JERMAIN Defoe is lacing up his boots in preparation for a return to White Hart Lane this afternoon, but perhaps not in the colours he might have expected last week, writes Michael Ramsay.
Having begun training with his former club last week in a bid to keep up his fitness in the MLS off-season, the former England international was quickly sought out by a host of Premier League bosses, with Gus Poyet clambering to the top of the pile.
Having worked with Defoe before while assistant coach at Spurs, the Uruguayan knows exactly what the 32-year-old is capable of and will be hoping that he can fire the Sunderland away from relegation trouble.
Boasting an impeccable record of having scored on his debut for all of his previous five clubs, Defoe will be looking to continue the trend at his old stamping ground. Should he fire the goal that earns Poyet’s side a first league victory since December’s Tyne-Wear triumph, it would be a dream start for the striker – like the others who recently made a perfect start to life on Wearside.
TORE ANDRE FLO
Sunderland 1 Manchester United 1
August 31 2002
TORE Andre Flo may not have been a success at Sunderland, but his time in the North-East got off to a dream start when he netted on his debut. The former Chelsea man, bought for £6.75m, was earmarked as Niall Quinn’s natural replacement and he cancelled out Ryan Giggs’ early goal with a close-range strike after 70 minutes. He only added three league goals to his tally for the Black Cats.
JULIO ARCA
Sunderland 1 West Ham 1
September 6, 2000
JULIO Arca may be playing for a second-division pub side in the Sunderland Sunday League aged 33, but in his prime he lit up the North-East at both the Stadium of Light and the Riverside. Having signed for the Black Cats from Argentinos Juniors in a £3.5m deal in 2000, the Argentine midfielder notched on his debut in a 1-1 home draw with West Ham. His inventive finish, in off the upright, wasn’t enough to win, however, as Davor Suker bagged a late equaliser.
DARREN BENT
Bolton 0-1 Sunderland
August 15, 2009
AS a man who has scored on his debut for five different clubs, it’s no surprise Darren Bent scored. Having forced his way out of White Hart Lane, Bent arrived on Wearside with a bang, getting off the mark after just five minutes. The former Ipswich, Charlton and Spurs striker rose highest to nod home Steed Malbranque’s early cross and it proved to be the only goal of the game.
ROSS WALLACE
Derby County 1 Sunderland 2
September 9, 2006
IT was probably one of the most important goals that a Black Cat has scored in the last decade, as it went some way to lifting the gloom over Wearside. After a miserable record-low points haul in the Premier League the previous campaign, the turmoil-ridden club had lost their first four Championship fixtures before a morale-boosting home win over West Brom preluded Roy Keane’s first managerial game in charge against Derby County.
Having fallen behind, Chris Brown equalised just after the hour mark, before Ross Wallace stepped up to bend home an exquisite free-kick.
STEVEN FLETCHER
Swansea City 2 Sunderland 2
September 1, 2012
HAVING splashed out £14m for Wolves’ centre-forward, Sunderland gave him his debut at the Liberty Stadium. A curling strike and an easy tap-in either side of a Wayne Routledge goal had the Black Cats leading Michael Laudrup’s Swans, before the in-form Michu’s second-half header denied the Wearsiders victory. The Scottish international would then go on a fine run of form, bagging a goal in each of the next three games and finishing the season on 11 goals overall.
MICHAEL CHOPRA
Sunderland 1 Tottenham 0
August 11, 2007
IT was the goal which began Sunderland’s third crack at life in the top-flight as a recently-promoted side. Having amassed a combined total of 34 points from their previous two Premier League campaigns, supporters could have been forgiven for fearing the worst when faced with an opening-day fixture against a Spurs side gunning for Champions League football.
Having missed out on then-England international David Nugent, Wearside fans could barely hide their disappointment at the £7m capture of Tyneside-born Michael Chopra – whose only previous top-flight goal had arrived on this ground in the colours of the enemy.
They were soon chanting his name, however, when he slotted a loose ball into the bottom corner of Paul Robinson’s net to give the Black Cats the perfect start to life in the Premier League.
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