# 2009–10 Sunderland A.F.C. season

The 2009–10 season is Sunderland's third consecutive season in the top division of English football, the Premier League.
Ricky Sbragia was replaced by Steve Bruce in the close season. His aim is to improve on the club's 16th position the previous season.
Darren Bent was the top scorer in the Premier League with 24 goals. Andy Reid was the top scorer in the League Cup with two goals. Fraizer Campbell was the top scorer in the FA Cup with two goals. Darren Bent was the top scorer in all competitions with 25 goals.
At the end of the season, Darren Bent won both the club's official Player of the Season and the SAFC Supporters' Association awards. Jordan Henderson won both the club's official Young Player of the Season and the SAFC Supporters' Association Young Player of the Season awards.

## Season summary

Sunderland broke their transfer record with the £10 million signing of Tottenham Hotspur striker Darren Bent. This proved to be a wise investment as Bent scored 25 goals in all competitions during the season, all but one of them in the league. No other player outside the top eight clubs managed even half as many as Bent, who was only outscored by Didier Drogba and Wayne Rooney.

## Transfers
### In
#### Summer

| Date | Pos | Name | From | Fee |
| 11 July 2009 | FW | Fraizer Campbell | Manchester United | £3,500,000 |
| 13 July 2009 | DF | Paulo da Silva | Deportivo Toluca | Undisclosed |
| 24 July 2009 | MF | Lorik Cana | Marseille | £5,000,000 |
| 5 August 2009 | FW | Darren Bent | Tottenham Hotspur | £10,000,000 (rising to £16,000,000) |
| 12 August 2009 | MF | Lee Cattermole | Wigan Athletic | £6,000,000 |
| 28 August 2009 | DF | John Mensah | Lyon | Season-long loan |
| 31 August 2009 | DF | Michael Turner | Hull City | £4,000,000 |
| 16 October 2009 | MF | Bolo Zenden | Marseille | Free |

#### January

| Date | Pos | Name | From | Fee |
| 21 January 2010 | DF | Matthew Kilgallon | Sheffield United | Undisclosed |
| 1 February 2010 | DF | Alan Hutton | Tottenham Hotspur | Season-long loan |
| 2 February 2010 | FW | Benjani Mwaruwari | Manchester City | Season-long loan |

### Out
#### Summer

| Date | Pos | Name | To | Fee |
| 1 July 2009 | MF | Dwight Yorke | Retired | Retired |
| 3 July 2009 | DF | Greg Halford | Wolverhampton Wanderers | £2,000,000 |
| 4 July 2009 | FW | Michael Chopra | Cardiff City | £4,000,000 |
| 24 July 2009 | MF | Dean Whitehead | Stoke City | £5,000,000 |
| 21 August 2009 | FW | Anthony Stokes | Hibernian | £500,000 |
| 30 August 2009 | DF | Paul McShane | Hull City | £1,500,000 |
| 1 September 2009 | DF | Danny Collins | Stoke City | £2,275,000 |
| 1 September 2009 | MF | Teemu Tainio | Birmingham City | Season-long loan |
| 1 September 2009 | MF | Grant Leadbitter | Ipswich Town | £2,600,000 |
| 1 September 2009 | MF | Carlos Edwards | Ipswich Town | £1,400,000 |
| 17 September 2009 | FW | Roy O'Donovan | Southend United | Loan |
| 8 October 2009 | FW | David Connolly | Southampton | Free |

#### January

| Date | Pos | Name | To | Fee |
| 14 January 2010 | DF | Russell Anderson | Derby County | Free |
| 1 February 2010 | DF | Nyron Nosworthy | Sheffield United | Season-long loan |
| 1 February 2010 | FW | Daryl Murphy | Ipswich Town | Season-long loan |
| 1 February 2010 | FW | David Healy | Ipswich Town | Season-long loan |
| 23 February 2010 | FW | Roy O'Donovan | Hartlepool United | Season-long loan |
| 27 April 2010 | GK | Marton Fulop | Manchester City | Season-long loan |

