New visits for Sunderland in 2018/19

The following was written for Roker Report prior to the Wearsiders relegation battle v Burton Albion in April. The away side won the match 2-1 with two late goals and this confirmed Sunderland's relegation. Burton though failed to stay up and the sides will meet again in the third tier in 2018/19.

Burton Albion travel north to play Sunderland away for the first time on Saturday. Baring a miracle by either side there seems certain to be a second such occasion next season in English football’s third tier. 

The Wearsiders have, of course, played at such a level back in the 1987-88 season when one of the pleasures was travelling to five grounds and places that Sunderland had never previously played a competitive match. These were as follows: Aldershot, where Sunderland lost 2-1, Chester City, a 2-1 win, Doncaster Rovers, a 2-0 win, Southend United, a 4-0 victory and Wigan Athletic, a 2-2 draw on a mud bath. 

It was back in 1987 that automatic promotion from the top flight of Non League football to the fourth tier was introduced. As such the third tier is now a very different beast and a relegated Sunderland would come up against some clubs that have very recent League histories and others who they have never played. 

One such side would be Accrington Stanley. Sunderland did face the first senior side from Accrington in their first three seasons of League football between 1890/91 to 1892/93. The ‘Owd Reds’ soon after went out of business and as did the second senior Accrington side, Stanley, in 1962 before being revived years later and after clawing their way back into the Football League in 2006-07 they have now made it up to the ridiculously named League One. 

Wycombe Wanderers also look like they may gain promotion from League Two and the Choirboys will participate in their 26th season of League football  in 2018/19. Sunderland has never previously visited Adams Park, where the record gate is 9,921 versus Fulham in the FA Cup in 2002.

Sunderland has played away to Shrewsbury but in the event the Shropshire side fail to gain promotion then a first ever trip to Greenhouse Meadow, opened in 2007 and with a capacity of 9,875, beckons. 

Rotherham too has new surroundings since Sunderland last played competitively football in the South Yorkshire town. The New York Stadium holds just over 12,000 and was opened in 2012. 

Meanwhile, whilst Sunderland did play at Glanford Park, Scunthorpe in a pre-season friendly in 2007 but they have yet to play their in a league match on a ground that holds just over 9,000 and some of which still includes a standing area in the home end. There will also be a first ever trip for a competitive match to Doncaster’s Keepmoat Stadium, capacity 15,123. 

Fleetwood Town only gained entry to the Football League when they won the Conference in 2011-12. ‘The Cod Army’ stayed just two seasons in the fourth tier and will play their fifth season in League One in 2018/19. The Highbury Stadium holds a modest 5,133 and away fans will be split between seats in the Main Stand and a standing area behind the goal. Sunderland and Fleetwood have new previously crossed paths. 

Sunderland has previously played Oxford United on a number of occasions but never on the three sided Kassam Stadium, opened in 2001, where the ground capacity is just over 12,500. 

Sunderland has not though ever faced Rochdale - and no I don’t count the Carabao Cup that is being used as a stalking horse by the bigger clubs who eventually want to see their B teams being allowed to play in the Football League - and assuming the Dale can stay up, then a new ground beckons for many Sunderland fans. Spotland holds just over 10,000 with away fans seated down one side of the pitch. Look out for the pies inside the ground as they are pretty good. 

At this current time it looks unlikely that Northampton Town will avoid relegation to the fourth tier but if they do then Sunderland will make their first trip to Sixfields, opened in 1994 and capable of holding just under 8,000 fans.

Finally, AFC Wimbledon, formed in 2002 when the Football League wrongly allowed the owners of the original club to move it to Milton Keynes, is currently playing at the Kingsmeadow Stadium, capacity of 5,027, in Kingston-upon-Thames. Planning permission for a new stadium back at Plough Lane, were Sunderland first played and were beaten 3-0 on 12 April 1986, has just been granted but the 11,000 seater stadium is unlikely to be ready until the late part of the 2018-19. 

NHS plans in court over accountable care organisations

NHS plans in court

Two judicial reviews challenge new bodies

16-22 April 2018 Big Issue North 

https://www.bigissuenorth.com/news/2018/04/nhs-plans-court/

Stop press - judge rules against first challenge: http://999callfornhs.org.uk/latest-news-may-2018/4594304290

A Hebden Bridge campaigner is launching one of two legal challenges to the government over its plans to introduce new NHS organisations she says could threaten patient safety standards. 

Representing campaign group 999 Call for the NHS, Jenny Shepherd will tell a judicial review at Leeds Crown Court beginning on 24 April that government plans to launch what it originally called accountable care organisations (ACOs) are unlawful. 

‘Democratic deficit’ 

ACOs bring together different healthcare providers in a local area, with the aim of providing a more coherent, integrated service that also focuses on the causes of ill health. 

They are being piloted in 10 areas in the country, including Greater Manchester – through its devolution programme – Blackpool and Fylde, and South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw. 

But ACOs are paid a fixed sum for the total number of healthcare interventions – such as operations – they provide. Campaigners fear this means quality will be cut if demand for those interventions is higher than anticipated, or that public money will be wasted if demand is lower. 

It is on this point that Shepherd’s judicial review will be conducted. 

“ACOs will treat patients based on cost,” claimed Shepherd. “People working will get better treatment. Elderly people whose life could be improved by a hip replacement will only get it if the budget exists. 

“ACOs can retain any monies not spent annually. This will incentivise them to save money. 

“An ACO seeking to break the budget will see NHS to impose restrictions. ACOs mean the NHS England send in the auditors to impose restrictions. ACOs mean the NHS won’t be providing comprehensive care or a full range of services. 

“The current lack of a legal framework, especially around payment methods, is incompatible with democratic control.” 

The second legal challenge is being mounted by the JR4NHS campaign group, which until his recent death included Professor Stephen Hawking. 

According to Allyson Pollock, professor of public health at Newcastle University, who is part of
the challenge team, ACOs are “modelled on American ACOs, where providers can be public and/or private bodies including healthcare organisations, health insurers and property companies. The UK government is planning to bundle up billions of pounds worth of funding and give ACOs contracts for 10-15 years. Such changes could threaten the whole basis of universal health care and the principles of the NHS.” 

The government announced the introduction of ACOs – which it has now renamed integrated care systems – as part of NHS England guidelines in 2015 to improve the quality and efficiency of health and care services. It has agreed not to introduce them formally until a consultation has been held but JR4NHS insists parliamentary scrutiny is needed as well. 

“Under the mantra of service integration NHS England and Jeremy Hunt are putting in place shadowy new structures whose names keep changing, from accountable care systems and integrated care systems to integrated care partnerships,” said Pollock. 

“None of these have been debated and scrutinised by parliament. They are poorly understood. 

“This is not only undemocratic, it exposes the huge democratic deficit now at the heart of our society.” 

MARK METCALF 

New book shows Newcastle were formed in 1881

The 'acknowledged' narrative is that Newcastle were formed in 1892 but a new book, which I have read, shows it was 1881. It means the Mags join Sunderland in having an unacknowledged real start date with the latter club continuing to claim that it began in October 1979 when it was the following year in September. 

Dirty work for diamonds and gold

Big Issue North - May 2018 

Liverpool-based brand commits to doing more 

Jewellery brands are failing to turn a commitment to ethical mining into practice, according to a mining union. 

Liverpool-based company Boodles was among 13 brands assessed by Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a report earlier this year that examined how they source their gold and diamonds. 

Brutal conditions 

Around 40 million workers, including one million children, depend on gold and diamond mining for their income. But HRW said mining conditions can be “brutal”, that children have been killed working and indigenous peoples have been forcibly displaced by mining companies. 

In Nigeria over 400 children have been killed following the unintentional release of lead from artisanal gold mining. 

HRW was told by a resident of Bria, Central African Republic, how two factions of the Seleka armed group had fought to control roads leading to local diamond mines. HRW found cases where civilians from the Peuhl ethnic group had been assassinated and was told by rebel commanders they needed access to the diamond mines. 

HRW said none of the 13 brands were excellent in their sourcing. 

Because Tiffany & Co could trace its gold to one Utah mine and undertook regular human rights assessments there, it scored “strong.” Bulgari, Cartier and Pandora were rated “moderate”. Rolex was unranked after it failed to reply to HRW’s requests. 

Boodles was “weak” because information about its supply chain, human rights due diligence and suppliers’ code of conduct is not public. It also does not conduct its own site investigations, nor back initiatives aimed at developing responsible small-scale mines. 

HRW found that “overall most companies we contacted directly recognise their human rights responsibilities and have made some efforts to responsibly source their gold and diamonds”. 

But Glen Mpufane, mining director of IndustriALL Global Union, which represents 50 million workers in the mining, energy and manufacturing sectors, criticised the industry practice for relying too much on certification from the Responsible Jewellery Council, which he said had “flawed governance, standards, and certification systems”. 

He said: “Following the HRW report we have combined with the Enough Project and 27 other NGOs, including Amnesty International, and trade unions in issuing a statement calling on jewellery companies to turn their commitment to responsible sourcing into effective action. 

“We also want the RJC to stop companies being certified even when they don’t support basic human rights. Governments too should require companies to undertake human rights diligence. 

“None of the existing mechanisms for preventing abuse have so far been adequate. We believe our networks can bring about a better standard.” 

Boodles, which has nine UK stores, was one of only two companies that responded
to HRW to pledge specific actions to improve their practices. It shared its three gold suppliers’ sourcing policies with HRW and said it would publish the suppliers’ names with their consent. 

Its spokesperson Emily Bull said: “We know we need to do more to ensure we source responsibly. Thus we will require all regular vendors to undertake comprehensive third-party audits and share these with us for review. 

“We are committed to ensuring ethical and sustainable sourcing of materials.” 

MARK METCALF 

Billy Wright, footballer extraordinary

Billy Wright 

This article was written for the Dribbling Game website and appears at:- http://thedribblinggame.com/1950s/wolves-billy-wright/

One of English football's greatest defenders and the first footballer ever to make a century of appearances for his country. 

Wright, who made 541 official - and 122 regional WWII - appearances for Wolves, signed as a professional footballer at aged 17 before joining the army in 1943 as a physical training instructor. His official debut for Wolves came in the 1945-46 FA Cup two legged tie against Welsh side Lovells Athletic. Three seasons later, Wright captained the Black Country side in the FA Cup final as Leicester were beaten 3-1 at Wembley. It was Wolves first major trophy since winning the same competition in 1908. 

By 1949, Wright was a regular in the England side. He became captain of his country in 1948, a role he held until he retired with a then record 105 caps in 1959. The Shropshire lad led his country at three World Cups but England failed to impress in 1950, where they suffered a shock 1-0 defeat against the USA, 1954 or 1958. Wright was a member of the England side that performed brilliantly in Turin in 1948 when the reigning World Champions Italy were thrashed 4-0. 

Under the managerial leadership of Stan Cullis, Wolves became one of the giants of English football in the 1950s and narrowly missed out - to Portsmouth - on winning the Division One (now Premier League) title in 1949-50. The season saw Wolves record their highest average gate of 46,295.

Wolves finished third in 1952-53 and then won the title for the first time the following season, finishing four points ahead of local rivals WBA. In 1954-55, Wolves became the unofficial Champions of the World when they beat Hungarian maestros Honved 3-2 in a prestigious friendly at Molineux in December. A poor end to the season left Cullis’s side in second place. 

In 1957-58, Wolves raced to the top of the table and at one point between September and December 1957 won 13 matches and drew four. It was during this period that Wolves faced Anderlecht away in another prestigious friendly. They were beaten 2-0 before a sell-out crowd of 38,000. 

In 1958-59, Wolves again won the League but in a fierce battle they exited the European Cup 4-3 on aggregate to German Champions Schalke 04. Wright retired at the end of the season.

Wright was the master of the perfectly timed tackle and despite being only 5ft 8in he won many an aerial duel thanks to his extraordinary leaping ability. What marked him out as a player of outstanding ability was a football brain that enabled him to ‘read’ the game. He was generally one step in front of the men around him and he would break up numerous attacks through his intelligent interceptions. As a captain he preferred to quietly motivate those around him rather than shoot and scream. 

