The best Sunderland XI using Black Cats players since the year 2000 ft Kevin Phillips (List) | OneFootball

Highlights

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

At the start of the year 2000, Sunderland were a Premier League club having been promoted from the second tier of English football just a few months prior.

For much of the time after that, the Black Cats have plied their trade in the top flight but there have been real low points since then as well - namely their four-year stint recently in League One.

There has however been two promotions from the Championship and a play-off triumph at Wembley as well, so the Wearsiders have certainly had a mixed bag of things in the previous 23 years - but who is included in the best starting 11 to play for the club in that time?

GK: Thomas Sorensen

In 1998, Sunderland plucked Sorensen from Danish outfit Odense despite never playing a game for the club - he had been on loan at another club in his home nation in the form of Svendborg and that led to the Black Cats signing the 22-year-old when they were in the second tier.

Sorensen became a real fan favourite at the Stadium of Light in his five years at the club, winning a promotion to the Premier League and being a part of a couple of seventh-placed finishes in the top flight, and he became a regular Denmark international when at the club.

However, Sunderland were forced to sell Sorensen in 2003 to Aston Villa due to financial issues and he went on to be a regular starter there as well, whilst also going on to play for Stoke and Melbourne City.

RB: Phil Bardsley

After a flurry of loan spells away from Man United in Scotland, Belgium, the Championship and the Premier League, Bardsley moved to Sunderland on a permanent basis in 2008 to kick-start his career at the age of 22.

Bardsley spent the next six-and-a-half years with the Black Cats and was a regular starter under most manager - except perhaps Paolo Di Canio who didn't take much of a liking to him - but he was solid and dependable and won the club's Player of the Year award in the 2010-11 season.

He did eventually leave on a free transfer though to Stoke in 2014, spending three years at the Potters before joining Burnley in 2017 and then ending his career with a brief stint at Stockport County in the 2022-23 season.

CB: John O’Shea

For much of Sunderland's time in the Premier League since the year 2000, they haven't always been blessed with the best centre-backs, but one who was solid and consistent was O'Shea.

The Republic of Ireland international stalwart was 30 years of age when he arrived on Wearside after playing 393 times for Man United, winning all there was to win in club football, and for a while he kept Sunderland solid at the back.

By the end of his seven years at Sunderland, O'Shea had suffered back-to-back relegations into League One with the club, but based on his earlier performances for the club he has earned a spot in this list.

CB: Danny Batth

As mentioned, Sunderland's centre-back options for this list are slim and that means after his 2022-23 performances, Batth is on the list.

Batth has carved out a long Championship career for himself but has never made it to the Premier League, and his second tier experience was valuable last season.

Initially brought in when the club were in League One, Batth played a major part of Tony Mowbray's back-line last season and was subsequently named the Player of the Year for his showings - in a team of youthful and exciting players, Batth was the glue that kept the team together at the back.

LB: Michael Gray

Sunderland born and bred, Gray joined the academy system as a teenager after leaving Man United and enjoyed a long career with the Black Cats.

Gray's big breakthrough came in 1995-96 as on the left flank of a midfield four he started regularly as Sunderland were promoted to the top flight, with his performances leading to England caps in 1999.

He ended up playing a lot at left-back later on in his time with the club as Sunderland became consolidated in the Premier League, with back-to-back seventh-placed finishes in 2000 and 2001.

Gray did end up leaving in 2003 for Celtic on loan and then permanently to Blackburn Rovers, but he made a fantastic impact at Sunderland and that's what he will be remembered for.

CDM: Yann M’Vila

A player who had been capped 22 times for France by the time he arrived at Sunderland in 2015, M'Vila was a big asset during his loan spell in the 2015-16 season from Rubin Kazan.

M'Vila was a popular figure among the fanbase for his performances and despite the fact the club had the option to sign him permanently in 2016, a move never arose despite keenness from Sam Allardyce at the time to make it happen.

It may be a deal that the club regret not doing as M'Vila's presence for the few years afterwards could have stopped Sunderland from dropping down the leagues...

CM: Steed Malbranque

Having gained plenty of Premier League experience with Fulham and Tottenham, Malbranque arrived at Sunderland in 2008 and ended up being a real favourite on the terraces.

The Frenchman never really got on the scoresheet but his presence in midfield was a big influence for the Black Cats as they continued to be a steady top flight outfit.

In three years at the club, Malbranque played 112 times but was allowed to return to his home nation in 2011 with Saint-Etienne before he finished his career with Lyon.

CM: Lee Cattermole

A no-frills midfielder who loved a tackle, Cattermole had played in the Premier League for both Middlesbrough and Wigan Athletic before moving to the Black Cats in 2009.

For the next 10 years, Cattermole pretty much ran the Sunderland midfield when he was fit and stayed with the club when they were relegated both to the Championship and then League One.

Cattermole wasn't flashy but he was a player that the club needed in the engine room - he played 258 times for the Wearsiders and won the North East Football Writers' Association's Player of the Year in 2014.

CAM: Stéphane Sessègnon

Sunderland swooped for Benin international Sessegnon from Paris Saint-Germain in January 2011, and his trickiness and technical ability was lapped up by the Black Cats fanbase.

Sessegnon was a goal threat for the club and scored seven times in two separate Premier League seasons for Sunderland, but in 2013 he fell out with manager Paolo Di Canio which spelled the end of his time at the Stadium of Light.

Whilst he exited on somewhat of a sour note, Sessegnon will still be remembered in a positive light by supporters.

ST: Kevin Phillips

There are only really two strikers that Sunderland fans could pick for this list, with one of those being Phillips.

Signed from Watford in 1997, Phillips was prolific for the Black Cats with 35 goals in his debut season, and two years later he had a 30-goal campaign in the Premier League, certifying himself as one of the best strikers in England.

Phillips was capped eight times for his country whilst at the club, won both the Premier League Golden Boot and Player of the Year AND the European Golden Shoe as a Sunderland player and by the time he departed for Southampton in 2003 he scored 130 times in 235 outings.

He is a man who is treasured on Wearside and will go down as one of the club's best players of all-time.

ST: Niall Quinn

If Phillips is in the starting 11, then Quinn has to be as well.

Joining in 1996 from Man City, the Irishman forged a prolific partnership with Phillips upon the latter's arrival, although his best goalscoring season came in 1998-99 with 21 goals.

From the year 2000, Quinn was still starting regularly for Sunderland and scored 14 times in the 1999-2000 season, and whilst his scoring somewhat wained after that, his influence didn't.

Quinn retired in 2002 but is revered on Wearside, much like Phillips, and the two may never be bettered as a strike partnership at the club.