## First-team squad

    Source:
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | SCO | Craig Gordon |
| 2 | DF | SCO | Phil Bardsley |
| 3 | DF | NIR | George McCartney |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Michael Turner |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Anton Ferdinand |
| 6 | DF | SCO | Alan Hutton (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur) |
| 7 | MF | NED | Bolo Zenden |
| 8 | MF | FRA | Steed Malbranque |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Fraizer Campbell |
| 10 | DF | ENG | Kieran Richardson (vice-captain) |
| 11 | FW | ENG | Darren Bent |
| 12 | DF | GHA | John Mensah (on loan from Lyon) |
| 15 | MF | ENG | Liam Noble |
| 16 | MF | ENG | Jordan Henderson |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 17 | FW | TRI | Kenwyne Jones |
| 18 | MF | IRL | David Meyler |
| 19 | MF | ALB | Lorik Cana (captain) |
| 20 | MF | IRL | Andy Reid |
| 22 | DF | PAR | Paulo da Silva |
| 24 | GK | NIR | Trevor Carson |
| 25 | FW | IRL | Roy O'Donovan |
| 26 | MF | ENG | Adam Reed |
| 27 | DF | ENG | Matthew Kilgallon |
| 28 | FW | ZIM | Benjani Mwaruwari (on loan from Manchester City) |
| 29 | MF | ENG | Jack Colback |
| 30 | FW | ENG | Ryan Noble |
| 32 | GK | HUN | Marton Fulop |
| 39 | MF | ENG | Lee Cattermole |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 4 | MF | FIN | Teemu Tainio (on loan to Birmingham City) |
| 6 | DF | JAM | Nyron Nosworthy |
| 7 | MF | TRI | Carlos Edwards (to Ipswich Town) |
| 14 | FW | IRL | Daryl Murphy |
| 15 | DF | WAL | Danny Collins (to Stoke City) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 18 | MF | ENG | Grant Leadbitter (to Ipswich Town) |
| 23 | FW | NIR | David Healy |
| 27 | DF | SCO | Russell Anderson |
| 30 | DF | IRL | Paul McShane |

## Results

| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| Premier League | 15 August 2009 | 9 May 2010 | Matchday 1 | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 48 | 56 | −8 | 028.95 |
| FA Cup | 3 January 2010 | 23 January 2010 | Third round | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 050.00 |
| League Cup | 24 August 2009 | 27 October 2009 | Second round | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 066.67 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 43 | 14 | 11 | 18 | 58 | 59 | −1 | 032.56 |
Last updated: 4 June 2023 Source: Competitions

### Premier League

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 11 | Stoke City | 38 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 34 | 48 | −14 | 47 |
| 12 | Fulham | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 39 | 46 | −7 | 46 |
| 13 | Sunderland | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 48 | 56 | −8 | 44 |
| 14 | Bolton Wanderers | 38 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 42 | 67 | −25 | 39 |
| 15 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 38 | 9 | 11 | 18 | 32 | 56 | −24 | 38 |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 4 June 2023. Source:

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 |
| Ground | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A |
| Result | W | L | W | L | W | L | W | D | W | L | D | L | W | L | L | D | L | L | D | D | L | L | D | D | D | L | D | W | D | W | D | L | W | L | W | W | L | L |
| Position | 10 | 11 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 13 | 13 |
| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance |
| 24 August 2009 | Round 2 | Norwich City | Carrow Road | 4–1 | Tainio 26', Reid (2) 29', 35', Tudur Jones 67' (o.g.) | 12,345 |
| 22 September 2009 | Round 3 | Birmingham City | Stadium of Light | 2–0 | Henderson 4', Campbell 22' | 20,576 |
| 27 October 2009 | Round 4 | Aston Villa | Stadium of Light | 0–0 (1–3 on pens) | | 27,666 |

### FA Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance |
| 3 January 2010 | Round 3 | Barrow | Stadium of Light | 3–0 | Malbranque 17', Campbell (2) 52', 58' | 25,190 |
| 23 January 2010 | Round 4 | Portsmouth | Fratton Park | 1–2 | Bent 15' | 10,315 |

