# 2004–05 Sunderland A.F.C. season

During the 2004–05 English football season, Sunderland A.F.C. competed in the Football League Championship.

## Season Summary

While a poor start to the season saw Sunderland win just one of their first six matches, putting manager Mick McCarthy under pressure, the board kept faith with the manager, and were rewarded with a much more consistent season than the previous one. The team never dropped out of the top six after a victory over Millwall in mid-October, and their form steadily improved over the season. Along with a collapse by early-season pace-setters Ipswich Town, this lifted Sunderland to the top of the table with seven matches remaining, and they held onto top spot, returning to the Premier League after two seasons.

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

| Date | Pos | Name | From | Fee |
| 1 June 2004 | FW | Stephen Elliott | Manchester City | Free |
| 10 June 2004 | MF | Carl Robinson | Portsmouth | Free |
| 21 June 2004 | MF | Dean Whitehead | Oxford United | Free |
| 25 June 2004 | MF | Liam Lawrence | Mansfield Town | Free |
| 27 June 2004 | DF | Steven Caldwell | Newcastle United | Free |
| 15 July 2004 | DF | Mark Lynch | Manchester United | Free |
| 13 August 2004 | DF | Neill Collins | Dumbarton | £25,000 |
| 10 September 2004 | MF | Simon Johnson | Leeds United | Loan (September to November) |
| 16 September 2004 | MF | Darren Carter | Birmingham City | Loan (September to December) |
| 23 September 2004 | FW | Michael Bridges | Bolton Wanderers | Loan until the end of the season |
| 11 October 2004 | DF | Danny Collins | Chester City | £140,000 |
| 23 November 2004 | MF | Andy Welsh | Stockport County | £35,000 |
| 1 December 2004 | FW | Michael Bridges | Bolton Wanderers | Free |

#### January

| Date | Pos | Name | From | Fee |
| 24 March 2005 | FW | Brian Deane | Leeds United | Free |

### Out
#### Summer

| Date | Pos | Name | To | Fee |
| 25 June 2004 | MF | Tommy Smith | Derby County | Free |
| 18 June 2004 | DF | Simon Ramsden | Grimsby Town | Free |
| 19 July 2004 | MF | Jason McAteer | Tranmere Rovers | Free |
| 20 July 2004 | FW | Michael Reddy | Grimsby Town | Free |
| 21 July 2004 | FW | Darren Byfield | Gillingham | Free |
| 27 July 2004 | MF | Paul Thirlwell | Sheffield United | Free |
| 5 August 2004 | DF | Joachim Bjorklund | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Free |
| 31 August 2004 | MF | Nicolás Medina | Real Murcia | Free |
| 10 September 2004 | MF | Thomas Butler | Dunfermline Athletic | Free |
| 23 September 2004 | DF | Darren Williams | Cardiff City | Loan |
| 22 October 2004 | DF | Ben Clark | Hartlepool United | Free |
| 5 November 2004 | MF | John Oster | Leeds United | Loan |
| 10 December 2004 | DF | Darren Williams | Cardiff City | Free |

#### January

| Date | Pos | Name | To | Fee |
| 29 January 2005 | MF | John Oster | Burnley | Free |

## 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 |
| 1 | GK | EST | Mart Poom |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Stephen Wright |
| 3 | DF | NIR | George McCartney |
| 4 | MF | WAL | Carl Robinson |
| 5 | DF | IRL | Gary Breen (captain) |
| 6 | DF | SCO | Steven Caldwell (vice-captain) |
| 7 | MF | IRL | Liam Lawrence |
| 8 | MF | NIR | Jeff Whitley |
| 9 | FW | SCO | Kevin Kyle |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Marcus Stewart |
| 11 | MF | SCO | Andy Welsh |
| 12 | FW | ENG | Brian Deane |
| 13 | GK | NIR | Michael Ingham |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Dean Whitehead |
| 15 | MF | IRL | Sean Thornton |
| 17 | DF | SCO | Neill Collins |
| 19 | FW | IRL | Stephen Elliott |
| 20 | FW | ENG | Chris Brown |
| 21 | MF | ENG | Matt Piper |
| 22 | DF | ENG | Mark Lynch |
| 23 | MF | ENG | Grant Leadbitter |
| 30 | GK | ENG | Ben Alnwick |
| 33 | MF | ARG | Julio Arca |
| 38 | FW | ENG | Michael Bridges |
| 39 | DF | WAL | Danny Collins |
| 41 | GK | NOR | Thomas Myhre |

