, another of his former clubs. As it turned out they didn’t really see any style at all, as two wins in twenty league games was all Wilko could muster before he too was given the boot.

Wilko’s brief spell in charge was mostly remembered for a series of bizarre quotes from the manager (”It’s like pushing custard up a hill with your finger”) and a match that is a staple for pub quizzes everywhere where the Mackem’s went down 3-1 to Charlton thanks to three own goals. Offering tactical analysis that would put Mark Lawrenson to shame he revealed that “Our problem was that we scored three own goals in the first half.” He’s right you know.

By the end of the season Sunderland, with Mick McCarthy now at the helm, were relegated with a then record low of 19 points. Wilko’s next gig was a two month spell at Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua, as no other chairman in the Premier League was up for following Bob Murray’s lead. In some sort of karmic redemption for the club’s fans, Youtube has airbrushed all footage of Wilkinson’s era at the Stadium of Light from history, but come on over tomorrow to see what happened when one of the greatest players the world has ever seen got political aspirations.

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