2005–06 Sunderland A.F.C. season

English football club season October 2013 December 2023 Sunderland 2005–06 Mick McCarthy (until 13 February)Kevin Ball (caretaker) (from 7 March until 31 May)Niall Quinn (from 25 July) Bob Murray Stadium of Light FA Premier League 20th (relegated) FA Cup Fourth round League Cup Third round 2004–05 2006–07 Liam LawrenceTommy MillerDean WhiteheadAnthony Le Tallec (3) Anthony Le Tallec (5) 44,003 (vs. Arsenal, 1 May 2006) 28,226 (vs. Fulham, 4 May 2006) During the 2005–06 season, Sunderland competed in the FA Premier League. A total of 38 matches were played in which they finished last in 20th, with 15 points. Season summary Sunderland's season began with a streak of five consecutive losses. A brief respite came with a three-match unbeaten run before the October international break, lifting the team out of the relegation zone. However, this momentum was short-lived; a defeat to Manchester United post-break plunged them back into the bottom three, a position they never recovered from. The period between the international break and Christmas was particularly bleak, with the team losing every match. Their second victory of the season came in late January against West Bromwich Albion, who were just above them in the standings. Cup competitions were poor as well, as Sunderland struggled against League Two's Cheltenham Town in the League Cup's first round before a 3–0 defeat to Arsenal, and suffered a demoralizing exit in the FA Cup's fourth round to League One's Brentford. The poor performance led to the dismissal of Mick McCarthy, the manager of nearly three years, with Kevin Ball stepping in as caretaker manager. The season's modest goal became to avoid setting a new low for the fewest points in a Premier League season, a record Sunderland themselves held. Not only was the new record set, but they also broke Stoke City's 21-year record for the lowest points under the three-point-win system. Sunderland marginally improved on their previous record for the fewest goals in a top-flight season The league's new low-point record was surpassed by Derby County two years later, who recorded 11 points in contrast to Sunderland's 15. Transfers In DatePosNameFromFee3 June 2005FWIRL Daryl MurphyIRL Waterford United£100,000https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/s/sunderland/4606097.stm Sunderland sign Irish star Murphy 3 June 2005 BBC Sport10 June 2005DFENG Nyron NosworthyENG GillinghamFreehttps://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/s/sunderland/4080198.stm Sunderland seal Nosworthy signing 13 June 2005 BBC Sport13 June 2005FWENG Jon SteadENG Blackburn Rovers£1,800,000https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/sunderland/4089430.stm Sunderland snap up striker Stead 13 June 2005 BBC Sport14 June 2005GKENG Kelvin DavisENG Ipswich Town£1,250,000https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/s/sunderland/4586385.stm Davis completes Sunderland move 14 June 2005 BBC Sport22 June 2005MFENG Tommy MillerENG Ipswich TownFreehttps://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/s/sunderland/4599349.stm Miller secures Sunderland switch 22 June 2005 BBC Sport6 July 2005MFSCO Martin WoodsENG Leeds UnitedFreehttps://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/s/sunderland/4653755.stm Sunderland sign Leeds youngster 5 July 2005 BBC Sport2 August 2005DFENG Alan StubbsENG EvertonFreehttps://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/s/sunderland/4737377.stm Sunderland sign defender Stubbs 2 August 2005 BBC Sport2 August 2005FWFRA Anthony Le TallecENG LiverpoolSeason-long loanhttps://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/4740071.stm Sunderland sign Le Tallec on loan 2 August 2005 BBC Sport9 