During the 2001–02 English football season, Sunderland A.F.C.

Sunderland A.F.C.

Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...

 competed in the FA Premier League

FA Premier League

The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...

.

Season summary

A shortage of goals hindered Sunderland's progress after two

1999–2000 Sunderland A.F.C. season

The 1999-2000 season was Sunderland's second season in the Premier League, and their first season in the league since they were relegated in 1997.Sunderland made an impressive return to the top flight and quickly established themselves as real contenders for a European place...

 successive

2000–01 Sunderland A.F.C. season

During the 2000–01 English football season, Sunderland A.F.C. competed in the FA Premier League .-Season summary:Sunderland enjoyed another strong season, and briefly occupied second place in February...

 seventh-placed finishes, and a season that many people had envisaged as a chase f

UEFA Champions League

The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

or Europe

UEFA Cup

The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...

 ended up being a battle against relegation. Luckily, they put their survival beyond all doubt on the final day of the season with a draw against already-doomed Derby County

Derby County F.C.

Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...

. There were continued chants of "Reid

Peter Reid

Peter Reid is an English football manager, pundit and retired player, who is currently without a club since his departure from Plymouth Argyle.A defensive midfielder in his playing days, Reid enjoyed a long and successful career...

 out" on the Stadium of Light

Stadium of Light

The Stadium of Light is an all-seater football stadium in Sunderland, England. With space for 49,000 spectators, the Stadium of Light has the fifth-largest capacity of any English football stadium. The stadium primarily hosts Sunderland A.F.C. matches...

 terraces for the final weeks of the campaign, and Peter Reid responded by delving into the transfer market and signing Ipswich

Ipswich Town F.C.

Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02....

's Marcus Stewart

Marcus Stewart

William Marcus Paul Tubb) known as Marcus Stewart is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward from 1991 until 2011...

 and Rangers

Rangers F.C.

Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...

' Tore Andre Flo

Tore André Flo

Tore André Flo is a Norwegian football striker, who plays for the Norwegian club Sogndal. He initially retired after being released by the Milton Keynes Dons in 2009, but announced his comeback in March 2011. His brothers Jostein Flo and Jarle Flo, and cousin Håvard Flo are also professional...

 to bolster his attack for next season.

Squad

Left club during season

Starting 11

Only considering Premiership starts

• GK: #1,   Thomas Sørensen
  Thomas Sørensen
  Thomas Løvendahl Sørensen is a Danish professional football goalkeeper, who plays for Premier League club Stoke City. He has previously represented Premiership teams Sunderland and Aston Villa....
  
  , 34
• RB: #2,   Bernt Haas
  Bernt Haas
  Bernt Haas is a Swiss football defender who plays for the Swiss club FC St. Gallen.-Career:Haas began his career at Grasshoppers Zurich, where he played for several seasons before moving to England to join Sunderland...
  
  , 27
• CB: #17,   Jody Craddock
  Jody Craddock
  Jody Darryl Craddock is an English football defender signed to Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers.Craddock broke into league football at Cambridge United in the mid 1990s before spending six years at Sunderland, with whom he won promotion to the Premier League...
  
  , 30
• CB: #18,   Darren Williams
  Darren Williams
  Darren Williams is an English footballer who is player-manager of Whitby Town.Williams began his career at York City, but made his name at Sunderland, for whom he signed in 1996. He moved to Cardiff City in 2004, then on Hartlepool United in 2005...
  
  , 23
• LB: #3,   Michael Gray, 35
• RM: #16,   Jason McAteer
  Jason McAteer
  Jason Wynne McAteer is a retired Irish footballer, who represented the Republic of Ireland at international level. He announced his retirement from professional football on 12 June 2007,...
  
  , 26
• CM: #8,   Gavin McCann
  Gavin McCann
  Gavin Peter McCann is an English former footballer who played as a midfielder. He has one England cap to his name, playing against Spain at Villa Park in 2001.-Club career:...
  
  , 29
• CM: #33,   Julio Arca
  Julio Arca
  Julio Andrés Arca is an Argentine footballer, he currently plays for Middlesbrough. Arca is also a former Argentina Under-20 captain. He is a left back or midfielder...
  
  , 20
• LM: #11,   Kevin Kilbane
  Kevin Kilbane
  Kevin Daniel Kilbane is an English-born Irish association footballer who plays as a left back or left winger for Derby County, on loan from Hull City....
  
  , 24
• CF: #9,   Niall Quinn
  Niall Quinn
  Niall John Quinn honorary MBE is a former Irish international footballer, and the ex-chairman of Sunderland AFC. He still works at the club as an overseas manager. He is also heavily involved in the management side of horse racing...
  
  , 24
• CF: #10,   Kevin Phillips
  Kevin Phillips (footballer)
  Kevin Mark Phillips is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Blackpool.Phillips was the Premier League top scorer in the 1999–2000 season with 30 goals for Sunderland, a tally which won him the European Golden Shoe. He remains the only Englishman to win the trophy...
  
  , 37