Football, finance and furore: The bitter tale of 1990 that engulfed Sunderland AFC, Newcastle United and Swindon Town

“Gary, it’s the club. Get down to the ground. Now.”

It’s the summer of 1990 and Gary Bennett is called to an impromptu photoshoot outside Roker Park.

“I’ve got one of the pictures here in front of me now,” the centre back tells the Echo.

“I had scarves hoisted above my head, even pictures with an umbrella outside Roker Park. It was all celebrating that we’d got promotion.”

Sunderland had indeed won promotion, and at the expense of their rivals - Newcastle United. But this was unlike any promotion ever seen in English football. This was 1990. This was the year when football, finance and the legal system combined to form a perfect storm. This is the bitterest chapter in the infamous rivalry between Sunderland and Newcastle United - told by those at the heart of it.

Painting the picture

To fully understand the significance of this story, we need to go back to the beginning - with football in England reaching a crucial juncture.

With talks already underway over a new breakaway top-flight - later to be named the Premiership - second division clubs were dangled an additional carrot when fighting for promotion.

And in the 1989-90 campaign, both Newcastle United and Sunderland were vying for a spot in the top tier. Neither were spectacular sides, and were heavily reliant on their respective goalscorers in Marco Gabbiadini and Micky Quinn.

“The thing about us was that we’d always score goals,” recalls midfield general Gordon Armstrong. “With Gatesy [Eric Gates] and Gabbers, there was always a threat there.”

Newcastle came close to promotion, finishing third and narrowly missing out on the top two, while Sunderland squeezed into the final play-off place after a remarkable end to the campaign.

“We went on a very, very good run near the end of the season and we knew there was something to play for,” adds Bennett.

“Okay, we didn’t get promotion - but we knew we had the play-offs.”

As the two prepared to face-off in a play-off semi-final, few could envisage the drama that lay ahead.

Penalties and putting out windows

Yet there was little sign of drama in the first leg. 26,000 fans turned out at Roker Park on a balmy Sunderland evening to watch a drab 0-0 draw which failed to catch the imagination - until the final minute, when Sunderland were awarded a penalty.

“We were rubbing our hands together,” admits Bennett.

“We thought we’d be going to St James’s Park on the Wednesday a goal up.”

Paul Hardyman, the club’s designated penalty taker, had already netted nine times throughout the campaign. On this occasion though, he saw his spot kick saved by John Burridge, before being sent-off for lashing out at the Newcastle United stopper. Chaos ensued.

“I knew where he’d put it,” says Burridge. “I’d done my homework and I had written in a book where Hardyman would put it - I blocked it and the next thing I knew I felt my nose go.

“The funny thing is that I lived in Durham city, and Hardyman lived on the same estate.

“He was only round the corner, and I felt like going and putting his f***ing windows out.”

“I always tell Hardy whenever I see him that I think I saved his life that night, because half the Newcastle team wanted to lynch him,” adds Armstrong, who managed to shepherd the full-back off the field.

“He did try and kick Budgie’s head off, to be fair.”

“All hell broke loose after that,” says Bennett. “Newcastle thought they’d just have to turn up on Wednesday and win the game.”

Play-off victory – and a trip to Menorca

Outside expectation was low as Sunderland headed to St James’s Park in the second leg. Four months previously, the Black Cats had ground out a 1-1 draw on Tyneside thanks to a Marco Gabbiadini strike, but on this occasion a stalemate would not be enough. They needed to win.

“I don’t think there’s been a bigger game against Newcastle in the distinguished history of both clubs,” says former Sunderland owner Bob Murray.

“The prize at the end of it all was the first division.”

“The odds were completely against us,” adds Bennett.

“But as a team we played well and we had the G Force - Gates and Gabbiadini - who just terrorised defences all season. They won us the game.”

Gates struck first, pouncing on Gary Owers’ cut-back to stab past Burridge. There was pandemonium in the open air away end. The second then came with just minutes left on the clock, Gabbiadini sliding home in front of the jubilant travelling fans.

But those celebrations were cut short. Newcastle fans spilled onto the pitch from the Gallowgate end, halting play. Referee George Courtney called a halt to proceedings, with both teams retreating to the dressing room. If the home fans had hoped to stop Sunderland’s march to Wembley, their plan had backfired.

