This week marked the anniversary of the day Sunderland appointed manager Tom Watson. The North-East native took over at the club 131 years ago. Watson would go on to build the ‘Team of all Talents’ and would go down in history as not only a key figure in North East football but also Sunderland’s most successful manager.
Tom Watson: Sunderland’s Most Successful Manager
Instant Success
Upon Watson’s appointment on June 3rd, 1889, Sunderland were still to be elected to the Football League. Although the club had been successful in their region during the first ten years since their formation, now was the time to step up and make a case that they should be a Football League club.
Watson set about improving his squad, mainly with Scottish talent. The new manager along with his new signings and an already successful team set to work on proving they should be a League club from the following season. Watson’s team would go on to win 34 of their 47 games. They also won the Durham Association Challenge Cup for the fourth time in only their fifth year competing in it.
League Admittance
Following a successful campaign, all attention turned to gaining admittance to the Football League. However, Sunderland were not the only ones hoping to step up to the next level. Another Wearside club, Sunderland Albion, also felt they deserved a chance. With only one club allowed, one would miss out. In the end, Sunderland were chosen to be admitted to the league. Sunderland Albion, the younger of the two clubs missed out and folded two years later.
Eleven years previous, Sunderland began life as a teachers team, they would now be competing with the best in the country. A fitting end to a historic and successful decade. Better was to come under the guidance of Tom Watson.
Tom Watson Guides Sunderland to Three Championships in Four Seasons
If fans and the club believed that the previous decade had been a success, they had seen nothing yet. After being granted admission to join the Football League, manager Tom Watson once again strengthened his squad. This would be Sunderland’s first league season, failure to compete with better opposition, and other teams would be wanting their place.
Their first season, although not world-beating was deemed to be a good start as the league new boys finished mid-table. During pre-season, Watson wanted his men at 100%. 13 friendly games were played with 12 of them won. Sunderland were ready.
26 league games were played and the Red and Whites won 21 of them, including all 13 of their home games. The league title was on its way to Sunderland for the first time, and with two games to spare. A run to the semi-final of the FA Cup for a second year, although disappointing due to being favourites to win the competition, again proved that the club were in their rightful place. Tom Watson and his team proved that they could beat the best and could now claim to be the ‘Team of all Talents’
Title Retained
The following season, the title was retained. This 1892/93 season was the first to feature a Second Division, meaning that Sunderland can claim to be the first to win the First Division title. They did so in spectacular style, winning by 11 points and scoring 100 goals in just 30 games. This record stood until the 1919/20 season when there were 12 more games played.
The following season saw disappointment in that the club failed to win their third title in a row. They did, however, finish runners-up. Normal service resumed the next season as Sunderland were once again crowned Champions; however, the FA Cup still eluded Watson as once again the semi-finals were as far as they could manage. Even so, Sunderland were now considered the best team in England. With this being the case, the best team in Scotland came calling.
Champions of the World
Scottish Champions Hearts challenged Tom Watson and his Sunderland team to a game in 1895 to decide the best team in Britain. Sunderland accepted. The game was advertised as the ‘Championship of the World’ due to England and Scotland being the two leading football nations in the world at the time.
The game turned out to be a thriller in Edinburgh as Hearts and Sunderland shared eight goals. In a packed stadium, the English proved to be the best in Britain and the world by winning 5-3. Sunderland were champions of the world.
Tom Watson Departs Departure Leading to dip in Form
Nothing lasts forever, and after six highly successful years, Tom Watson left the club for a new challenge. Liverpool, who were yet to make a name for themselves, wanted a manager to steer them to glory, having recently been promoted to the First Division. In Tom Watson, there was no finer manager to help them achieve their aim,
Aside from the FA Cup, Watson had won everything at Sunderland and even though money was of little issue to him, Liverpool’s offer to double his current salary and give him a new challenge proved too good to refuse. Watson would go on to win two titles with the Reds; however, he again failed to win the cup, losing one final and three semi-finals.
Following Watson’s departure, Sunderland’s form took a turn for the worse and the club were almost relegated during their first season without their inspirational former manager. The club did recover and were soon in the hunt for another title.
Tom Watson, over 120 years after his departure, is still the most successful manager in Sunderland’s history. A win percentage of 62.3% and three league titles in a four-year spell shows his staggering achievements. Fans today can only dream of success like it or even close to it.
Main Photo
