These are the most iconic cult heroes to play for Sunderland - according to Black Cats fans

But which ones do Sunderland fans see as cult heroes?

It must be noted from the offset that the term ‘cult hero’ means different things to different people.

Some, for instance, see Kevin Ball, Kevin Phillips, and Niall Quinn as legends rather than cult heroes.

And there’s also an argument to suggest that cult hero status doesn’t have anything to do with ability or achievement.

Indeed, the technical definition of ‘cult hero’ mentions a ‘public figure who is loved by a relatively small group and not necessarily successful.’

Some Sunderland fans, for example, regard Billy Jones as a cult hero despite the full-back never really impressing on Wearside… that goal against Newcastle United aside, of course.

For this list, though, we’ve included the Sunderland players who actually performed well whilst on Wearside.

But keep an eye out for a second tongue-in-cheek list based around fans’ suggestions of players that didn’t do so well at Roker Park and the Stadium of Light.

With that in mind, then, we decided to ask fans for their cult heroes on our Twitter and Facebook pages – here’s what YOU said: