OTD: AIDEN MCGEADY DEBUT

On this day in 2017, Aiden McGeady made his debut for Sunderland in a 1-1 draw at home to Derby County. During his five years at Sunderland the Republic of Ireland international winger made 150 appearances and scored 36 goals, winning an EFL Trophy and promotion to the Championship.

Son of the professional footballer John McGeady, he was a feature of several youth teams, including QPR, before, at the young age of 14, he signed for Celtic, his boyhood club. Here, he impressed greatly, and featured several times for Ireland’s youth setups, before signing his first full professional contract at Celtic Park aged 18. At Celtic, Aiden’s natural talent shone through, as he played 239 games for the Scottish side, helping them to dominate Scotland in the early 2000’s. During his time at the club, he aided them massively on their way to seven major trophies in just six seasons, with 36 goals and 48 assists.

After making his name on the European stage with four Champions League and five Europa League appearances during his final season at the club, he left for Russian giants Spartak Moscow, for a then-record fee for a Scottish export of over £9 million in the summer of 2010. During his four seasons at the club, he continued to shine through with his skill, which even saw him land his own skill move in FIFA called the McGeady spin! Wanting a return back to the UK, he signed for the Toffees in January 2014.

Merseyside brought McGeady a mixed three years there, but following two loan spells with Sheffield Wednesday and Preston North End respectively, he finally found his way to Wearside. He wasn't shy of a goal contribution in the 2017/18 season, despite us being relegated bottom of the league, as he scored seven and assisted five in 37 games. The following season was his highest scoring at both Sunderland and of his entire career, with the Ireland international netting 14 (plus six assists) in 40 matches. The best remembered would probably be his free kick in the EFL Trophy final, which gave us a half time lead. He dragged us to a penalty shooutout as well in that game, scoring a late goal in extra time, he then scored his penalty in the shootout. A Cattermole miss gave Portsmouth the trophy though in the end. At the end of the campaign he was awarded our Player of the Year accolade and named in the PFA Team of the Year for League One and he also won the EFL League One Player of the Month award for February 2019. He was also given a place in PNE's Team of the Decade for 2010-19, despite only ever playing for them on loan.

In the following season, the winger was temporarily forced out of the club by the genius Phil Parkinson (who led us to our lowest finish in the football pyramid ever) after Jack Ross was sacked a few months into the season. McGeady was sent out loan to Charlton in January, who had beaten us in the League One playoff final in the season prior. The fact a Championship club wanted him was a testament to his abilities as a footballer, even as he was approaching the final years of his career. He only managed 10 games for the Addicks however and his team were relegated on the final day of the season, despite not ending a single gameweek in the bottom three except the last one!

It does seem quite unjustified that the final season he was a regular feature for us was 2020-21 (after Parkinson was given his marching orders and replaced by Lee Johnson), when no crowds were allowed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. He once again contributed hugely in an EFL Trophy final, assisting the sole goal of the game from Lynden Gooch to end our 48-year-long winless run at Wembley Stadium. The attacker also did his best to get us to Wembley again for the playoff final as he assisted both goals in the second leg at home to Lincoln City in the semi final, alas it was in vain as we could only win 2-1 following a 2-0 defeat in the reverse leg. McGeady formed a great partnership with Charlie Wyke, who became really prolific after two below average seasons in red and white. The best example of this would be when he assisted all four Wyke goals in a 4-1 win versus Doncaster Rovers. The RoI player got 18 assists in 36 games and 24 goal contributions overall, he was deservedly named in the EFL League One Team of the Season.

His final goal for Sunderland did at least come in front of a SoL crowd, as he helped to wrap up a 2-0 win over Ipswich Town, a knee injury then kept him out for a while and then he could never force himself back into the team. Before this, McGeady was regularly captaining the side at the start of the season. He was on the bench for our successful playoff final against Wycombe Wanderers however. In 2021/22, the attacker notched a goal on opening day too and, overall, scored three and assisted four.

Injuries haunted him at his next club, Hibernian, and then he played a few games for Ayr United in the Scottish Championship in 2023/24. He retired following this and is now a technical director at Ayr.

McGeady was a big game player for us and, despite arguably not being fully fit, we relied on him in occasions like the aforementioned EFL Trophy final in 2019. He has plenty of memorable goals to choose from in a Sunderland shirt.

Whilst it's not the same big game occasion, I admire his goal against Preston in our ill fated Championship campaign. McGeady demonstrated his tenacity and skill to slide tackle the ball back and elegantly poise himself on the edge of the box to bend the ball into the corner of the net. An underrated finish. He was also a big fan of the Roker End Cafe cakes, which is a bonus.