# 1991–92 Sunderland A.F.C. season

During the 1991–92 English football season, Sunderland A.F.C. competed in the Football League Second Division.

## Season summary

Having been relegated from the First Division in 1990-91, Sunderland were widely expected to perform well in 1991-92, but ultimately struggled in the Second Division, finishing in a disappointing 18th position. However, in that same season, the Rokerites embarked on a run leading to the FA Cup final, becoming the first club from the second tier since 1980 to reach Wembley, where they lost 2–0 to Liverpool, They had previously beaten Chelsea in a quarter-final replay. Smith was sacked as manager during the season, and was replaced by his assistant Malcolm Crosby.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 16 | Barnsley | 46 | 16 | 11 | 19 | 46 | 57 | −11 | 59 |
| 17 | Bristol City | 46 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 55 | 71 | −16 | 54 |
| 18 | Sunderland | 46 | 14 | 11 | 21 | 61 | 65 | −4 | 53 |
| 19 | Grimsby Town | 46 | 14 | 11 | 21 | 47 | 62 | −15 | 53 |
| 20 | Newcastle United | 46 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 66 | 84 | −18 | 52 |

## Results

Sunderland's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League Second Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 17 August 1991 | Derby County | H | 1–1 | 20,509 | Armstrong |
| 20 August 1991 | Barnsley | A | 3–0 | 12,454 | Owers, Armstrong, Pascoe |
| 24 August 1991 | Millwall | A | 1–4 | 10,016 | Owers (pen) |
| 31 August 1991 | Oxford United | H | 2–0 | 16,151 | Gabbiadini, Armstrong |
| 3 September 1991 | Portsmouth | A | 0–1 | 9,621 | |
| 7 September 1991 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 1–1 | 17,043 | Atkinson |
| 14 September 1991 | Swindon Town | A | 3–5 | 11,417 | Owers, Gabbiadini, Armstrong |
| 17 September 1991 | Charlton Athletic | A | 4–1 | 5,807 | Owers (pen), Gabbiadini (3) |
| 21 September 1991 | Grimsby Town | H | 1–2 | 16,535 | Pascoe |
| 28 September 1991 | Middlesbrough | A | 1–2 | 19,424 | Brady |
| 5 October 1991 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 4–2 | 15,119 | Beagrie, Rush (2), Armstrong |
| 12 October 1991 | Cambridge United | A | 0–3 | 7,857 | |
| 19 October 1991 | Port Vale | A | 3–3 | 7,525 | Brady (2), Ball |
| 26 October 1991 | Bristol Rovers | H | 1–1 | 14,746 | Bennett |
| 2 November 1991 | Watford | H | 3–1 | 12,790 | Byrne (2), Armstrong |
| 5 November 1991 | Ipswich Town | A | 1–0 | 9,768 | Armstrong |
| 9 November 1991 | Bristol City | A | 0–1 | 10,570 | |
| 17 November 1991 | Newcastle United | H | 1–1 | 29,224 | Davenport |
| 23 November 1991 | Plymouth Argyle | A | 0–1 | 6,007 | |
| 30 November 1991 | Southend United | H | 1–2 | 13,575 | Byrne |
| 7 December 1991 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 0–1 | 11,922 | |
| 14 December 1991 | Leicester City | H | 1–0 | 15,094 | Goodman |
| 21 December 1991 | Portsmouth | H | 1–0 | 14,432 | Awford (own goal) |
| 26 December 1991 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 0–1 | 13,658 | |
| 28 December 1991 | Oxford United | A | 0–3 | 6,140 | |
| 1 January 1992 | Barnsley | H | 2–0 | 16,107 | Armstrong, Goodman |
| 11 January 1992 | Millwall | H | 6–2 | 16,533 | Hardyman, Byrne, Goodman (3), Davenport |
| 18 January 1992 | Derby County | A | 2–1 | 15,384 | Goodman, Byrne |
| 1 February 1992 | Port Vale | H | 1–1 | 19,488 | Armstrong |
| 8 February 1992 | Bristol Rovers | A | 1–2 | 6,318 | Byrne |
| 11 February 1992 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 1–1 | 18,060 | Hardyman |
| 22 February 1992 | Southend United | A | 0–2 | 7,473 | |
| 29 February 1992 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 1–0 | 20,106 | Byrne (pen) |
| 14 March 1992 | Watford | A | 0–1 | 8,091 | |
| 21 March 1992 | Bristol City | H | 1–3 | 18,933 | Atkinson |
| 29 March 1992 | Newcastle United | A | 0–1 | 30,306 | |
| 8 April 1992 | Leicester City | A | 2–3 | 16,533 | Bennett, Goodman |
| 11 April 1992 | Charlton Athletic | H | 1–2 | 21,326 | Bennett |
| 14 April 1992 | Ipswich Town | H | 3–0 | 22,131 | Goodman (2), Rush |
| 16 April 1992 | Plymouth Argyle | H | 0–1 | 23,813 | |
| 18 April 1992 | Grimsby Town | A | 0–2 | 8,864 | |
| 20 April 1992 | Middlesbrough | H | 1–0 | 25,098 | Davenport |
| 25 April 1992 | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | 2–2 | 9,851 | Goodman, Rogan |
| 27 April 1992 | Swindon Town | H | 0–0 | 16,716 | |
| 29 April 1992 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 2–2 | 15,079 | Armstrong, Davenport |
| 2 May 1992 | Cambridge United | H | 2–2 | 19,042 | Goodman, Rush |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 4 January 1992 | Port Vale | H | 3–0 | 15,564 | Atkinson, Davenport, Byrne |
| R4 | 5 February 1992 | Oxford United | A | 3–2 | 9,968 | Byrne, Hardyman, Atkinson |
| R5 | 15 February 1992 | West Ham United | H | 1–1 | 25,475 | Byrne |
| R5R | 26 February 1992 | West Ham United | A | 3–2 | 25,830 | Byrne (2), Rush |
| QF | 9 March 1992 | Chelsea | A | 1–1 | 33,498 | Byrne |
| QFR | 18 March 1992 | Chelsea | H | 2–1 | 26,039 | Davenport, Amstrong |
| SF | 5 April 1992 | Norwich City | N | 1–0 | 40,102 | Byrne |
| F | 9 May 1992 | Liverpool | N | 0–2 | 79,544 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R2 First Leg | 24 September 1991 | Huddersfield Town | H | 1–2 | 8,161 | Hauser |
| R2 Second Leg | 9 October 1991 | Huddersfield Town | A | 0–4 (lost 1–6 on agg) | 11,177 | |

