Born on this day is former Sunderland fullback Phil Bardsley, who spent six years on Wearside. Bardsley was 22 years old when we signed him in January 2008, with manager Roy Keane making use of his connections with the Red Devils.
Bardsley made his debut in a 2-0 win over Birmingham City, and played 11 times after signing in January . Bardsley 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 28 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 Alan 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 the lads 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 the Mags. That season, we finished 13th and Bardsley 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 O’Neill, and everything seemed to implode for Bardsley. He and Matt Kilgallon missed the final day of the season against Spurs, 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!
Relegated to the under-21s, 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 in his return!
His form improved throughout the season as he regained fitness. 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 quality penalty shootout of all time. Bardsley went on to play the full match at Wembley, where we would eventually succumb to another Manchester side.
Since leaving Wearside, Bardsley played for Stoke City and Burnley, two sides you feel he is well suited to. At 37 today, Bardsley will be out of contract this summer. A birthday casino trip must be on the cards?
