OTD: NIALL QUINN DEBUT

On this day in 1996, Niall Quinn made his debut for Sunderland against Leicester City, coming off of the bench. Quinn would go on to play another 219 games for SAFC, scoring 69 goals.

Quinn joined Sunderland towards the end of his career, after a prolific spell at Manchester City. He scored on his City debut, in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Maine Road. In his first full season he managed an impressive 21 goals, going on to play for City for six years. However, his time at Maine Road was hampered by injury, and he never fully recovered after the 1993-94 season, where he was out of action for almost the whole season. The following year, Quinn only scored 10 goals in 45.

One of Quinn’s strangest but most famous matches for Man City was when he scored a goal and saved a penalty in the same match! He grabbed an early goal against Derby County, before goalkeeper Tony Coton (who made his Sunderland debut in the same game as Quinn) gave away a penalty and was sent off. Quinn put on the gloves and stood on his line, guessing the right way and diving to his left.

In 1996, Peter Reid swooped for the experienced Quinn. The signing, despite Quinn’s goalscoring record, raised eyebrows over the striker’s injury record and age. He was 29, and all our Premier League survival hopes were pinned on our new record signing. As it turned out, the cynics were right at first. Quinny spent most of his first season on Wearside injured and we were relegated with 40 points.

However, everything changed in the summer when a certain Kevin Phillips arrived. The two struck up one of the most formidable partnerships in English football, with the ‘little and large’ strike force bringing the best out of both players. After the disappointment of relegation, Quinn scored an impressive 15 goals as we reached the play-off final. He also scored in the final, although we ultimately lost on penalties to Charlton Athletic.

In the 1998/99 season, Quinn was, along with Phillips, instrumental in taking Sunderland back to the promised land. In March 1999, history repeated itself for Quinn. He put on the goalie gloves once again after Thomas Sorensen was injured in a game against Bradford City. He also scored in the match and was able to keep a clean sheet!

Quinn’s final appearance came in 2002 against West Ham United, before announcing his retirement decorated with a number of accolades. One of Quinn’s most famous quotes is "I learned my trade at Arsenal, became a footballer at Manchester City, but Sunderland got under my skin. I love Sunderland." After retirement, Quinn became a pundit on TV and, in 2006, formed the Drummaville consortium to take over the club which idolised him.

He was such a legend on Wearside that ALS released ‘Niall Quinn’s Disco Pants’ as a single, reaching as high as no. 46 in the charts and number one in the NME Indy Chart.

With Sunderland managerless, Quinn put himself in charge of the first team briefly. It did not go to plan, with the side losing the first four games of the season. Quinn eventually stepped down and hired a new manager in Roy Keane. This was extremely surprising as the pair famously fell out after Keane’s ejection from the 2002 World Cup. It turned out to be a stroke of genius, as Keane’s Sunderland went on to win the league and return to the Premier League.

Sunderland stayed in the Premier League for 10 years and it all began when ‘Sir Niall’ took us on that magical carpet ride. If anyone deserves a statue outside the Stadium of Light, it’s Quinny.