On this day in 1989 Brian Atkinson made his debut for Sunderland in a Second Division game at home to Plymouth Argyle. He made 169 appearances for the lads and was part of the side that lost to Liverpool in the 1992 F.A. Cup final. He played for 13 years and made just shy of 400 league and cup appearances in his career. He was capped six times at u-21 level for England and was part of the squad that won the prestigious Toulon tournament in 1991.
He made his Sunderland debut in front of a meagre Roker Park crowd of 8,003, the second-lowest post-war attendance. And as those supporters were filtering through the turnstiles they might have missed Atkinson putting the ball in the net two minutes in, though an offside call ruled it out. He held his own in the midfield on his debut and we triumphed 2-1 courtesy of a Gordon Armstrong brace. He was a highly rated player and won a Supporters’ Association Young Player of the Season Award but injuries, as well as the form of Paul Bracewell and the signing of Steve Agnew meant that his first team opportunities were restricted.
In 1996, Atkinson dropped down the leagues in order to play for Carlisle United but only made a few appearances before he moved permanently to his home-town club, Darlington. He played for the club for six years and finished his career in 2002. After that, Atkinson spent his time involved with north east football and became assistant manager of County Durham sides Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor, before moving back to Darlo as assistant in 2012 as the club reformed in non-league as Darlington 1888.
After several years with Darlington and a stint with York City as an analyst, Brian returned to the Northern League as assistant manager. His coaching experience beyond his roles as assistant including work with Darlington’s Centre of Excellence and also at ex-Sunderland player Martin Gray’s Football Academy. He has over a decade of experience working within colleges, teaching sport, whilst also managing and is currently manager of West Auckland FC. He already has worked there as assistant, overseeing the teams rise from the Durham Alliance League to the Ebac Northern League Division One and he was also involved in their 2010-11 Division Two championship winning campaign.
He must have a deep love for the North of England, having never left it as a player or manager, which is something entirely commendable – never too far away from a panackelty or pink slice. Despite his Sunderland career never really getting off the ground, he has enjoyed a long career in north-eastern football and is a non-league stalwart as a coach to this day.