“If Spurs Danny Blanchflower had the ball and was going to put it down the inside track Billy Wright could see him trying to do that and would get across to cut it out. He was the best reader of a game I ever saw.”  Wolves goalkeeper Malcolm Finlayson. 

Wright , who became one of the first footballers to have a showbiz marriage when he married Joy Beverley of the Beverley Sisters, later became manager at Arsenal in 1962 but was sacked in the summer of 1966. Wright then became a TV pundit and Head of Sport for ATV and Central TV. In 1990 he joined the board of directors at Wolves. 

Wight died of cancer on 3 September 1994. Today there is a statue standing outside the main stand at Molineux - recognition of the great service he gave to the club over many years. 

FARM TEACHES LIFE SKILLS

FARM TEACHES LIFE SKILLS 

Big Issue North April 2018

People with disabilities acquire qualifications 

GP practices urged to refer to 80 care farms 

Joseph Port collected a number of eggs from the nesting boxes, reward for the regular task of feeding the chickens. He is down on the farm near Wetherby three days a week. 

“Everything is good – the practical tasks and being in the fresh air,” said Port, from Leeds. “I love working with animals and especially working as a team with all these guys. 

“We know each other very well and can have a laugh together. Some of us...” – “you”, his friends interjected – “talk more than others.” 

The farm is no ordinary one. Carlshead Care Farm offers daytime activities, work experience and qualifications to people with mental health problems and learning disabilities. 

Port is one of a group of four on the farm who pay for their places from their direct welfare payments. In total, 15 to 20 people visit the farm each week, some from Aspire, the Leeds-based society that supports people with learning disabilities. 

Improves confidence 

Carlshead, one acre in size, contains open fields, fishing pools, trees, allotments, a forest garden run on permaculture principles, two learning rooms, chicken coops and animal hutches, some located within a large sheep and cattle barn. The farm is integrated into a larger network of tenant farms covering 500 acres. 

Port and his friends highlighted the rabbits and guinea pigs before measuring out and feeding the chickens, numbering over 80, and then collecting the eggs. Some 

of these are later exchanged with the local Wetherby greengrocers, Johnson and Sons, for fruit and vegetables. 

The farm sells a small number of its products at its own shop and trades at farmers’ markets. But it is by no means self sufficient. 

“I am not trying to be commercial as I want the members to be able to take things and cook at home,” said Tanya Bish, who has managed the farm since January 2017, having previously been a volunteer. 

“Everyone who chooses to come here is set goals and targets, including working towards achieving ABC vocational awards. 

“Checking to ensure the measurements of food are correct is important, whilst combining to achieve a task can improve people’s self-confidence immeasurably. People need space to work in, be able to move around freely, and feel safe and secure knowing there are people here to assist them.” 

Port said: “I enjoy touching the chickens and especially the ones we hatch. A year or so I have been coming here and on my blog we have videos of the farm. 

“It takes time for things to grow – you need to be patient. I like taking home the things we grow and eating them.” 

By being on a farm, members learn how food is produced. At Carlshead there was concern about exhausted animals that had been left stranded in heavy snow over the previous few days. Some sheep that were resting in the barn were dying. “We feel sad when they die,” said Joseph. 

Bish believes more people would benefit from visiting care farms, which according to Natural England (NE) total around 230. “Nature-based interventions are beneficial,” she said. “Many people are lonely and being prescribed with antidepressants. Care farms get people into the fresh air, working together as a team, making friends and learning new skills.” 

She urged GP practices and other services to recommend care farms as part of a healthy living programme and called for transport facilities to exist “for their patients to visit care farms that have the money, staff and resources to work regularly with them”. 

Around 80 care farms are combined together within Care Farming UK. 

Dr Rachel Bragg, development co-ordinator for Care Farming UK, said the organisation was planning to produce a leaflet that individual care farms could take to potential funding bodies, including probation services, social services and community health, to demonstrate their value. 

“We have welcomed the fact that care farms have been included in Defra’s 25 year environment plan and we are confident that the sector can continue to grow in the next few years,” she said. 

R.I.P George Mulhall

This article was published by RokerReport soon after the death of George Mulhall in April 2018. 

