May 1997
Sunderland — Farewell Roker
Sunderland 3-0 Everton
The last competitive game at Roker Park after 99 years. Tears, roar, and a page turned.
1995 — 2002
The Peter Reid era.Roker to the Stadium of Light.
Seven-and-a-half years, two First Division titles, a farewell to Roker Park and the opening of the Stadium of Light. Kevin Phillips' Golden Boot, Niall Quinn's donkey kicks, and the loudest era of the modern Wearside game.
Sunderland AFC
SR7
Peter Reid
1995–2002
Story of the seasons
Seven-and-a-half years, one long journey
- 1994/95 · 20th, Division One
Steadying the ship
Reid takes over from Mick Buxton in March with Sunderland scrapping for their second-tier lives. Survival secured with games to spare — the foundations laid.
Programmes from 1994/95 → - 1995/96 · 1st, Division One — promoted
Champions of Division One
Promotion as champions and the last-ever season at Roker Park. Craig Russell, Michael Gray and a defiant defensive record carry Sunderland back to the top flight.
Programmes from 1995/96 → - 1996/97 · 18th, Premier League — relegated
Heartbreak at Wimbledon
Farewell Roker, hello Wembley on the final day — a single point short of survival after defeat to Wimbledon. Niall Quinn signs; the rebuild begins.
Programmes from 1996/97 → - 1997/98 · 3rd, Division One
Wembley agony
The Stadium of Light opens. Quinn and a young Kevin Phillips fire Sunderland to the play-off final — 4-4 with Charlton, beaten 7-6 on penalties. One of the great Wembley nights.
Programmes from 1997/98 → - 1998/99 · 1st, Division One — promoted
105 points
A record 105-point promotion campaign. Phillips and Quinn score 41 between them. Sunderland go up as champions with games to spare, the Stadium rocking.
Programmes from 1998/99 → - 1999/00 · 7th, Premier League
The Golden Boot
A stunning return to the top flight — 7th place, the highest finish in a generation, and Kevin Phillips wins the European Golden Boot with 30 league goals.
Programmes from 1999/00 → - 2000/01 · 7th, Premier League
Seventh again
Back-to-back top-half finishes. Reid's Sunderland are established as a Premier League side — Quinn and Phillips still the axis, Thomas Sørensen behind them.
Programmes from 2000/01 → - 2001/02 · 17th, Premier League
The wheels loosen
A summer of expensive signings — Kilbane, Reyna, Laslandes — and a season fighting the drop. Survival secured with games to spare, but the momentum has gone.
Programmes from 2001/02 → - 2002/03 · Sacked October
The end
Seven games in, Sunderland are bottom of the Premier League. Reid is sacked on 7 October 2002 after seven-and-a-half years — the longest managerial reign of the Premier League era at Sunderland.
Programmes from 2002/03 →
Classic moments
Days you don't forget
May 1998
Charlton 4-4 Sunderland (aet)
Play-off Final · lost 7-6 on pens
Clive Mendonca's hat-trick, Quinn and Phillips replying. The greatest and cruellest of Wembley days.
May 1999
Division One champions
105 points
The record-breaking promotion season sealed in style — Bury away, Barnsley home, the Stadium bouncing.
1999/00
Kevin Phillips — European Golden Boot
30 league goals
The Hitachi No.10 tops every striker in Europe. Sunderland finish 7th in the Premier League.
Aug 1996
Niall Quinn signs
From Manchester City
Reid brings his old Man City team-mate to Wearside for £1.3m — the signing that would define the era.
Aug 1999
Sunderland 2-1 Newcastle
Phillips (2)
First Tyne-Wear derby at the Stadium of Light — settled by Super Kev in front of the Fulwell End.
From the archive
Reid-era items
No Reid-era items catalogued yet — check back soon.