Without a doubt, the planning and thought that had gone into every aspect of the club bore fruit. For most of us, they were the best of times and the quality of the facilities, and of the club in general, reached a high standard. There is no doubt that Sir Bob had his faults, but if he understood one thing about Sunderland, it was that the club had to try much harder than its rivals if it was to be successful, regardless of whether it was because of local economics or politics, geography or history.īack in the late 1990s, we did exactly that. Subsequently, this level of attention to detail and insistence on quality was repeated at the Academy of Light, and then at the Beacon of Light.
It was just about the best stadium in the country, and the fan experience probably equalled it. The Stadium of Light opened in 1997, and for a time, Murray and Fickling’s vision was realised. Those scenes, however, proved that the core aim of the Stadium of Light project was to make every detail of Sunderland’s new home the best it could possibly be. This was at a time when the team was struggling on the pitch, and yet the top two boardroom figures were fretting over what seemed like trivial matters. Photo by Owen Humphreys - PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images
We all remember the scenes in the 1997 documentary ‘Premier Passions’, which at the time were quite comical, with Sir Bob Murray and John Fickling agonising over boardroom taps and the choice of run-out music. However, there is no reason why SAFC cannot have the best of everything else. Sunderland AFC will probably never have the best football team in the country, and given recent developments elsewhere, it is highly unlikely that we will have the best football team in the North East anytime soon.