### Premier League

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | League position |
| 15 August 2009 | Bolton Wanderers | Reebok Stadium | 1–0 | Bent 5' | 22,247 | 8th |
| 18 August 2009 | Chelsea | Stadium of Light | 1–3 | Bent 18' | 41,179 | 10th |
| 22 August 2009 | Blackburn Rovers | Stadium of Light | 2–1 | Jones (2) 31', 53' | 37,106 | 6th |
| 29 August 2009 | Stoke City | Britannia Stadium | 0–1 | | 27,091 | 8th |
| 12 September 2009 | Hull City | Stadium of Light | 4–1 | Bent (2) 12' (pen), 66', Reid 49', Zayatte 75' (o.g.) | 38,997 | 6th |
| 19 September 2009 | Burnley | Turf Moor | 1–3 | Bent 38' | 20,196 | 8th |
| 27 September 2009 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Stadium of Light | 5–2 | Bent 8' (pen), Jones (2) 47' (pen), 69', Turner 73', Mancienne 90' (o.g.) | 37,566 | 8th |
| 3 October 2009 | Manchester United | Old Trafford | 2–2 | Bent 7', Jones 58' | 75,114 | 8th |
| 17 October 2009 | Liverpool | Stadium of Light | 1–0 | Bent 5' | 47,327 | 7th |
| 24 October 2009 | Birmingham City | St. Andrew's | 1–2 | Turner 82' | 21,732 | 7th |
| 31 October 2009 | West Ham United | Stadium of Light | 2–2 | Reid 38', Richardson 76' | 39,033 | 8th |
| 7 November 2009 | Tottenham Hotspur | White Hart Lane | 0–2 | | 35,955 | 8th |
| 21 November 2009 | Arsenal | Stadium of Light | 1–0 | Bent 70' | 44,918 | 8th |
| 28 November 2009 | Wigan Athletic | DW Stadium | 0–1 | | 20,447 | 8th |
| 6 December 2009 | Fulham | Craven Cottage | 0–1 | | 23,168 | 10th |
| 12 December 2009 | Portsmouth | Stadium of Light | 1–1 | Bent 22' | 37,578 | 10th |
| 15 December 2009 | Aston Villa | Stadium of Light | 0–2 | | 34,821 | 10th |
| 19 December 2009 | Manchester City | City of Manchester Stadium | 3–4 | Mensah 15', Henderson 24', Jones 62' | 44,735 | 10th |
| 26 December 2009 | Everton | Stadium of Light | 1–1 | Bent 17' | 46,990 | 10th |
| 28 December 2009 | Blackburn Rovers | Ewood Park | 2–2 | Bent (2) 52', 65' | 25,656 | 10th |
| 16 January 2010 | Chelsea | Stamford Bridge | 2–7 | Zenden 56', Bent 90' | 41,776 | 12th |
| 27 January 2010 | Everton | Goodison Park | 0–2 | | 32,163 | 13th |
| 1 February 2010 | Stoke City | Stadium of Light | 0–0 | | 35,078 | 13th |
| 6 February 2010 | Wigan Athletic | Stadium of Light | 1–1 | Jones 64' | 38,350 | 13th |
| 9 February 2010 | Portsmouth | Fratton Park | 1–1 | Bent 11' (pen) | 16,242 | 13th |
| 20 February 2010 | Arsenal | Emirates Stadium | 0–2 | | 60,083 | 14th |
| 28 February 2010 | Fulham | Stadium of Light | 0–0 | | 40,192 | 14th |
| 9 March 2010 | Bolton Wanderers | Stadium of Light | 4–0 | Campbell 1', Bent (3) 63', 74' (pen), 87' | 36,087 | 13th |
| 14 March 2010 | Manchester City | Stadium of Light | 1–1 | Jones 8' | 41,398 | 14th |
| 20 March 2010 | Birmingham City | Stadium of Light | 3–1 | Bent (2) 5', 11', Campbell 88' | 37,962 | 12th |
| 24 March 2010 | Aston Villa | Villa Park | 1–1 | Campbell 22' | 37,473 | 13th |
| 28 March 2010 | Liverpool | Anfield | 0–3 | | 43,121 | 13th |
| 3 April 2010 | Tottenham Hotspur | Stadium of Light | 3–1 | Bent (2) 1', 29' (pen), Zenden 85' | 43,184 | 13th |
| 10 April 2010 | West Ham United | Boleyn Ground | 0–1 | | 34,685 | 13th |
| 17 April 2010 | Burnley | Stadium of Light | 2–1 | Campbell 24', Bent 40' | 41,341 | 13th |
| 24 April 2010 | Hull City | KC Stadium | 1–0 | Bent 6' | 25,012 | 10th |
| 2 May 2010 | Manchester United | Stadium of Light | 0–1 | | 47,641 | 11th |
| 9 May 2010 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Molineux | 1–2 | Jones 7' | 28,971 | 13th |