The late George Mulhall’s last home game for Sunderland was against Wolves on 19 April 1969 when he was recalled to the side by manager Alan Brown in order to bolster an attack that had scored just once in the eight previous games. Just two points had been gathered in these matches and Sunderland had fallen from fourteenth to nineteenth in a League that then contained 22 sides. Just three matches remained of the season. 

Also recalled that day to the starting XI was centre-half Charlie Hurley and the match against Wolves also proved to be his final home match for Sunderland. The men had played many games together and in Charlie Hurley’s authorised biography “The Greatest Centre Half the World has Ever Seen,” Mulhall features regularly. 

Outside left Mulhall was signed from Aberdeen by Second Division Sunderland at the start of the 1962-63 season.  He cost £23,000 and at that considerable fee Sunderland fans were hoping Mulhall would be able to provide even more chances for Brian Clough. 

Mulhall later said of his move south. “I couldn’t have picked a better place to go than Sunderland, but my first morning provided a shock. Charlie Ferguson had brought us down in his car. It was 11.30 at night and I had been asleep. We got booked into the hotel and when I woke up in the morning all I could hear was this noise. I honestly thought I was on a ship. I looked out of the window and all I could see was the sea battering against the walls. The hotel [the Roker Hotel] was right on the seafront. I didn’t even realise Sunderland was on the sea. I saw all the beach and I thought that’s great. I had a fantastic time at Sunderland, no complaints at all. Roker Park could be frightening though. It was all standing of course. We were getting 40,000, unbelievable the noise, the Roker end, oh dear, incredible.” Mulhall’s move saw his wages jump from £22 a week to £38. 

Mulhall made a fine home debut against Luton Town with Clough scoring two in a 3-1 victory. Settling in for Mulhall was helped by the large number of fellow Scotsmen at the club. Throughout the 1960s the first team usually had three or four Scots in the side, not that everyone approved. The dissenters included the team manager of the successful Fulwell Christian and Youth Society, who saw six of his players from the previous season go for trials with Newcastle United. Using language which some may describe as not exactly Christian, Reg Watson said: “It seems that you have to be Irish or Scottish to get into Roker Park these days.” 

Mulhall was joined at Roker Park in November 1962 by Irishman Johnny Crossan an inside-forward. Crossan was returning to play in Britain, after a life ban for taking a payment while he was still officially an amateur had been overturned. The suspension had forced him to earn his living on the European continent, where he had played for Standard Liege in the previous season’s European Cup semi-final against the mighty Real Madrid which the Belgians lost 6-0 on aggregate. 

The hope was that he would form a partnership with Mulhall that would terrorise the right side of opposing teams. The fee of £27,000 took manager Alan Brown’s spending in just over a year on his inside right, centre forward, and inside and outside left to £138,000.

Hurley scored his third goal of the season against Preston North End on 17 November 1962 as Sunderland again won at home, making it nineteen points out of twenty. The goal came when “Hurley met a cross from Mulhall and from the inside right position hit a tremendous right foot drive which glanced off a defender on the way into the net,” reported Argus. 

The Irish centre half then scored for the third season in four at Carrow Road. His goal was Sunderland’s first in a game in which they scored twice in the last eleven minutes to win 3-2 because a by now terrified home defence were so intent on preventing the big centre half reaching the ball that they left gaps for Jimmy McNab and Johnny Crossan to head home two George Mulhall free kicks. 

There was a Boxing Day special at Elland Road, where Sunderland were backed by 10,000 travelling supporters in a crowd of 41,167 and they were delighted when Sunderland snatched the lead after Hurley’s long free kick was dropped by Gary Sprake to allow Mulhall to slam it home.

The size of the crowd was something of a disappointment. Leeds had decided to make the match all-ticket and restrict numbers to 50,000. It backfired on them because it meant many Sunderland fans without a ticket did not bother to travel, even though there were 10,000 who did. The Leeds programme extended “a very warm welcome indeed to Sunderland and all the good folk of Wearside and County Durham” but there was an indication that the hooliganism that was to plague and later almost destroy English football was becoming a problem because the programme editor found it necessary to appeal to fans of both clubs to “check any throwing of anything, any running on the pitch and too fierce arguments.” 

