On this day in 1988, Lewis Grabban was born. He would make 20 appearances on loan from Bournemouth and score 12 goals during his time here. Not a bad return on paper, but he would leave a pantomime villain.
Journeyman Grabban had previously played for teams such as Crystal Palace, Millwall and Norwich City and, after his time in Sunderland, would go on to play for Aston Villa (also on loan) and Nottingham Forest. His competitive debut for us came on the opening day of the season against Derby County. Sunderland were 1-0 down in the 11th minute but Grabban equalised in the 42nd minute, with the match ending in a 1-1 draw. The next weekend, he scored two goals and an own goal against his former club, Norwich City. The Black Cats won 3-1. Unbeaten in our first two games, the future looked bright