Happy Birthday, Mr Sunderland: Our favourite Luke O'Nien memories!

Yesterday at 05:52 AM

As Sunderland's club captain turns thirty today, we asked our writers to share their favourite memories from his six-year spell in red and white!

Andrew Smithson says…

I am a massive fan of Luke O'Nien as a player and a person. He is exactly the type of figure we need at Sunderland and he is deservedly one of the most popular squad members at the moment because his application, attitude and ability are all extremely high.

In terms of individual moments it is hard to narrow things down because there is such a range, from exuberant or fun goal celebrations and comedy moments to examples of real leadership and determination. He has carried out several acts of kindness off the pitch, whilst on it he has weighed in with some quality goals and is a lot cleverer than people give him credit for - some of those moments of 'madness' are clearly very calculated.

I think I'll opt for the second leg of the play-off semi final with Portsmouth though, when he got under the skin of the home section. The way he laughed it off and moved on summed him up - he'd had a tough start at the club but knuckled down, faced the challenges and come out of it strongly. Rather than wilt under pressure, Luke puts his body on the line for the shirt time and time again (I'm reminded of an excellent block in the recent draw with Preston North End that saw him require treatment for example), and I think it was at Fratton Park where this was most obvious and that he endeared himself forever.

I know he can sometimes get a bit of undue flak from opposition supporters and members of our own fanbase even but I often feel the criticism is grossly unfair, and I really hope he has a great day because I cannot help but like the lad and his approach to the game and to life. Happy birthday!

Calum Mills says…

From a player who was nearly out the door as quickly as he came in, he's become a stalwart- not just at the back but in the team in general.

You hear how his teammates speak about him, as do the staff, and it's amazing to think that not so long ago, he was hated and slated by the majority of Sunderland fans.

From the disastrous debut against Charlton in 2018 to becoming the club captain and fan favourite is a meteoric rise in Lads folklore.

He's had some brilliant moments in red and white, but the one that sticks out for me is his goal away at Shrewsbury.

It's a career and character-defining moment which is the foundation of his success at Sunderland as a footballer. He spent a good amount time out of the first team, with the odd substitute appearance here and there, but all the while he was working hard behind the scenes to do the bare minimum as a footballer, or as he's said himself, 'the simple things'.

That's what got him to the dance in the first place and trying to overcomplicate his all-round game nearly cost him a career, because if you don't make it in League One, the only way is down.

Lo and behold, this was another substitute's appearance but within the space of sixty seconds, he'd gone from zero to somewhat of a hero.

His first touch was awful, but he stretched to touch the ball into Lynden Gooch's path before getting up and running onto a return pass and rifling the ball into the net. Months of frustration were shown in that celebration and it was the start of a terrific upward trend in his career.

His clear love, hard work and dedication to the game should be played in every academy across England.

Someone once said to me that it's not how you start, it's how you finish, and that couldn't be more true with O'Nien. His Lads career started horrendously and although he's not finished yet, he's turned it around tremendously!

Happy Birthday, Mr Sunderland.

John Wilson says…

Luke is an articulate, intelligent footballer, and that would be an oxymoron in most instances!

There are two things that stand out for me. The first was during Covid, when the players had to do a lot of training and fitness work by themselves at home. Luke released a video of how he was keeping things together at home.

On it, he was kicking a tennis ball against a wall without letting it bounce. He used both feet; I lost count of how many he did, but it was over a hundred. It shows how skillful he is and we don't always appreciate it.

On the pitch, I'll never forget the moment he was pulling an opposition player's shirt, then his arm, then eventually he jumped on his back and got a piggy back off him!

Of course he got booked, but what a hoot and showed the fun side of the man. Fair play to Alex Scott of Bristol City for going along with it instead of lamping him one. Memorable!

Matty Foster says…

There's so many little moments that spring to mind, but my personal standout moment with Luke came in the playoff final win against Wycombe.

With Sunderland 2-0 up and only minutes away from promotion, he celebrated winning a committed tackle like scoring a goal. He epitomised the feeling of every Sunderland fan in that moment, after four gruelling seasons in League One.

Say what you want about O'Nien, but we haven't seen a player who'd run through brick walls for Sunderland since the days of Kevin Ball.