Off the pitch, the Sunderland team had taken to visiting Wetheralls, the first nightclub in the north-east, after Hurley had found out about it. “Oh yes. Wetheralls was a very pokey little place. My wife and I have always loved going out; we love socialising. We always dig out these places, and I found out about this one. It was a membership place so I got all the players free memberships because we were very popular. 

“The club became very successful. After the Everton match in the FA Cup in 1964 I remember the manager phoned my house to see if we were going in on the night. They’d been inundated by calls from members asking if the players were coming in and he said if we did then there’d be a meal and free champagne. So all the lads went — we had dinner, champagne all night. Tom Jones was on, the place was packed and we were all sitting together, signing autographs. It wasn’t fans and players, we were all part of the same club. The ’60s were a good time to be around and the players at Sunderland got on well with each other. We also had Crossan and Mulhall at the time, who were a great comedy duo!”

On Boxing Day 1962, Clough suffered what proved to be the injury that finished his career. George Mulhall was an ardent admirer of Clough because “his goals record speaks for itself, but he was very, very arrogant. He could upset people like nobody I’ve ever met. On the pitch if he was in a good position and you didn’t give him the ball he’d tell you about it. Hurley and Clough on the pitch were similar. They both hated losing. They both wanted to win any game they played. Hurley was, of course, the club captain and it was his job to make sure that every player didn’t like losing. He was a good captain.” 

Sunderland was to gain promotion at the end of 1963-64 but then suffered a blow when manager Alan Brown quit to manage Sheffield Wednesday. Relegation looked likely when the Owls beat Brown’s old team 2-0 at Hillsborough on 13 February. Sunderland dropped into the relegation zone but five victories in the following six games dragged caretaker boss George Hardwick’s side towards safety. On 16 April 1965, Mulhall was out injured. It was the first league match he had missed since making his debut — a run of 114 matches. During the 1964-65 season, Mulhall scored nine times in his 41 League appearances. 

In the 1965-66 season, Mulhall scored eight times in 35 League appearances. Two of those goals came in a 2-0 victory against Leeds at home. This brought extra pleasure for Mulhall as he regarded the Leeds right back Paul Reaney as, along with Manchester United’s Tony Dunne, his toughest opponent. 

One of Dunne’s colleagues was George Best and Mulhall was a massive fan of the United outside right. “I thought he was superb, and one of the greatest things about him was he would chase back and tackle. Skillwise he would drop the shoulder and go past you. He was in a good team, mind, with good facilities as well. To me George Best and Denis Law were the two best players going forward in the 1960s. Jimmy Greaves’s goalscoring record was incredible but I am not so sure he was as good away as at home. I’d like to see his record to compare. The old story with him at the time was to give him a good whack and see what he was made of.” 

In the 1966-67 season, Mulhall scored 12 League goals, two of which came in games against Newcastle United and both of which were won 3-0. At St James’ Park on 29 October 1966, Sunderland, with Jim Baxter sublime, took the Magpies apart to record their first away win in the League in over a year. If anything the goals from the three Scots, Martin, O’Hare and Mulhall, were poor reward for a one-sided match that left Sunderland fans in the massive 57,643 crowd — up 41,000 on Newcastle’s previous home match against Manchester City – in ecstasy as their team won 3-0. Despite the four points gained off the Magpies, Sunderland struggled and Ian McColl, who had taken charge at manager at the start of the 1965-66 season, saw his side finish in seventeenth place. 

With Sunderland lying just outside the relegation zone in January 1968, McColl was sacked after an FA Cup defeat against Second Division side Norwich City. According to Mulhall; “Ian McColl wasn’t strong enough and because of the Rangers tie-up, he had his arm around Jim Baxter most of the time and Jim had his cousin with him, George Kinnell. Jim used to say ‘bags’ to him when we were going anywhere and George would rush to get Jim’s bag to take on the bus.”

The new man who took over as Sunderland manager was the returning Alan Brown and Mulhall scored in a 3-1 victory at home to Stoke City. 