August 2005GKIRL Joe MurphyENG West Bromwich AlbionFreehttps://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/s/sunderland/4136306.stm Murphy reveals Sunderland switch 9 August 2005 BBC Sport10 August 2005FWSCO Andy GrayENG Sheffield United£1,100,000https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/s/sunderland/4131608.stm Gray completes move to Sunderland 10 August 2005 BBC Sport24 August 2005MFFRA Christian BassilaFRA StrasbourgFreehttps://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/sunderland/4172698.stm Bassila agrees to Sunderland move 24 August 2005 BBC Sport31 August 2005DFENG Justin HoyteENG ArsenalSeason-long loanhttps://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/s/sunderland/4201830.stm Sunderland capture Hoyte on loan 31 August 2005 BBC Sport25 January 2006FWSCO Kevin SmithENG Leeds UnitedFreehttps://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/s/sunderland/4650384.stm Sunderland sign Smith from Leeds 26 January 2006 BBC Sport31 January 2006MFIRL Rory DelapENG SouthamptonFreehttps://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/s/sunderland/4666014.stm Sunderland seal signing of Delap 31 January 2006 BBC Sport Out DatePosNameToFee14 June 2005DFENG Mark LynchENG Hull CityFreehttps://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/h/hull_city/4093078.stm Defender Lynch seals move to Hull 14 June 2005 BBC Sport1 July 2005MFNIR Jeff WhitleyWAL Cardiff CityFreehttps://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/c/cardiff_city/4119326.stm Whitley completes Cardiff switch 1 July 2005 BBC Sport1 July 2005FWENG Marcus StewartENG Bristol CityFreehttps://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/b/bristol_city/4613217.stm Stewart agrees Bristol City move 6 June 2005 BBC Sport1 July 2005FWENG Brian DeaneAUS Perth GloryFree11 July 2005MFIRL Sean ThorntonENG Doncaster Rovers£175,000https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/d/doncaster/4675401.stm Thornton completes Doncaster move 12 July 2005 BBC Sport25 July 2005GKNOR Thomas MyhreNOR FredrikstadFree25 July 2005FWENG Michael BridgesENG Bristol CityFreehttps://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/bristol_city/4708569.stm City put seal on Bridges signing 23 July 2005 BBC Sport12 August 2005DFSCO Neill CollinsENG Hartlepool UnitedLoanhttps://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/hartlepool_united/4146610.stm Collins joins Hartlepool on loan 12 August 2005 BBC Sport31 August 2005GKEST Mart PoomENG ArsenalLoan31 August 2005 Poom makes loan switch to Arsenal http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/4201804.stm 10 December 2025 BBC Sport en-GB8 September 2005FWENG Chris BrownENG Hull CityLoanhttps://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/h/hull_city/4227266.stm Striker makes loan move to Hull 8 September 2005 BBC Sport23 September 2005MFENG Grant LeadbitterENG Rotherham UnitedLoanhttps://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/r/rotherham_utd/4275496.stm Millers sign Leadbitter on loan 23 September 2005 BBC Sport21 October 2005GKIRL Joe MurphyENG WalsallLoan24 November 2005MFWAL Carl RobinsonENG Norwich CityLoan24 November 2005FWIRL Daryl MurphyENG Sheffield WednesdayLoan12 January 2006DFENG Dan SmithENG Huddersfield TownLoan17 January 2006MFWAL Carl RobinsonENG Norwich City£50,00020 January 2006DFENG Alan StubbsENG EvertonFree23 January 2006GKEST Mart PoomENG ArsenalFree23 January 2006 Arsenal put faith in Poom https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/01b1-0e6d5c654f36-7533468f4416-1000--arsenal-put-faith-in-poom/ 10 December 2025 UEFA.com17 February 2006DFSCO Neill CollinsENG Sheffield UnitedLoan18 February 2006 Sheff Utd sign defender Collins