On This Day – 4 February 2017: Sunderland smash Big Sam’s Palace for four!
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Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images
The narrative for this fixture probably begins around six months prior – 22nd July 2016 to be precise – when Sam Allardyce resigned from his role as manager of Sunderland and signed a two-year contract to become the new manager of the England national team.
For the first time in many years at Sunderland, there was real hope that under Sam Allardyce we had a platform to build on. Recruitment seemed to have a purpose and achieved tangible results as the club retained its place in the Premier League. However, Roy Hodgson and England had other ideas. A combination of Harry Kane corners and defeat to Iceland meant Sunderland had to, yet again, start from scratch.