Sunderland's top five midfield icons!
Today at 01:00 AM
From the granite-tough Kevin Ball to the classy Stefan Schwarz, John Wilson looks at some of Wearside's standout defensive midfield maestros
Time for another top five! On this occasion, Sunderland's best central defensive midfielders.
To recap my rules, I had to have seen them live, and they must've immediately sprung to mind without a nudge, otherwise they couldn't have been that memorable!
Apart from helping to narrow my focus, these rules also stop people saying I'm daft because I didn't include 'Tommy Tank' or whoever, because you won't know whether I saw them live or not!
This position creates its own difficulty because a 'defensive midfielder' is a little subjective- is he a creative midfielder or more of a central defender? I'll crack on anyway!
5) Kevin Arnott
The Sunderland team of the late 1970s and early 1980s holds a special place in my heart; as I may have mentioned before, it spanned my teenage years and early twenties, which are always impressionable years in a lifetime.
Arnott seemed to me to have silky skills and could pick a pass with ease as I watched from the Clock Stand. He also had a bite to his tackle and although he wasn't necessarily the fastest of players, as they say, he 'gained yards in his head' as he read the game so well.
He was only eighteen when given his full debut, which in these days of developing youngsters doesn't sound very impressive, but it was more unusual in those days, which highlighted his talent.
He scored one of the goals in the final game of the 1979/1980 promotion season against West Ham at a sold-out Roker Park, and I remember thousands being locked outside in the days when you could pay at the turnstiles!
He appeared 149 times for Sunderland, over four years.
4) Steed Malbranque
I wonder whether Malbranque was the first player to invoke the 'Goooch,' or 'Huuume'-type noise, as whenever he was on the ball, cries of 'Steeed' could be heard from some section or other of the Stadium of Light.
What a player. He was very skilful, could run all day and was not only 'gutsy' but could produce skilful touches or a sublime pass.
Born in Belgium but a French international, he played 102 times for the Lads from 2008 to 2011, after signing from Spurs.
I think we probably saw the best of Malbranque when he wore the red and white stripes, and although I'm aware that some might not class him as a central defensive midfielder, I may stand corrected as he could offer width as well.
3) Stefan Schwarz
A player whom I'm confident would get into most people's top five, Schwarz played for us from 1999 to 2003, when he eventually retired. He was capped sixty nine times for Sweden, which I think goes a long way to showing how much his technical ability and graft were appreciated at the highest level.
We bought him from Valencia for a then-club record of £3.75 million and whilst with us, he received Sweden's 'Player of the Year' award in 1999. Although he was eventually put on the transfer list by Peter Reid, he ended up retiring anyway.
Amusingly, another story attached to Schwarz was that he had a clause in his contract stating that if he were to travel beyond the Earth's atmosphere, his contract would be wholly invalid.
2) Colin Todd
In the runner's-up spot, only because I was perhaps slightly too young to fully appreciate his talents, is the magnificent Todd, and I have friends who say he was possibly the best footballer they've ever seen.
Born in Chester-le-Street, Todd was another local lad who made his debut at eighteen, playing for us from 1966 to 1971.
He made a total of 191 appearances for the Black Cats and gained twenty seven England caps. Todd was a defensive player who I couldn't bring myself to put into my list of 'top five centre halves', as he offered so much more than an archetypal defender. He was a complete player, possessing talent and skill in abundance but was also a gritty tackler.
He left Roker at the age of twenty two, which has echoes of our current squad because we surely would've wanted to hold onto him. At the time, however, we were just a mid-table second tier team.
Derby manager Brian Clough knew exactly what he was getting when he signed him!
1) Kevin Ball
The original 'Mr Sunderland', and in this particular position, you couldn't wish for a more solid, reliable player. He would almost literally run through a brick wall for the team and the club.
Bally could've made my list of top five central defenders as he did a great job there when asked, but for me, he'll be remembered as a central defensive midfield unit!
Making 376 appearances for the Lads from 1990 to 1999, he had a never-say-die attitude, was an inspiration on and off the field, and you certainly wouldn't want to get in his way!
We have a very young and talented midfield at the moment, and hopefully some of these lads will appear in a future writer's top five, but what I wouldn't give to have any of the players listed here in my team now.
Honourable mentions…
'What about so-and-so?', I hear you ask.
Firstly, I'll refer you back to my rules, but it's also a purely subjective list for discussion purposes only, with special mentions to any of the following who may have got into my top five…
Alex Rae, Paul Bracewell, Claudio Reyna, Gavin McCann, Yann M'Vila, Lee Cattermole, and Gordon Chisholm.