http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/s/sheff_utd/4727302.stm 22 August 2026 BBC Sport en-GB1 March 2006MFSCO Andy WelshENG Leicester CityLoan16 March 2006FWSCO Andy GrayENG BurnleyLoan Players First-team squad Squad at end of seasonhttp://www.footballsquads.co.uk/eng/2005-2006/faprem/sunder.htm FootballSquads - Sunderland - 2005/06 www.footballsquads.co.uk 1 ENG GK Kelvin Davis 2 ENG DF Stephen Wright 3 NIR DF George McCartney 4 IRL MF Rory DelapDelap was born in Sutton Coldfield, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally and made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in 1998. 5 IRL DF Gary Breen captain 6 SCO DF Steven Caldwell vice-captain 7 IRL MF Liam Lawrence 8 ENG MF Dean Whitehead 9 ENG FW Jon Stead 10 IRL FW Stephen Elliott 11 SCO MF Andy WelshWelsh was born in Manchester, England, but also qualified to represent Scotland internationally and has represented Scotland at U-19 level. 12 ENG DF Nyron NosworthyNosworthy was born in Brixton, England, but also qualified to represent Jamaica internationally through his father and Guyana internationally through his mother, and would make his international debut for Jamaica in May 2012. 13 ENG GK Ben Alnwick 14 ENG MF Tommy Miller 15 WAL DF Danny CollinsCollins was born in Chester, England, and represented them at C level, but also qualified to represent Wales internationally and made his international debut for Wales in February 2005. 16 SCO FW Kevin Kyle 17 FRA FW Anthony Le Tallec on loan from Liverpool 18 SCO FW Andy GrayGray was born in Harrogate, England, but also qualified to represent Scotland internationally and made his international debut for Scotland in April 2003. 19 SCO MF Martin Woods 20 ENG FW Chris Brown 23 ENG MF Grant Leadbitter 25 SCO DF Neill Collins 26 IRL FW Daryl Murphy 28 ENG DF Dan Smith 30 IRL GK Joe Murphy 31 FRA MF Christian Bassila 32 ENG DF Justin HoyteHoyte was born in Waltham Forest, England, and represented them at U-16, U-19, U-20, and U-21 level, but also qualified to represent Trinidad and Tobago internationally and made his international debut for Trinidad and Tobago in March 2013. on loan from Arsenal 33 ARG MF Julio Arca Left club during season 4 WAL MF Carl Robinson to Norwich City 21 ENG MF Matt Piper released 22 ENG DF Alan Stubbs to Everton 24 EST GK Mart Poom to Arsenal IRL MF Colin Healy to Livingston Reserve squad 21 SCO FW Kevin Smith 24 NIR GK Trevor Carson 27 ENG DF Ben Christensen 29 ENG DF Sean Taylor Results Sunderland's score comes first. WinDrawLoss League Cup +RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers2nd20 September 2005 Cheltenham TownStadium of Light1–0 (after extra time)11,969Le Tallec3rd25 October 2005 ArsenalStadium of Light0–347,366 FA Cup +RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers3rd8 January 2006 Northwich VictoriaStadium of Light3–019,323N. Collins, Whitehead, Le Tallec4th28 January 2006 BrentfordGriffin Park1–211,698Arca Premier League 2005–06 FA Premier League SUN Results by matchday table b Matchday Result L/L/L/L/L/D/W/D/L/L/L/L/L/L/L/L/L/D/L/L/L/W/L/L/D/L/L/L/L/L/L/D/D/L/L/L/W/L Position 18/20/20/20/20/20/19/17/19/19/20/20/20/20/20/20/20/20/20/20/20/20/20/20/20/20/20/20/20/20/20/20/20/20/20/20/20/20 green2 Win yellow2 Draw red2 Loss 1st 2nd 3rd red1 DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers 13 August 2005 Charlton AthleticStadium of Light1–334,446Gray 20 August 2005 LiverpoolAnfield0–144,913 23 August 2005 Manchester CityStadium of Light1–233,357Le Tallec 27 August 2005 Wigan AthleticJJB Stadium0–117,223 10 September 2005 ChelseaStamford Bridge0–241,969 17 September 2005 West Bromwich AlbionStadium of Light1–131,657Breen 25 September 2005 MiddlesbroughRiverside Stadium2–029,583Miller, Arca 1 October 