OTD: NYRON NOSWORTHY BORN

Born on this day is Sunderland cult hero Nyron Nosworthy. The defender spent seven years on Wearside, racking up over 100 appearances.

Nyron began his career at Gillingham, where he was known for running to training every day as a warmup! In typical Nosworthy fashion, he was brought on as a first-half substitute for his debut in 1998 but was then subbed back off in the second half...

He became a regular in the Gills’ side, playing at right back but was occasionally used as an emergency striker. He famously scored twice against Crystal Palace, in the 3rd and 5th minutes. When Gillingham were relegated to League One, Nyron chose not to renew his contract due to interest higher up the football pyramid.

Mick McCarthy, in a transfer window with extremely limited funds, brought in Nosworthy on a free. He was initially signed as a backup to right back Stephen Wright, but an injury to Wright meant Nosworthy was thrown into the deep end.

His first game in red and white came against Charlton Athletic and it didn’t exactly go to plan. Nosworthy’s first action was to let the ball roll under his foot and out for a throw in. After a series of errors in the first games of the season, it seemed that we’d signed a player who, despite giving 110%, shouldn’t have been anywhere near the Premier League.

However, McCarthy was sacked during the infamous 15-point season and Roy Keane arrived in 2006. He moved Nosworthy to centre half, which allowed the defender to play to his physical strengths. He formed a great partnership with Jonny Evans as we stormed the Championship and won the league. Despite fierce competition, Nyron won Sunderland’s Player of the Season due to the incredible improvements made in his game. His contract was also extended until 2010.

It was during that Championship season that the chant of “They tried to get the ball past Nyron, he said no no no” first broke out. In the Premier League, Nyron started 29 games as the team successfully stayed up. It was an amazing recovery from the disaster of his first season on Wearside.

Nosworthy remained at Sunderland through our relegation and subsequent promotion but fell out of favour following the arrival of Steve Bruce. As his game time became more limited, the defender was loaned to Sheffield United where he played consistently until the end of the season. Nosworthy played 19 games for the Blades, filling in at both centre half and right back. He was then loaned back to Sheffield United the following season and was a big part of their team. Despite his best efforts though, United were in freefall and relegation was inevitable. He was sent back to Wearside early in April 2011 after making 32 appearances across the season.

The defender was sent to Watford on loan, and signed for the Hornets permanently when his contract expired. After brief stints in the lower leagues with Blackpool, Portsmouth and Dagenham and Redbridge, he announced his retirement from the game in 2016.