Armstrong says: “I remember George Courtney coming into the dressing room and saying ‘look, don’t worry about it - we’re finishing this game tonight. Even if we have to stay here until two in the morning, we’re finishing it.’

“That was good to hear.”

The game was eventually played to a completion (it was a case of ‘playing it on the touchline and making a quick getaway’, according to Bennett) and Sunderland were Wembley-bound.

“We had a great night in Sunderland afterwards,” Armstrong tells us.

“We then went away for four or five days to Menorca… I’ll let you decide whether that was a good idea or not.”

Swindon were then waiting under the Twin Towers, and with them a host of issues.

Meanwhile, in Wiltshire...

As Sunderland were defeating their local rivals, Swindon were breezing past Blackburn Rovers in the other play-off semi-final. It topped off a fine season for the Robins who, under the guidance of Ossie Ardiles, shook off their reputation as a long ball team. In came a new Samba style which took the second division by storm.

“It was sparkling football,” says Vic Morgan, who covered the club for BBC Wiltshire during the 1989-90 campaign.

“The club was successful under Lou Macari but often that was described as long ball football - which is a little bit unfair, really.

“But Ossie Ardiles came in and introduced his South American flair and it was wonderful football to watch.”

But while things were going well on the pitch, a storm was brewing behind the scenes.

As the season drew to a close, the club were hit with a vast number of charges from the FA and Football League - dating back as far as 1985.

There were 35 cases of illegal payments made to players over a four year period, while former team manager Macari and chairman Brian Hillier were also banned from football and heavily fined after betting on Swindon to win an FA Cup tie - ironically, against Newcastle United.

Swindon’s case was supposed to be heard on May 4, before the play-offs, only to be postponed on legal advice. That came after Hillier, Macari and club secretary Vince Farrar were all charged by police for ‘intent to defraud Inland Revenue by making payments without deducting tax or NI’ (Farrar and Hillier were later found guilty, while Macari was cleared).

That added complication meant the case couldn’t be heard until early June - meaning the play-off final would take place before a concrete decision was made.

“They completely bamboozled us”

“People always say I was the first black captain to lead out a league club at Wembley. I’m not sure whether it’s true or not, but leading Sunderland out was a fantastic honour and nobody can take that moment away from me.”

It was a proud day for Bennett as, roared on by over 72,000 fans at the home of football, Sunderland looked to reclaim their place among the elite of English football.

They had already beaten Swindon during the regular season and were considered favourites in many quarters - but the Robins had other ideas. Managed by Argentine Ardiles, Swindon implemented their brand of fluid football - that Sunderland couldn’t cope with.

“We didn’t turn up,” adds Bennett. “We never got going. They played three at the back and we couldn’t deal with their system.

“We were lucky to be beaten 1-0.”

“I think it's the most one-sided 1-0 I've ever seen,” admits Morgan.

“Sunderland didn't trouble Swindon at all because the football was just so good.

“It was a wonderful day. 30-odd thousand people came up from Swindon to watch the game at Wembley and we completely outplayed Sunderland.

“I think Swindon were the deserved winners at the end of it and there were great celebrations when we got back to Wiltshire that night.”

It was club captain Bennett who inadvertently helped to hand the Robins victory, as his deflection saw Alan McLoughlin’s strike beat the otherwise imperious Tony Norman. There were few complaints on the day, with the Black Cats completely overawed.

“They completely bamboozled us,” says Armstrong. “To be fair to them, they should have won more comfortably. If it wasn’t for Tony Norman, they would have.

“They deserved to win...but suddenly, everything changed.”

Bob Murray’s well-kept secret

“I knew.”

Before a ball had been kicked at Wembley, Bob Murray knew what was about to transpire.

“Very few people know this, but before the game at Wembley I was pulled - very firmly - to one side by Bill Fox, the Football League chairman.

“He said that they wanted Sunderland to win because they didn’t want to be forced to make the decision.

“I didn’t even share that with the board, but I knew there was a very good chance we were going to be promoted to the first division. The Swindon thing was such a big black mark. There was going to be severe consequences.”

While Murray kept that knowledge to himself, players - both of Sunderland and other clubs vying for promotion - had their suspicions.

