OTD: PHIL BARDSLEY DEBUT

On this day in 2008, former Sunderland defender Phil Bardsley made his debut for the club in a 2-0 home Premier League win against Birmingham City. He'd go on to play exactly 200 times for the Lads before leaving in 2014.

He played another 11 times in the 2007/08 season after signing in January. At the end of that campaign he had beaten relegation with us for the first time but certainly not the last. The following season, the right back scored his first goal for the club, netting in a 2-1 win in a League Cup fixture against Nottingham Forest. Despite being briefly usurped by Pascal Chimbonda, Bardsley quickly regained his place as first choice right back and ended the season with 33 appearances.

In the 2009/10 season, Phil started as first choice right back under new manager Steve Bruce before being displaced, again momentarily, this time by January loan signing Alan Hutton. Disgruntled by a lack of playing time, Bardsley considered leaving Sunderland. I mean, I would be a bit miffed falling down the pecking order at the hands of Pascal Chimbonda and Alan Hutton. However, the Hutton deal wasn’t made permanent and this persuaded Bardo to stay.

The next season was Bardsley’s most influential season in term of goals, although he was often deployed at left back. He grabbed his first league goal for Sunderland from 25 yards in a win against Aston Villa, the only goal of the game. Three matches later, he scored another long-range effort in a 4-2 loss to Chelsea. The versatility and consistency of the fullback earned him Sunderland’s Player of the Season award that year.

The 2011/12 season got off to a bad start for Bardsley. He was sent off in a 1-0 defeat against Newcastle United. That season, we finished 13th and he played a total of 31 Premier League matches under new boss Martin O’Neill. Missing the start of the next season due to injury, Bardsley returned to the side amidst our struggles near the bottom of the table. The infamous Paulo Di Canio replaced Martin O’Neill and everything seemed to implode for Bardsley. He and Matthew Kilgallon missed the final day of the season against Tottenham Hotspur, after they were spotted in a casino lying in £50 notes. Naturally, the insane Italian was furious, likely spitting on top of his head multiple times and punching through the dressing room walls as he declared that the pair would never play for Sunderland again! Hopefully PDC didn't try to fight the former Manchester United man. Bardsley knocked Wayne Rooney out in a spontaneous at-home boxing match after an afternoon in the pub in 2015.

Relegated to the under-21 squad, it was a broken foot that proved to be lucky for Bardsley, who managed to stay at Sunderland. His knackered foot hindered any potential sale to another team. Soon, the Di Canio regime was toppled and Bardsley could return to the side. When Gus Poyet replaced Di Canio, his first move was to reinstate the right back into the side. However, Bardsley’s reintegration into the fold wouldn’t be smooth, he scored an own goal in a 4-0 loss to Swansea City on his return to first team action.

His form improved throughout the season as he regained fitness and his highlight as a Sunderland player came in the League Cup semi-final against his former club, Manchester United. His long-range shot was fumbled by David De Gea in the dying minutes of extra time. Despite Javier Hernandez equalising just a few seconds later, the Lads famously got through in the worst penalty shootout of all time. Bardsley went on to play the full match at Wembley, where we would eventually succumb to Manchester City 3-1.

Since leaving Wearside, Bardsley played for Stoke City and Burnley, two sides you feel he was well suited to. He then went to Stockport where he generously donated all his wages to Stockport's community trust, although he only played twice in half a season there. He announced his retirement in June 2023, after injuries limited him to just 13 appearances in the previous three seasons.

He embarked on a coaching career after hanging up his boots. In October 2023 he became the assistant manager of non-League Macclesfield but left the role in February 2024 and remains without a club.

Internationally, he earned 13 caps for Scotland (despite being born in England he has a Scottish father) between 2010 and 2014.