On this day in 2000, Julio Arca and Emerson Thome both featured for Sunderland for the first time in a competitive fixture. Julio in particular made a great introduction to our fans by scoring the opening goal of a 1-1 draw with West Ham United. Having missed the three opening games of the season due to an awaited Italian passport, Arca's first game at the Stadium of Light was against the Hammers. He was still a teenager at the time but scoring a debut goal in such fashion surely would have...

On this day in 2021, Sunderland completed the signing of Dennis Cirkin from Tottenham Hotspur. Cirkin has an interesting background. He played for England up to an under-20 level (after moving to London at the age of three) and has two Latvian parents. Additionally, his father is of Azerbaijani and Turkish descent, which meant he could have elected to play for England (through naturalisation), the Republic of Ireland (by birth), Latvia (by descent), Azerbaijan (by descent) or Turkey (by...

On this day in 2022, Corry Evans made his debut for Sunderland as we beat Wigan Athletic 2-1 at home on the opening day of the League One season. Before he signed for the Lads, Sunderland fans were of course more familiar with his brother Jonny, who actually persuaded Corry to sign for Sunderland: "Jonny had a great time here, he loved that period of his career and he’ll always have a soft spot for Sunderland, and likewise myself when I was coming and watching games. I remember Jonny’s debut...