RENAMING STANDS IS A GREAT WAY FOR SUNDERLAND TO HONOUR OUR HISTORY

Sunderland have called the Stadium of Light home for over a quarter of a century, and for most of this time, we’ve not seen it change too much.

However, the club could apply a more personal touch to its home ground by naming stands after iconic former players. It isn’t something we’ve done yet, but the recent death of a legendary player could represent a turning point.

Charlie Hurley is the greatest player to have represented Sunderland AFC.

A man idolised by generations of fans, his legacy lives on through stories of those who were lucky enough to watch him play. With that in mind, a more permanent memorial to the great man, in addition to the ‘Charlie Hurley Gates that now have a place outside the stadium, would be to rename a stand in his honour.

There surely can’t be a better way to start naming parts of the stadium after heroes of the past than by making ‘The King’ the first recipient. After all, the word ‘legend’ is bandied around too much in sport, but Hurley is worthy of this title.

We need to give the Stadium of Light more of a personal touch, and this would also be easy PR for the club, which it needs more than it probably realises.

Once The King’s name is put in its rightful place on one of the stands, the question of who else should join him should be next.

Our history is filled with iconic players; those who joined the club and gave their all, resulting in the fans returning their affection. We’ve not been successful for many years, but the past hundred years has gifted us some truly heroic footballers.

The best place to start is surely with our FA Cup-winning captains.

Raich Carter was Sunderland born and bred, and his journey from Hendon to Wembley was a success story for the ages. Carter was captain of one of the best sides Sunderland have ever put together, and as the first man to ever lift the famous trophy, his name deserves a place on a stand.

Fast forward thirty six years and another Sunderland skipper was stepping up to collect the FA Cup.

Bobby Kerr led a mid-table Second Division side to a famous 1-0 win over the mighty Leeds United thanks to a thumping strike from Ian Porterfield. Kerr, like the rest of his teammates, was out on his feet at full time, and footage of the day shows that he was barely able to lift the trophy.

Kerr was another player who left everything out on the pitch, and his efforts on Wearside can never be forgotten.

‘The Bobby Kerr Stand’ has a nice ring to it, and any recognition that the club gives to ‘The Little General’ is probably not enough, considering he’s the only man still alive to captain a Sunderland side to the FA Cup.

We have a wealth of players who came to be idolised whilst playing in the red and white stripes, and it’s about time we started to give some of them a place in our stadium for all to see.

Hurley should be the first Sunderland player given this accolade- for as much as we want the club to move forward, we must also make sure the memories of the past live on.

2024-04-26T05:52:45Z dg43tfdfdgfd