## Players
### First-team squad

    Squad at end of 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 |
| — | GK | ENG | Tim Carter |
| — | GK | WAL | Tony Norman |
| — | DF | ENG | Gary Bennett |
| — | DF | ENG | Paul Hardyman |
| — | DF | ENG | John Kay |
| — | DF | ENG | Richard Ord |
| — | DF | ENG | Ian Sampson |
| — | DF | ENG | Anthony Smith |
| — | DF | ENG | Paul Williams |
| — | DF | NIR | Anton Rogan |
| — | MF | ENG | Gordon Armstrong |
| — | MF | ENG | Brian Atkinson |
| — | MF | ENG | Kevin Ball |
| — | MF | ENG | Peter Beagrie (on loan from Everton) |
| — | MF | ENG | Paul Bracewell |
| — | MF | ENG | Tony Cullen |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | Peter Davenport |
| — | MF | ENG | Steve Gaughan |
| — | MF | ENG | Martin Gray |
| — | MF | ENG | Gary Owers |
| — | MF | WAL | Colin Pascoe |
| — | MF | IRL | Kieron Brady |
| — | MF | IRL | Brian Mooney |
| — | FW | ENG | Steve Brodie |
| — | FW | ENG | Don Goodman |
| — | FW | ENG | Warren Hawke |
| — | FW | ENG | David Rush |
| — | FW | ENG | Craig Russell |
| — | FW | IRL | John Byrne |
| — | FW | GER | Thomas Hauser |

### 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 |
| — | DF | NGA | Reuben Agboola (to Swansea City) |
| — | FW | ENG | Marco Gabbiadini (to Crystal Palace) |