On this day in 1992, Michael Gray made his debut for Sunderland in a victory away to Derby. That would be the first of an astounding 410 outings in red and white for the left back/winger.
Gray made his debut at 18 years old, in 1992. The lads won 1-0 in an away win at Derby County with Don Goodman scoring the only goal and Gray coming on as a sub. He was in and out of the first team, playing in various roles such as striker, left winger and left back. It wasn’t until the 1995/96 season, Gray really began to cement his position in the side, playing anywhere on the left.
After Sunderland were promoted as Champions, Gray scored the club’s first ever Premier League goal in a 4-1 win at Nottingham Forest. Despite Gray featuring regularly in the side, we were relegated in our first season in the Premier League. A year later, Gray made headlines for the wrong reasons. After the 4-4 draw with Charlton in the play-off final, the winger missed the decisive penalty in the shootout. Unfortunately, the infamous penalty was the thing that most people remember about Gray, and he’s never been allowed to forget it.</