“Everyone knew, or had a feeling, even before a ball was kicked that there were issues with Swindon,” says Bennett.

“We didn’t even know if they’d be allowed to play in the play-offs, and then when they were, there was an investigation going on.”

“I remember Kevin Dillon coming in after we beat Newcastle and congratulating us on promotion, because their chairman had said we were already up,” adds Armstrong.

“He said action was being taken against Swindon and they certainly wouldn’t be going up, and might not even be in the second division next year.”

“It was strange because we were going up the motorway beaten, and I didn’t feel a thing,” admits Murray.

“Things just moved on very quickly after that.”

The final verdict

Armstrong was on holiday in Ibiza with his girlfriend, now wife, when he heard the news.

“She had rang her Mam and she came back and told me - we were promoted.”

It was June 13 - almost three weeks after the final - when Sunderland finally learned their fate. Swindon had pleaded guilty to the 36 charges put to them by the Football League, and admitted a further twenty infringements related to financial irregularities. The Robins were to be denied their promotion - and taking their place in the top flight would be Sunderland.

The verdict was delivered at Villa Park where Morgan, along with a host of Swindon players and backroom staff, waited patiently to learn their fate.

“There was a petition with thousands and thousands of signatures in the corner of the room where they delivered the verdict,” he says.

“I was standing behind the chairman of the Football League as he was delivering the statement, and I read the line before he could even read it out - Swindon would be demoted two divisions. You can imagine what happened in Swindon after that.

“It was a bombshell, and nobody in football had been treated as harshly as that.

“The whole community was devastated.”

The story continues

But as communities so often do during times of hardship, the people of Swindon rallied together. An appeal was quickly launched by the Robins, who felt a two-tier demotion - and the prospect of third division football - was an unproportionate punishment. The legal wrangle led to a tumultuous summer.

“There was an immediate appeal that went in, but it was a struggle,” admits Morgan.

“It was hard work and the boardroom saw major changes during that time. They had to work hard to keep the club on an even keel.

“The whole club was rocked to its roots. We saw mass demonstrations through the streets of Swindon and the petition kept growing.”

Swindon were ultimately spared from relegation to the third division and reinstated in the second tier, but the place in the top tier was Sunderland’s.

“In the end that was considered a victory,” says Morgan.

“But a hollow victory.”

Back on Wearside, Bennett was whisked away to his photoshoot and the Black Cats were left to prepare for life back in the top flight.

“It wasn’t the ideal way to go up,” admits Armstrong.

“But it wasn’t anything to do with us. They’d crossed the line with breaking rules and what they’d done, and the powers that be decided they shouldn’t be in Division One.

“That’s how it was and we were delighted to have the chance to play at that level.”

“It was a sense of relief,” says Bennett.

“All players want to do is play at the top level, and at the time we were delighted to get the opportunity to do that.”

In the boardroom, however, the decision was met with far more caution. The Black Cats, too, would be faced with a difficult summer.

While it topped off a remarkable rise which had seen Sunderland ascend from the third tier to the top flight in just three years, for chairman Murray it was a case of too much, too soon. Plans were hastily redrawn. For manager Denis Smith, it meant recruitment plans changed - with a shortened summer making his pursuit of new players trickier than normal.

“We’d come too far, too quick,” admits Murray.

“That was a big step - but you take your chances, don’t you?

“We had a short summer, but Denis Smith did really well and it was a happy time.”

A bitter legal battle – as a historic rivalry headed to the courtroom

But while Sunderland celebrated, there was furore in another corner of the North East - and, to a lesser extent, in South Yorkshire.

“Newcastle felt they should have gone up because they finished third, and Sheffield Wednesday thought they should have been allowed to stay up,” explains former chairman Murray.

“Our case was that we followed the competition rules. We played, we finished sixth, we got through to the play-off final, and Sunderland were the only club who could get promoted.

“We had lawyers all over the thing and it was a really intense period of work.

“But I never once thought we wouldn’t go up.”

While Murray was in one corner, in the other was Gordon McKeag - Newcastle United’s club chairman and a former solicitor, who would later go on to run the Football League.