### 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 |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Simon Johnson (on loan from Leeds United) |
| 12 | MF | WAL | John Oster (to Burnley) |
| 16 | DF | ENG | Darren Williams (to Cardiff City) |
| 18 | DF | ENG | Ben Clark (to Hartlepool United) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 24 | FW | NIR | Neil Teggart (to Perth Glory) |
| 26 | MF | ENG | Jonjo Dickman (to Darlington) |
| 32 | GK | SCO | Euan McLean (to Dundee United) |
| 32 | MF | ENG | Darren Carter (on loan from Birmingham City) |

### Reserves

    The following players did not appear for the first-team this 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 |
| 25 | MF | IRL | Colin Healy |
| 27 | MF | IRL | Richie Ryan |
| 28 | DF | ENG | Ryan Dodds |
| 29 | MF | ENG | Lewis Dodds |
| 31 | MF | NIR | Chris Kingsberry |
| 34 | FW | ENG | Jack Wanless |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 35 | MF | IRL | Niall Flynn |
| 36 | MF | ENG | Sean Taylor |
| 37 | DF | ENG | Dan Smith |
| 42 | GK | NIR | Trevor Carson |
| 39 | MF | USA | Stuart Holden |

## Results

    Sunderland's score comes first.
| Win | Draw | Loss |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| First round | 24 August 2004 | Chester City | Stadium of Light | 3-0 | 11,450 | Hessey (own goal), Kyle, Caldwell |
| Second round | 21 September 2004 | Crewe Alexandra | Alexandra Stadium | 3-3 (lost 2–4 on pens) | 3,804 | Brown (2), Elliott |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| Third round | 8 January 2005 | Crystal Palace | Stadium of Light | 2-1 | 17,536 | Welsh, Stewart (pen) |
| Fourth round | 29 January 2005 | Everton | Goodison Park | 0-3 | 33,186 | |

### Championship
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Sunderland (C, P) | 46 | 29 | 7 | 10 | 76 | 41 | +35 | 94 | Promotion to the FA Premier League |
| 2 | Wigan Athletic (P) | 46 | 25 | 12 | 9 | 79 | 35 | +44 | 87 | Promotion to the FA Premier League |
| 3 | Ipswich Town | 46 | 24 | 13 | 9 | 85 | 56 | +29 | 85 | Qualification for Championship play-offs |
| 4 | Derby County | 46 | 22 | 10 | 14 | 71 | 60 | +11 | 76 | Qualification for Championship play-offs |
| 5 | Preston North End | 46 | 21 | 12 | 13 | 67 | 58 | +9 | 75 | Qualification for Championship play-offs |

#### 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 December 2018. Source: 11v11

#### Results by matchday

| 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 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 |
| Ground | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | L | W | D | L | D | L | W | W | W | W | L | D | W | D | W | W | W | L | W | W | W | L | W | W | L | W | L | D | W | W | D | W | L | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | L | D | W | W | W |
| Position | 24 | 12 | 11 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 7 August 2004 | Coventry City | Highfield Road | 0-2 | 16,460 | |
| 10 August 2004 | Crewe Alexandra | Stadium of Light | 3–1 | 22,341 | Robinson, Stewart, Elliott |
| 14 August 2004 | Queens Park Rangers | Stadium of Light | 2–2 | 26,063 | Stewart, Caldwell |
| 21 August 2004 | Plymouth Argyle | Home Park | 1–2 | 16,874 | Stewart |
| 28 August 2004 | Wigan Athletic | Stadium of Light | 1–1 | 26,330 | Elliott |
| 31 August 2004 | Reading | Madjeski Stadium | 0–1 | 15,792 | |
| 11 September 2004 | Gillingham | Priestfield Stadium | 4–0 | 8,775 | Stewart (3), Elliott |
| 14 September 2004 | Nottingham Forest | Stadium of Light | 2–0 | 23,540 | Arca, Wright |
| 18 September 2004 | Preston North End | Stadium of Light | 3–1 | 24,264 | Elliott (2), Carter |
| 24 September 2004 | Leeds United | Elland Road | 1–0 | 28,926 | Robinson |
| 28 September 2004 | Sheffield United | Bramall Lane | 0–1 | 17,908 | |
| 2 October 2004 | Derby County | Stadium of Light | 0–0 | 29,881 | |
| 16 October 2004 | Millwall | Stadium of Light | 1–0 | 23,839 | Muscat (own goal) |
| 19 October 2004 | Watford | Vicarage Road | 1–1 | 13,198 | Elliott |
| 25 October 2004 | Rotherham United | Millmoor | 1–0 | 6,026 | Whitehead |
| 30 October 2004 | Brighton & Hove Albion | Stadium of Light | 2–0 | 25,532 | Arca, Lawrence (pen) |
| 2 November 2004 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Stadium of Light | 3–1 | 23,925 | Lawrence (2), Elliott |
| 5 November 2004 | Millwall | The Den | 0–2 | 10,513 | |
| 13 November 2004 | Leicester City | Walkers Stadium | 1–0 | 25,897 | Caldwell |
| 21 November 2004 | Ipswich Town | Stadium of Light | 2–0 | 31,723 | Elliott, Brown |
| 27 November 2004 | Stoke City | Britannia Stadium | 1–0 | 16,980 | Bridges |
| 4 December 2004 | West Ham United | Stadium of Light | 0–2 | 29,510 | |
| 11 December 2004 | Cardiff City | Ninian Park | 2–0 | 12,528 | Whitehead, Lawrence |
| 18 December 2004 | Burnley | Stadium of Light | 2–1 | 27,102 | Arca, Bridges |
| 26 December 2004 | Leeds United | Stadium of Light | 2–3 | 43,253 | Lawrence (pen), Arca |
| 28 December 2004 | Nottingham Forest | City Ground | 2–1 | 27,457 | Elliott, Stewart |
| 1 January 2005 | Preston North End | Deepdale | 2–3 | 22,051 | Elliott, Thornton |
| 3 January 2005 | Gillingham | Stadium of Light | 1–1 | 27,147 | Brown |
| 16 January 2005 | Derby County | Pride Park | 2–0 | 22,995 | Elliott, Whitehead |
| 22 January 2005 | Sheffield United | Stadium of Light | 1–0 | 27,337 | Stewart |
| 4 February 2005 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Molineux | 1–1 | 26,968 | Elliott |
| 12 February 2005 | Watford | Stadium of Light | 4–2 | 24,948 | Stewart (3, 1 pen), Brown |
| 19 February 2005 | Brighton & Hove Albion | Withdean Stadium | 1–2 | 6,647 | Arca |
| 22 February 2005 | Rotherham United | Stadium of Light | 4–1 | 22,267 | Whitehead, Thornton (2), Breen |
| 26 February 2005 | Cardiff City | Stadium of Light | 2–1 | 32,788 | Breen, Stewart |
| 4 March 2005 | Burnley | Turf Moor | 2–0 | 12,103 | Lawrence, Stewart |
| 12 March 2005 | Crewe Alexandra | Alexandra Stadium | 1–0 | 7,949 | Elliott |
| 15 March 2005 | Plymouth Argyle | Stadium of Light | 5–1 | 25,258 | Whitehead, Arca, Stewart (pen), Caldwell, Thornton |
| 19 March 2005 | Coventry City | Stadium of Light | 1–0 | 29,424 | Brown |
| 2 April 2005 | Queens Park Rangers | Loftus Road | 3–1 | 18,198 | Welsh, Brown, Arca |
| 5 April 2005 | Wigan Athletic | JJB Stadium | 1–0 | 20,745 | Stewart |
| 9 April 2005 | Reading | Stadium of Light | 1–2 | 34,237 | Arca |
| 17 April 2005 | Ipswich Town | Portman Road | 2–2 | 29,230 | Elliott, Robinson |
| 23 April 2005 | Leicester City | Stadium of Light | 2–1 | 34,815 | Stewart, Caldwell |
| 29 April 2005 | West Ham United | Boleyn Ground | 2–1 | 33,482 | Arca, Elliott |
| 8 May 2005 | Stoke City | Stadium of Light | 1–0 | 47,350 | Robinson |

## Topscorers

* 1. Marcus Stewart - 17
* 2. Stephen Elliott - 16
* 3. Julio Arca - 9
* 4. Chris Brown - 7
* 5. Liam Lawrence - 6
* 6. Dean Whitehead - 5
* 7. Carl Robinson, Sean Thornton and Steven Caldwell - 4
* 8. Michael Bridges, Andy Welsh and Gary Breen - 2
* 9. Kevin Kyle, Darren Carter and Stephen Wright - 1