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 11 | Stoke City | 38 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 34 | 48 | −14 | 47 |
| 12 | Fulham | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 39 | 46 | −7 | 46 |
| 13 | Sunderland | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 48 | 56 | −8 | 44 |
| 14 | Bolton Wanderers | 38 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 42 | 67 | −25 | 39 |
| 15 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 38 | 9 | 11 | 18 | 32 | 56 | −24 | 38 |

### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Premier League | Premier League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | SCO | Craig Gordon | 30 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 32 | GK | HUN | Márton Fülöp | 14 | 0 | 12+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | ENG | Phil Bardsley | 28 | 0 | 18+8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | NIR | George McCartney | 28 | 0 | 20+5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Michael Turner | 32 | 2 | 29 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Anton Ferdinand | 25 | 0 | 19+5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | SCO | Alan Hutton | 11 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | GHA | John Mensah | 17 | 1 | 14+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | PAR | Paulo da Silva | 21 | 0 | 12+4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | ENG | Matt Kilgallon | 7 | 0 | 6+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | DF | ENG | Michael Liddle | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||
| 7 | MF | NED | Boudewijn Zenden | 21 | 2 | 1+19 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | FRA | Steed Malbranque | 35 | 1 | 30+1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1+2 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | ENG | Kieran Richardson | 32 | 1 | 28+1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | ENG | Jordan Henderson | 38 | 2 | 23+10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 18 | MF | IRL | David Meyler | 12 | 0 | 9+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | ALB | Lorik Cana | 35 | 0 | 29+2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | IRL | Andy Reid | 25 | 4 | 18+3 | 2 | 0+1 | 0 | 2+1 | 2 |
| 29 | MF | ENG | Jack Colback | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | MF | ENG | Lee Cattermole | 22 | 0 | 19+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||
| 9 | FW | ENG | Fraizer Campbell | 36 | 7 | 19+12 | 4 | 1+1 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 11 | FW | ENG | Darren Bent | 40 | 25 | 38 | 24 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | IRL | Daryl Murphy | 7 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | TRI | Kenwyne Jones | 36 | 9 | 24+8 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | NIR | David Healy | 7 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 28 | FW | ZIM | Benjani Mwaruwari | 8 | 0 | 1+7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | FW | ENG | Ryan Noble | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players transferred out during the season ||||||||||||
| 4 | MF | FIN | Teemu Tainio | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 6 | DF | JAM | Nyron Nosworthy | 10 | 0 | 7+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | TRI | Carlos Edwards | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | WAL | Danny Collins | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | ENG | Grant Leadbitter | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Last updated: 31 May 2010 Source: Competitions

### Goal scorers

| Nation | Number | Name | Premier League | League Cup | FA Cup | Total |
| | 11 | Darren Bent | 24 | 0 | 1 | 25 |
| | 17 | Kenwyne Jones | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| | 9 | Fraizer Campbell | 4 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| | 20 | Andy Reid | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| / | / | Own goals | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| | 7 | Boudewijn Zenden | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| | 4 | Michael Turner | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| | 16 | Jordan Henderson | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| | 10 | Kieran Richardson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| | 12 | John Mensah | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| | 8 | Steed Malbranque | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| | 4 | Teemu Tainio | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| / | / | TOTALS | 48 | 6 | 4 | 58 |