His argument hinged on the fact that under old Football League rules, prior to the introduction of the play-offs, it would have been Newcastle who had gained promotion having finished third.

“Of course we should have gone up,” argues Burridge.

“The top three should have been promoted and it was a disgraceful decision.

“When we finished third, I thought they’d send us up. It was ridiculous.

“I f***ing hated Sunderland, and I didn’t want to see them win anything - so it was hard to take.”

“I never really got that argument,” says Armstrong.

“If it was us, we’d have probably felt the same - but I never felt they earned it.

“At the end of the day, the play-offs are done in a way where everyone knows the rule. If you win in the play-offs and get through to the final, then you should be the one that goes up.”

Bennett was slightly more sympathetic.

“You can understand where they’re coming from.

“They finished a fair few points ahead of us, and felt promotion should have gone to the team in third place.

“But they were the rules. Third played sixth, fourth played fifth and then you went to Wembley. Third place didn’t guarantee automatic promotion.”

Eventually, the Magpies were forced to concede defeat – but they were far from pleased.

It led to a extra element of bitterness between the two sides, with tensions reaching a summit in mid-June when Sunderland's promotion was rubber-stamped.

Speaking after the decision was confirmed, McKeag said: “Clearly I am bitterly disappointed. Newcastle United finished in undisputed third place in the league.”

“We stand by our belief,” added then-club secretary Russell Cushing.

“That our league position should rank higher than that of a team beaten in the final of the play-off competition.”

What came next?

Murray’s fear that Sunderland had come too far, too quickly was well-founded.

With the FA verdict not delivered until mid-June, the Black Cats were ill-equipped for the top flight and Denis Smith endured a difficult summer transfer window with only two new players arriving at Roker Park – Kevin Ball was signed from Portsmouth, while defender Ian Sampson joined non-league Goole Town.

Two key players in the run to the play-offs also departed the club on the eve of the 1990-91 season, with experienced duo John MacPhail and Eric Gates heading to Hartlepool United and Carlisle United respectively. It left Sunderland to rely on a string of academy graduates, such as Anth Smith and Martin Gray, as manager Smith looked to work wonders with a threadbare squad.

Sunderland won just one of their first eight league games with the lack of preparation – caused by the uncertainty over the summer months – extremely evident.

The one win was an eye-catching one, as Gary Owers and Bennett struck to seal a 2-1 win over Manchester United, but defeats to Norwich, Chelsea, Liverpool and Aston Villa sent the Black Cats plummeting down the table.

Ultimately there was little Smith could do to stave off relegation. Sunderland won just eight times all season and were relegated straight back to the first division with a meagre 34 points.

On the other side of the River Tyne, the events of 1990 led to some profound change at St James’s Park.

Jim Smith was sacked only nine months after the decision to promote Sunderland and was replaced in the dugout by Ardiles – who had managed Swindon to that play-off final victory less than 12 months before.

The Magpies couldn't emulate their third place finish of the previous season, however, and finished 11th – ten points off the play-off places.

And it wasn’t just on the pitch that change was being made.

Shortly after Newcastle were denied promotion, McKeag - who had led the fight against Sunderland – stepped down as chairman and was replaced by local businessman George Forbes.

In 1991, he was followed through the door by John Hall.

The local entrepreneur picked up the club at its lowest ebb, and helped return them to the Premier League before selling his stake to Freddy Shepherd in 1997.

It was under Hall that Newcastle enjoyed some of their fondest recent memories, with his appointment of Kevin Keegan in February 1992 proving an inspired decision. It was a sliding doors moment for the Magpies who, many believe, were unlikely to have been bought by Hall had they been promoted in place of Sunderland in 1990.

Swindon, meanwhile, took their place back in Division Two but were again the victims of a tumultuous summer which gave them little time to plan. The Robins finished 20th in the second tier, clear of relegation, but were left to wonder what might have been.

For Morgan and a host of other fans, it was a difficult season – as they were forced to watch on as Sunderland took the place that they had earned on the pitch.

“The thought that we could have been rubbing shoulders with some of the biggest clubs in the country, and then watching Sunderland actually play them….that was devastating really.

“Every football fan in the country wants to see their team play at the top level, and that had been taken away.

“The fans - even to this day - will say that they were the ones who were unfairly punished.”