2005 West Ham UnitedStadium of Light1–131,212Miller 15 October 2005 Manchester UnitedStadium of Light1–339,085Elliott 23 October 2005 Newcastle UnitedSt James' Park2–352,302Lawrence, Elliott 29 October 2005 PortsmouthStadium of Light1–434,926Whitehead (pen) 5 November 2005 ArsenalHighbury1–338,210Stubbs 19 November 2005 Aston VillaStadium of Light1–339,707Whitehead (pen) 26 November 2005 Birmingham CityStadium of Light0–132,442 30 November 2005 LiverpoolStadium of Light0–232,697 3 December 2005 Tottenham HotspurWhite Hart Lane2–336,244Whitehead, Le Tallec 10 December 2005 Charlton AthleticThe Valley0–226,065 26 December 2005 Bolton WanderersStadium of Light0–032,232 31 December 2005 EvertonStadium of Light0–130,567 2 January 2006 FulhamCraven Cottage1–219,372Lawrence 15 January 2006 ChelseaStadium of Light1–232,420Lawrence 21 January 2006 West Bromwich AlbionThe Hawthorns1–026,464Watson (own goal) 31 January 2006 MiddlesbroughStadium of Light0–331,675 4 February 2006 West Ham UnitedBoleyn Ground0–234,745 12 February 2006 Tottenham HotspurStadium of Light1–134,700Murphy 15 February 2006 Blackburn RoversEwood Park0–218,220 25 February 2006 Birmingham CitySt. Andrew's0–129,257 3 March 2006 Manchester CityCity of Manchester Stadium1–242,200Kyle 11 March 2006 Wigan AthleticStadium of Light0–131,194 18 March 2006 Bolton WanderersReebok Stadium0–223,568 25 March 2006 Blackburn RoversStadium of Light0–129,593 1 April 2006 EvertonGoodison Park2–238,093Stead, Delap 14 April 2006 Manchester UnitedOld Trafford0–072,519 17 April 2006 Newcastle UnitedStadium of Light1–440,032Hoyte 22 April 2006 PortsmouthFratton Park1–220,078Miller 1 May 2006 ArsenalStadium of Light0–344,003 4 May 2006 FulhamStadium of Light2–128,226Le Tallec, Brown 7 May 2006 Aston VillaVilla Park1–233,820D. Collins Friendlies +DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers 16 July 2005 Vancouver Whitecaps Swangard Stadium (Burnaby, British Columbia) 0–3 6,857 20 July 2005 Seattle Sounders Qwest Field (Seattle, Washington) 1–0 8,502 Lawrence 23 July 2005 Portland Timbers PGE Park (Portland, Oregon) 0–0 15,376 Statistics Appearances and goals Premier League FA Cup League Cup |- ! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Goalkeepers 1 Kelvin Davis GK ENG 33 0 2 0 0 0 13 Ben Alnwick GK ENG 5 0 0 0 2 0 |- ! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Defenders 2 Stephen Wright DF ENG 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 George McCartney DF NIR 13 0 0 0 0 0 5 Gary Breen DF IRL 33+2 1 1 0 0 0 6 Steven Caldwell DF SCO 23 1 0 0 2 0 12 Nyron Nosworthy DF ENG 24+6 0 0 0 2 0 15 Danny Collins DF WAL 22+1 1 2 0 2 0 28 Dan Smith DF ENG 1+2 0 0 0 1+1 0 32 Justin Hoyte DF ENG 27 1 2 0 1 0 33 Julio Arca DF ARG 22+2 1 2 1 0 0 |- ! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Midfielders 4 Rory Delap MF IRL 5+1 1 0 0 0 0 7 Liam Lawrence MF IRL 19+10 3 2 0 2 0 8 Dean Whitehead MF ENG 37 3 2 1 0+2 0 11 Andy Welsh MF SCO 11+2 0 0+1 0 1+1 0 14 Tommy Miller MF ENG 27+2 3 2 0 0 0 19 Martin Woods MF ENG 1+6 0 0 0 1 0 23 Grant Leadbitter MF ENG 8+4 0 0 0 0 0 31 Christian Bassila MF FRA 12+1 0 0 0 1 0 |- ! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Forwards 9 Jon Stead FW ENG 21+9 1 2 0 2 0 10 Stephen Elliott FW IRL 11+4 2 0 0 0+1 0 16 Kevin Kyle FW SCO 9+4 1 1 0 0 0 17 Anthony Le Tallec FW FRA 12+15 3 1+1 1 2 1 18 Andy Gray FW SCO 13+8 1 0+1 0 0 0 20 Chris Brown FW ENG 10+3 1 0 0 0 0 26 Daryl Murphy FW IRL 5+13 1 0+1 0 0+1 0 |- ! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Players transferred out during the season 4 Carl Robinson MF WAL 3+2 0 0 0 2 0 21 Matt Piper MF ENG 0 0 0 0 1 0 22 Alan Stubbs DF ENG 8+2 1 1 0 0 0 |} References 30em Notes notes Category:Sunderland A.F.C. seasons Sunderland