On This Day (20th October 1979): Sunderland give out shirts but take in the points! 

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An unexpected kit clash didn't bode well for Roker's visitors forty five years ago today, as Andrew Smithson explains

Sunderland welcomed high-flying Queens Park Rangers to Roker Park on this day in 1979, and whilst the Lads went into the game on the back of a couple of defeats, they had some inside information to work with and were about to be given a further, albeit unusual advantage that barely anybody saw coming in the build up.

Despite performing well at Birmingham City and Luton Town in their two previous fixtures, Ken Knighton's team had come away from both matches with nothing to show for their efforts.

An expensively assembled QPR side, unbeaten in their last nine and recovering well from relegation, were therefore being tipped to compound the red and white misery but they hadn't reckoned on the presence of a well-informed spy, or for that matter being forced to play in disguise themselves!

Rangers boss Tommy Docherty had reportedly spent over £1 million improving his squad over recent months, and whilst his son Mick had recently been forced to retire from playing, the Doc's boy was still on the books at Sunderland.

Having skippered the club until a knee injury picked up in pre-season proved too much, Mick Docherty was about to be awarded a testimonial by the hierarchy but had already made a start on working for the coaching and scouting staff.

Handily, he'd also made mental notes of informal comments previously made to him by his father about the strengths and weaknesses of the Loftus Road outfit, and was therefore able to steer Knighton's tactics and give the hosts some vital clues about how to nullify the visitors' dangermen.

It meant that when the team sheets were handed in before kick off, those in the home changing room could afford to be relaxed at what the visitors had written down, but that wasn't the case for the referee, Cheshire official Don Shaw.

Despite the Hoops wearing their traditional colours the last time they'd been in town back in April 1977, he felt that there was too much white in the set of strips they'd indicated they were planning to use, and so insisted they changed into something else.

That wouldn't have been a problem if QPR's alternative to blue and white hadn't contained a large proportion of red, thereby forcing them to ask Sunderland if they could borrow something else for the afternoon.

It was presumably coach Peter Eustace, who was also responsible for kit and boots during his time at the club in the days before specialist kit men, that either obliged himself or instructed someone else to get out a set of Umbro navy blue change shirts for them to use.

Referred to in subsequent match reports as the 'jubilee' change kit (no doubt because they were first implemented 1977 - the year of the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II), the tops have since become cult classics, due in no small part to a set being used eight months earlier in a Gary Rowell-inspired victory at Newcastle United.

The guests took to the pitch in Sunderland shirts but with their own Adidas branded shorts and socks.

In fact, both teams were in different outfits, as the Lads ended up wearing an old set of shirts that had supposedly been phased out at first team level, leading to the unusual sight of QPR bearing the official ship crest of the hosts, whereas they themselves didn't have a club badge visible at all, as the left breast instead carried the initials 'SAFC' and the insignia 'Second Division Champions 1975-76'.

The switches seemed to unsettle Rangers and left them all at sea. Having been defensively tight on the road so far, they now found themselves up north, on the coast and unable to hold back the Roker waves during the opening half hour.

There was even more for the red and white faithful to enjoy too, as not only did they revel in the bizarre sight of a side in a Sunderland kit losing, but they also saw Stan Bowles being played out of the game thanks to Docherty's insights and tips.

Bowles had remained a deeply unpopular figure in the area due to his antics six years earlier, when QPR spoiled the 1973 FA Cup winners' homecoming, but he had little opportunity to wind up the crowd this time.

It was Shaun Elliott who got the fans going, driving things on in the middle of the park despite seeing himself as being better suited to playing in defence.

Knighton had been asking him to act as a stop gap further up the field for the last few games, and was full of praise at full time for the selfless role he played. Pop Robson was also highly complimentary, quipping that Elliott would be even better in central midfield if he actually enjoyed being there.

It was no surprise that Robson was in a jovial mood afterwards; he'd just recorded his seventh and eighth goals of the season following a summer return to his hometown club.

A well-taken penalty after eighteen minutes was quickly followed by another clinical finish in open play, with recent signing from Leeds United John Hawley soon wrapping things up with a third.

The spot kick was awarded for a debated handball from a right wing Kevin Arnott cross and the second also came from that side, with Bob Lee dummying another Arnott centre before it landed at Robson's right boot. Hawley, meanwhile, needed to show control and composure before driving home past Chris Woods, who many years later would join Sunderland under Peter Reid.

There was some confusion in the second half when Docherty, who'd already made his one allowed substitution, attempted to bring Glenn Roeder off.

Convinced that his skipper, who was engaged in a running battle with Barry Dunn, was about to get himself sent off, he was seemingly happy to see things out with only ten men. After all, the match was already finished as a contest and it would've at least ensured that Roeder avoided a subsequent suspension.

However, after a very public exchange of views, it was decided that the captain could continue to play if he curbed his enthusiasm, although the Hoops' gaffer did later concede that the situation reflected well on Dunn, a September arrival from the Wearside League.

Dunn himself wasn't the only one in the wars.

Lee, another player being utilised in an unfamiliar midfield berth, put his power to good use whereas the busy Arnott was taken off in the dying minutes due to a hamstring pull.

Elliott picked up a leg knock too and was expected to undergo treatment during the coming week, as was Jeff Clarke, who suffered a nasty cut around his ankle and heel.

That said, the points earned no doubt took the edge off the pain and had a big bearing on eventual promotion come the end of the season, an achievement enjoyed immensely by those in a Sunderland shirt.

Footnote:

When the two teams played out the return game, which ended goalless, in London in March 1980, both sides were permitted to wear their first choice colours.

Saturday 20 October 1979

Football League Division Two

Roker Park

Attendance: 25,201

Sunderland 4 (Robson (pen) 19', 21', Hawley 28')

Queens Park Rangers 0

Sunderland: Siddall, Whitworth, Clarke; Hindmarch, Gilbert, Arnott (Brown 82'); Clarke, Lee, Hawley; Robson, Dunn