If I could make a dream 11 out of the players I’ve seen play live, who would be included and why? Here is my favourite starting 11 of players I’ve seen in my lifetime…
GK: JORDAN PICKFORD
In goal I went with the England number one Jordan Pickford. A close second would have been Vito Mannone for his fantastic penalty shootout heroics against Man Utd. Jordan is my number one though as he was brought up through the club from a young age, and got the chance to show his talent in the Premier League in the season we were relegated. He was one of the few bright sparks for Sunderland that season, which earned him a well deserved move to Everton. He is known for his fantastic shot stopping and penalty saves which he has shown on several occasions for England.
At the left back spot I have gone for Patrick Van Aanholt who is now playing for Galatasaray. He just about gets in over Marcos Alonso but it was a tough one to pick. PVA was fantastic at his time at Sunderland, always wanting to drive forward and create chances. He scored eight times for SAFC which is impressive for a left back. He joined the club in 2014 for around £1.5 million from Chelsea at the age of 23. He was a great long-term asset but was sold just before our relegation to the Championship. Still, he was a great player while he was here who had lots of talent, particularly going forward.
CB: LUKE O'NIEN
I couldn't not pick Mr Sunderland A.K.A Luke O'Nien. He shows so much passion and desire for the club and gives 110% every week. He is also a quality player who could play anywhere on the pitch but clearly his best position is centre back. This has been proven this season, forging a good partnership with Danny Batth until his suspension. Luke seems like a great personality to be around and just seems to be a likeable person. He stuck with us through thick and thin in League One, losing many times at Wembley but finally gained promotion last season in the play-offs. He also helped us win the Papa John’s Trophy in 2021 and at 28 years old, will be hoping for much more success in the red and white shirt. It was also great to see him score against QPR on Valentine’s Day, in his return to the starting lineup!
CB: JOHN O'SHEA
John O'Shea is a man who was at Sunderland for seven years from 2011-2018 after joining from a successful Man Utd side at the time to fight for Sunderland. O'Shea was the perfect captain for Sunderland because he had the right mentality and focus to wear the armband during so many relegation battles. He played an incredible 226 games for SAFC. He eventually left when we were relegated to League One and joined Reading for a season, then retired to become a coach. He is such a decorated defender who can look back on a fantastic career.
RB: PHIL BARDSLEY
Another player who was at the club for a long period of time during his career, playing for Sunderland between 2008 and 2014, making over 150 appearances and scoring seven goals for the club. Bardo was an interesting character and an aggressive player who got into his fair share of scraps (on and off the pitch). He gained a reputation for being a hot-head and receiving numerous red cards. When Bardsley departed we couldn't quite find a good replacement and we would often play central midfielders like Craig Gardner at right back.
CM: LEE CATTERMOLE
Lee Cattermole is perhaps my all time favourite Sunderland player. I loved the fact that he was a fantastic midfielder and he loved the club as a whole. Even when he was playing with injury, or when he got older and we suffered those relegations, he would still fight to the end and give 110%. What I liked about Cattermole is that he stuck with Sunderland through thick and thin: through relegation battles, back-to-back relegations and even play-off heartbreak. Catts went into coaching at Middlesbrough but has now left and might be interested in returning to Sunderland as a coach, which could be huge for the likes of Edouard Michut and Dan Neil…
CM: JORDAN HENDERSON
Hendo is one of our own, he grew up in Farringdon and came through the Sunderland ranks. He is a top class midfielder and has done wonders in the Premier League. The boyhood Mackem has won loads of trophies as Liverpool captain, including the Premier League, Champions League, Super Cup, FA Cup, League Cup and Charity Shield as well as individual awards such as Liverpool’s Player of the Season. He started his career as a wide playmaker and was very good at it, but adapted to a central role and has become superb there. He has captained England as well of course. Even though he isn’t captain anymore, Gareth Southgate simply can't exclude someone with Jordan’s elite mentality. He is arguably the most successful captain Liverpool will ever have. If Sunderland were to get promoted to the Premier League I would be delighted to bring such a great player home.
CM: SEB LARSSON
The set piece specialist Sebastian Larsson was the player everyone had on the back of their shirts when I was growing up. He seemed to score every time we had a set piece within shooting distance. Admittedly, as he got further into his Sunderland career he did decline but Seb will always be known for being a great servant to the club for seven tough years. The most memorable goal for me would be his acrobatic effort against Liverpool which earned us a draw. He has had so many great moments in red and white, helping us get to Wembley and playing big parts in all of our relegation escapes.
RW: FABIO BORINI
Even though he can play up front, I thought I’d have him out wide in my formation. Fabio was fantastic during his loan spell from Liverpool and was probably the main reason we stayed up that year. He scored several memorable goals against the Mags and even put us 1-0 up against Man city in the League Cup Final. He joined permanently in 2015 but of course wasn't as prolific as he was on loan. Watching his legendary celebration still brought joy to the younger fans' faces though. He may have dipped off later in his time at Sunderland but you have to remember what he had done previously for the club.
LW: AIDEN MCGEADY
Another tough position in my eyes as this could have gone to Stephane Sessegnon or Chrissy Maguire who were both quality players at Sunderland. Geads get in just ahead of them. We all know him for his fantastic seasons in League One, as we were so reliant on him. He became the star man when Josh Maja left the club and was forced to play even with serious injuries, getting through with painkiller injections. McGeady did have his problems with defensive work and laziness, but if you give him that ball going forward he is going to beat his man every time. The best thing he did for Sunderland was that free kick in the Checkatrade final which gave us all hope, but sadly we couldn't go on to win it. He later joined up with manager Lee Johnson at Hibernian after the pair exited SAFC.
ST: JERMAIN DEFOE
In my time watching Sunderland I think this man is by far the easiest pick in this team. Defoe joined from Toronto for a swap deal for Jozy Altidore, which may be the best bit of business Sunderland have ever done. He was a Premier League legend before he joined us, and that continued when he arrived here. JD had a slow start to his time on Wearside, scoring only four times in his first 17 games. But obviously he went on to play a massive part in the team and went on to score another 30 times in his next two seasons, which played a big part in keeping us up time after time. His most memorable goal is of course his volley against Newcastle, as he hit it so perfectly as it looped into the top corner past Krul just before half time. Defoe returned in 2022 briefly, but what he did in his first spell gets him into this dream team. We probably haven’t had such a great goalscorer since Niall Quinn and Super Kev were up front.
FORMATION 4-2-3-1: Jordan Pickford, Patrick Van Aanholt, Luke O'Nien, John O'Shea(C), Phil Bardsley, Lee Cattermole, Jordan Henderson, Seb Larsson, Fabio Borini, Aiden McGeady, Jermain Defoe.
