The 11th of May is synonymous with relegations surrounding our club, so let's have a look at all the instances where relegation loomed and we either secured safety or got relegated on this cursed but fantastic date. You’ll see why.
1991 - FIFTH RELEGATION FROM FIRST DIVISION.
Ok so we may not be starting off great but trust me - the end is worth it. In this year we finished 19th in the table, three points behind Luton and headed down to the 2nd Division. It just wasn’t a great season for the Lads.
1997 - SIXTH RELEGATION FROM TOP FLIGHT.
A pretty painful pattern is emerging here but I implore you to keep the faith. This season we suffered our sixth relegation from the top flight and also our first relegation from the Premier League. It went down to the final day of the season and if we had won our final game against Wimbledon we would have been safe, however we couldn't and Coventry beat Spurs to send us down from the Premier League for the first time in our club's history.
2002 - SAFETY FROM RELEGATION IN THE PREM
Finally a positive one, this time we stayed up this season after a 1-1 draw with Derby in the final game of the season at home. In the end the draw wasn’t necessary as our relegation rivals at the time, Ipswich, were hammered 5-0 by Liverpool.
2016 - MACKEMS STAY UP, MAGS GO DOWN.
This season will live long in the memory amongst our supporters, and I'm sure it's the only thing Sunderland fans will remember that happened on this day and that's fair enough.
We hosted Everton as all the Mags watched with their hands covering their eyes in despair, Newcastle wouldn't play until the 15th of May so a win for us would have ruled their game against Tottenham pointless.
A Patrick Van Aanholt free-kick and Lamine Kone brace sealed the three points that kept us safe, and sent the Mags falling down to the Championship. Poetic.
