OTD: KABOUL BORN

Born on this day in 1986 is former Sunderland defender Younes Kaboul, who also played for today’s opposition Tottenham Hotspur during his playing days.

Before coming to Sunderland, the Frenchman had gained a reputation for being a reliable Premier League defender - albeit with a poor injury record, which was probably why we were able to sign him. Dick Advocaat was still in charge during that summer of 2015, coming out of retirement after our fans bought his wife some flowers. Kaboul had been playing in England for eight years with two spells at Spurs and one decent stint at Portsmouth.

Although Younes eventually became a fan favourite and a bit of a cult hero on Wearside, his time here got off to a very rocky start. His league debut for us came on the opening day of 2015/16 where we lost 4-2 to Leicester City. At the time, they’d just survived relegation by the skin of their teeth - yet incredibly this was the start of their amazing Premier League-winning year! Kaboul played another 90 minutes the following week, where we were beaten 3-1 by Norwich City on our own turf.

Five games in and we hadn’t won a game yet, with just two points on the board. Up next, we went to the south coast to face Bournemouth. Kaboul was given the captain’s armband as the Black Cats aimed to earn a positive result against Eddie Howe’s Cherries, who at that point had never, ever, won a Premier League game at home. Of course, as was typical of Sunderland during this era, they put two past us in the first ten minutes and cruised to a 2-0 victory (goals coming from future Dirty Mags, Callum Wilson and Matt Ritchie). Kaboul didn’t even finish the match, receiving a second yellow card on 73 minutes for a foul on Wilson. It summed up a clumsy and reckless performance from himself and the team as a whole.

That red card actually put Kaboul in the history books… for the wrong reasons. It was the sixth red card of his career and whilst seven other players have been sent off more times, Kaboul received more reds per match than any other player to have received five or more  reds in their career. At the time, he averaged a sending-off every 26 Premier League appearances. For reference, Roy Keane received a red for every 52 appearances!

By the time it got to mid-October, we still hadn’t won a Premier League game. Advocaat was replaced by Big Sam and in just his second game in charge, we beat the Mags 3-0 at the SoL. It was a great day, of course it was, and Kaboul certainly played his part. He’s famous for that marauding run late in the game and an inch-perfect cross for Steven Fletcher. For a centre half to burst down the left wing on 86 minutes, and to produce a first-time ball of such quality, was simply incredible to see. Despite his shaky start to life as a Sunderland player, he was instantly forgiven.

Towards the end of 2015/16 Kaboul was an integral part of Allardyce’s system, with his partnership with Lamine Kone proving to be rock-solid. He played 11 of our last 12 fixtures, overseeing a run where we lost once in 10 of those. This included the famous 3-2 win against Chelsea, one of the loudest atmospheres the SoL had seen, and of course that 3-0 against Everton to keep us up and send the Mags down. Despite his defensive partner Kone scoring twice that day, it was Kaboul who was named Man of the Match due to his monstrous performance in keeping the clean sheet. He cried on the pitch afterwards. Sunderland had given him a chance when many clubs would have been put off by the injuries, and he re-found the form he’d once had at Tottenham. He was a brilliant defender for us and brought the best out of Kone alongside him.

Sadly, Younes only managed one game the following year before it emerged that he would be leaving the club due to personal reasons. SAFC did the right thing by stepping aside and accepting a bid from Watford, to allow Kaboul to move down south. It was a real shame - he was a great leader and his experience was crucial in that side. Without Kaboul, Lamine Kone was never the same player. Once Younes left, it became clear that he had been talking Kone through games and telling him exactly where to be and what to do.

Two years at Watford followed, but he wasn’t able to recapture that form which made him such a favourite in the North East. Not bad for a player whose agent once said: “Younes wouldn’t join Sunderland even if there was an earthquake. We have more interesting options than Sunderland. Don’t even think about it.”