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Why are Sunderland no longer a top club?

Sunderland were once known as the 'Bank of England' club, one of the leading football powers in the land. Now they are fighting relegation to League One. Where did it all go wrong?

This well-written and informative blog post from a Sunderland fan attempts to provide some answers: Lessons handed down

A pivotal event is seen as the club being found guilty of illegal payments in 1957 and fined £5,000. (£110,000 in today's prices). It wasn't so much the size of the fine as the fact that many key personnel left the club afterwards and its reputation was never the same.

Incidentally, they got found out over a £3,000 receipt for straw after a whistle blower (Sunderland fans would no doubt call him something else) had alerted the football authorities. That would have provided enough straw to cover the pitch in winter for 25 years.

What is not mentioned is the economic decline of the area in which the club is located with the disappearance of its traditional heavy industries, notably shipbuilding. The presence of Nissan only partially makes up for it.

The international benefactor owners want to put their money in world cities like London or global football cities like Manchester.

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