Sunderland’s Alternative Hall of Fame - ft. beachball, Milton Nunez & the weakened team at Hull

Milton Nunez

There’s no doubt that ‘Tyson’ deserves a place in Sunderland AFC’s history books such is the notoriety of his transfer to Wearside.

Sure, we may have signed the wrong player and effectively set fire to £2.6 MILLION POUNDS in the process, but what kind of world would it be had Milton ‘Tyson’ Nunez not rocked up on Wearside at the turn of century in a shirt four sizes too big?

You literally don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone. Viva Milton Nunez.

everardoherrera.com

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The Sean Thornton rap

Those of you too young to remember the Irishman's attempt to emulate Vanilla Ice will never truly know the best way to celebrate promotion to the Premier League.

Whilst none of us understood a word the peroxide king said, it become quite evident Seany boy saw himself as some kind of Guinness-drinking Slim Shady.

Cringe as it may have been, the priceless look of bemusement on Marcus Stewart’s face when it happened means it earns its rightful place in the Alternative Hall of Fame. Check it.

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Bobby Saxton

“That’s f***in’ mingin’ that” is a quote that has gone down in Wearside folklore - and deservedly so.

Big Sacko was many, many things - a great coach, a wonderful character and the winner of many air headers whilst on the touchline with Reidy.

However his starring role in BBC’s Premier Passions and memorable ‘mingin’ quote is still said on Wearside almost twenty three years on - and probably will be forever more.

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Darron Gibson

“I don’t want to be shit”.

Whilst many Sunderland managers, players, chairmen and coaches have tried to describe how it feels to support this club, nobody has quite summed up exactly how it feels to be red and white after seven pints.

The Telegraph

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Santiago Vergini’s Own Goal

How could we not include this? It was an absolutely glorious volley that - in the opposite net - would have been heralded as one of the great Sunderland goals for decades.

His body shape, the power behind the strike, the crisp curved finish with the outside of the boot - hell, it was so good it was almost as seductive as the Argentinian beauty himself.

It’s probably the only goal scored against us we watch back regularly.

We also lost 8-0.

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The Weakened Team At Hull

Take over Covent Garden for the second time in a month? Sure.

Get to an FA Cup semi final? Yes please.

Play League One Sheffield United in the semi-finals? Jesus, I have a sweat on.

Beat Steve ‘Wa Finished Tenth Ya Knar’ Bruce?

I am vibrating at the speed of light right now.

Play a weakened team anyway Gus, aye? NO. NO. NO.

Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images

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The post Steven Taylor smashed his face into

‘Ping’.

In real time, it was phenomenal, in slow-motion it was beyond satisfying.

Wallop. Straight in the face.

Inject it directly into my veins.

Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

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The Beachball

Remember when we were proper good at football? Remember when luck was on our side - a time when Darren Bent didn’t make us seethe with anger and froth at the mouth with pure rage?

They were simpler days; days when the world made sense, the sun shone and the sky was as blue as Seb Larsson’s eyes.

We salute you, Mr Beachball.

Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

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Lee Cattermole’s goal at West Brom

Talking of monumental moments, when LBC twatted in a 25-yarder six minutes into the opening day of the season, I’m not ashamed to say I thought we were going to win the league.

Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images

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Bolo Zenden’s Safety Dance

“If you can’t dance then you ain’t no friend of mine” - thankfully, the little midfield maestro could dance like a true professional, putting the slick moves of Ghanaian Asamoah Gyan to shame on a cold November night in London.

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Mrs Advocaat’s Flowers

After initially agreeing to lead Sunderland only until the end of the season, Advocaat left the club to fulfill a promise to his wife, but changed his mind and returned in June.

Tempting Big Dick out of retirement was no mean feat and as a thank you for letting her husband “go out with the Lads” we raised over £1k to buy his wife some flowers.

How bloody lovely of us eh?

Well... flowers don’t fix anything, because within three months he’d “retired” from football. Let’s not do that again. The ungrateful so-and-so’s.

Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty images