# 1993–94 Sunderland A.F.C. season

During the 1993–94 English football season, Sunderland A.F.C. competed in the Football League First Division.

## Season summary

A poor first half of the 1993–94 season resulted in Terry Butcher being sacked with the Black Cats in the relegation zone and Mick Buxton was appointed as his successor. A tightening of the team's defence led to an improvement in results and Sunderland finished the season in 12th place.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 10 | Stoke City | 46 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 57 | 59 | −2 | 67 |
| 11 | Charlton Athletic | 46 | 19 | 8 | 19 | 61 | 58 | +3 | 65 |
| 12 | Sunderland | 46 | 19 | 8 | 19 | 54 | 57 | −3 | 65 |
| 13 | Bristol City | 46 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 47 | 50 | −3 | 64 |
| 14 | Bolton Wanderers | 46 | 15 | 14 | 17 | 63 | 64 | −1 | 59 |

## Results

Sunderland's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League First Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 14 August 1993 | Derby County | A | 0–5 | 18,027 | |
| 21 August 1993 | Charlton Athletic | H | 4–0 | 17,647 | Goodman, M Gray, Armstrong, Cunnington |
| 28 August 1993 | Notts County | A | 0–1 | 9,166 | |
| 12 September 1993 | Crystal Palace | A | 0–1 | 11,318 | |
| 18 September 1993 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 0–2 | 18,292 | |
| 25 September 1993 | Watford | A | 1–1 | 7,694 | Owers |
| 28 September 1993 | Grimsby Town | H | 2–2 | 15,488 | Goodman, Ord |
| 2 October 1993 | Peterborough United | H | 2–0 | 17,846 | P Gray, Owers |
| 9 October 1993 | Birmingham City | H | 1–0 | 19,265 | Howey |
| 17 October 1993 | Middlesbrough | A | 1–4 | 12,772 | Goodman |
| 20 October 1993 | Luton Town | H | 2–0 | 13,760 | Goodman, Smith |
| 23 October 1993 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 1–0 | 19,505 | Ord |
| 30 October 1993 | Bristol City | A | 0–2 | 8,162 | |
| 3 November 1993 | Stoke City | A | 0–1 | 13,551 | |
| 6 November 1993 | Portsmouth | H | 1–2 | 17,146 | Smith |
| 13 November 1993 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 1–4 | 8,497 | Goodman |
| 20 November 1993 | Southend United | H | 0–2 | 15,452 | |
| 27 November 1993 | Nottingham Forest | H | 2–3 | 16,968 | Smith, P Gray |
| 4 December 1993 | Portsmouth | A | 1–0 | 11,891 | Smith |
| 18 December 1993 | Derby County | H | 1–0 | 16,001 | P Gray |
| 27 December 1993 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 0–0 | 18,496 | |
| 28 December 1993 | Millwall | H | 2–1 | 19,283 | P Gray, Russell |
| 1 January 1994 | Leicester City | A | 1–2 | 19,615 | P Gray (pen) |
| 3 January 1994 | Barnsley | H | 1–0 | 19,302 | P Gray |
| 11 January 1994 | Oxford United | A | 3–0 | 5,877 | Smith (2), Goodman |
| 16 January 1994 | Middlesbrough | H | 2–1 | 16,473 | P Gray (pen), Howey |
| 22 January 1994 | Birmingham City | A | 0–0 | 15,884 | |
| 5 February 1994 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 1–2 | 17,089 | Goodman |
| 12 February 1994 | Bristol City | H | 0–0 | 16,816 | |
| 22 February 1994 | Charlton Athletic | A | 0–0 | 7,904 | |
| 26 February 1994 | Luton Town | A | 1–2 | 9,367 | Howey |
| 5 March 1994 | Notts County | H | 2–0 | 16,269 | Russell, P Gray |
| 16 March 1994 | Crystal Palace | H | 1–0 | 15,892 | P Gray |
| 19 March 1994 | Watford | H | 2–0 | 16,479 | Russell (2) |
| 26 March 1994 | Peterborough United | A | 3–1 | 8,753 | Russell, P Gray (2) |
| 30 March 1994 | Barnsley | A | 0–4 | 10,042 | |
| 2 April 1994 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 2–0 | 18,574 | Russell (2) |
| 5 April 1994 | Millwall | A | 1–2 | 10,244 | Melville |
| 9 April 1994 | Leicester City | H | 2–3 | 17,198 | Melville, Goodman |
| 12 April 1994 | Grimsby Town | A | 1–0 | 4,732 | Smith |
| 16 April 1994 | Stoke City | H | 0–1 | 17,406 | |
| 23 April 1994 | Southend United | A | 1–0 | 4,734 | Smith |
| 26 April 1994 | Oxford United | H | 2–3 | 14,712 | Armstrong, P Gray (pen) |
| 30 April 1994 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 3–2 | 15,167 | P Gray (2), Russell |
| 3 May 1994 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 1–1 | 25,079 | Goodman |
| 8 May 1994 | Nottingham Forest | A | 2–2 | 27,010 | Russell, Goodman |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 8 January 1994 | Carlisle United | H | 1–1 | 23,587 | Ferguson |
| R3R | 18 January 1994 | Carlisle United | A | 1–0 (a.e.t.) | 13,200 | Howey |
| R4 | 29 January 1994 | Wimbledon | A | 1–2 | 10,477 | M Smith |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 1st leg | 17 August 1993 | Chester City | H | 3–1 | 9,404 | Goodman (2), Power |
| R1 2nd leg | 24 August 1993 | Chester City | A | 0–0 (won 3–1 on agg) | 2,903 | |
| R2 1st leg | 21 September 1993 | Leeds United | H | 2–1 | 17,101 | Goodman, P Gray |
| R2 2nd leg | 6 October 1993 | Leeds United | A | 2–1 (won 4–2 on agg) | 22,265 | Goodman, P Gray |
| R3 | 26 October 1993 | Aston Villa | H | 1–4 | 23,692 | P Gray |

### Anglo-Italian Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| Group 5 | 31 August 1993 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 2–0 | 6,771 | Goodman (2) |
| Group 5 | 14 September 1993 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 0–2 | 3,460 | |

## 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 | Alec Chamberlain |
| — | GK | ENG | Sean Musgrave |
| — | GK | ENG | David Preece |
| — | GK | WAL | Tony Norman |
| — | DF | ENG | Gary Bennett |
| — | DF | ENG | Michael Gray |
| — | DF | ENG | Lee Howey |
| — | DF | ENG | John Kay |
| — | DF | ENG | Richard Ord |
| — | DF | ENG | Anth Smith |
| — | DF | WAL | Andy Melville |
| — | DF | POL | Dariusz Kubicki |
| — | MF | ENG | Mark Angel |
| — | MF | ENG | Gordon Armstrong |
| — | MF | ENG | Brian Atkinson |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | Kevin Ball |
| — | MF | ENG | Shaun Cunnington |
| — | MF | ENG | Martin Gray |
| — | MF | ENG | Jamie Lawrence |
| — | MF | ENG | Gary Owers |
| — | MF | ENG | Ian Rodgerson |
| — | MF | ENG | Ian Sampson |
| — | MF | SCO | Derek Ferguson |
| — | FW | ENG | Steve Brodie |
| — | FW | ENG | Don Goodman |
| — | FW | ENG | David Rush |
| — | FW | ENG | Craig Russell |
| — | FW | ENG | Martin Smith |
| — | FW | NIR | Phil Gray |
| — | FW | IRL | Lee Power (on loan from Norwich City) |