Victories by 2-0 over Wolves and then Arsenal eased the pressure and in the latter match, Hurley scored his final goal for Sunderland, typically a header. It came from a Mulhall corner in the sixty-second minute. It took his total to twenty-six league and cup goals. 

Says Len Ashurst: “The fans loved Hurley for his heading and his goal record was excellent. During his time at Sunderland every team had wingers in their side. We had Harry Hooper and George Mulhall and they generally took the corners. They looked for the big man, who usually stood on the edge of the box and made a run diagonally to the twelve-yard area. That’s how Charlie got virtually all of his goals. He was brilliant at it.” 

The fate of the League title lay in north-east hands. Sunderland’s final match of the season took them over the Pennines to play Manchester United. Matt Busby’s side were lying second to Joe Mercer’s team across the city. To win the league United had to do better in their game than City, who were playing at Newcastle United. 

It was generally accepted that Manchester United would have little problem in beating Sunderland, which would leave City needing to win at St James’ Park to clinch the title. Sunderland had different ideas and in the fourteenth minute they took the lead when Bruce Stuckey drove the ball to the near post where Colin Suggett cracked it into the net on the half-volley. George Mulhall then scored a perfect header from a Suggett cross to put Sunderland further ahead and, despite a goal from George Best, Sunderland won the match fairly comfortably. It was an all-round team display that it could be argued was the best away from home by any Sunderland team Hurley played in during his career. 

George Mulhall remembers: “We played exceptionally well and it was one of the finest Sunderland games I played in. We had played some good games in the Second Division and also in the FA Cup but the quality of opposition on that day – Best, Charlton, Crerand, marvellous players. I scored the winner with a header; I got up and headed it back across the goal right into the corner. The players used to call me ‘Chandelier’ for my heading abilities, or at least some of them. That was a really good header, that one.” 

Sunderland’s dominance was not reflected in the Match of the Day coverage and the Guardian newspaper was not the only paper to criticise the BBC’s forty-five minute highlighted coverage of it, remarking, “It is said that the camera cannot lie — but the skilful sub-editing of the television film conveyed a totally misleading impression of what actually happened — on the day Sunderland were far and away the better side.” 

It turned out that a victory for Manchester United would not have been enough as City won 4-3 at Newcastle and in front of large numbers of their own supporters hoisted aloft the League Championship. United did at least have the consolation of seeing their team knock out Real Madrid in the Bernabeu four days later on the way to European Cup success against Benfica at Wembley. 

The 1968-69 season was to be Muhall’s last at Sunderland and he scored his final goal for the club in a 4-1 defeat at Old Trafford in January 1969. He was dropped from the side in early March and he was soon joined on the sidelines by Hurley. 

When Sunderland lined up against Wolves in April 1969 victory was vital if relegation was to be avoided. Brown recalled both Mulhall and Hurley to the side. 

Dennis Tueart and Bobby Kerr helped quell doubts about Sunderland staying up when Wolves were beaten 2-0. Mulhall and Hurley then both played their final first team matches at Turf Moor against Burnley.

Sunderland won the match 2-1, so Hurley and Mulhall signed off with a win. The four points gained against Wolves and Burnley was exactly the number of points that Sunderland finished above relegated Leicester City. 

On 17 May 1969 it was announced that Hurley, along with George Mulhall and Ralph Brand, were to be released on free transfers. Also given their notices were three members of the backroom staff Arthur Wright, Jack Jones and Bill Scott. 

Mulhall admits: “I was maybe a bit annoyed when I got released. Brown had gone away and then come back. We all played a lot of games but the free transfer I got worked out really well for me, although Sunderland did get relegated the following season. I went to South Africa to play in Cape Town for two years. It was great — we visited all the major cities. We did that in England, mind — that’s one of the joys of being a professional player. At Sunderland we also had some good times after the games as well. You could write a good book about those I can tell you, but I’m not going to!” 

Mulhall, who played three times for Scotland, made 284 first time starts and 5 appearances as a substitute for Sunderland. He scored 66 goals, a great goals per game ratio for a winger. 

Mark Metcalf is the author of Charlie Hurley’s authorised biography. 

Mulhall's last game for Sunderland was a rearranged match at Turf Moor