He had played major roles in two important promotions to the top flight and captained us to an FA Cup final, but on this day in 1997, Paul Bracewell made his final appearance in the red and white of Sunderland.
For me, people who are too young to have witnessed Paul Bracewell pull on the red and white stripes don’t quite realise how good a player he was, and how good a player he could have been if he’d avoided a serious ankle injury that derailed his career.
Because, let’s face it, if it wasn’t for injury, Bracewell would have remained in the top flight, had a shed load more than the three England caps he achieved, and ultimately, would not have played for Sunderland after his move to Everton in the summer of 1984.
There are also those out there who, through his move up the road, or his association with our pitiful relegation under David Moyes, think negatively about Bracewell, but I can’t get beyond what a good player he was for the club and at times it was a joy to watch him work in midfield for the Lads.
His first stint at Roker came after Alan Durban went and pilfered his former club Stoke City to bring a 21-year-old, fresh-faced Bracewell to Sunderland.
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After only a year, Everton took him to Goodison for around £250,000 and in his first season, he made 57 appearances as Howard Kendall’s side won the league title and European Cup Winners Cup – missing out on a treble after losing to Manchester United in the FA Cup final.
Bracewell was one of the best midfielders in the country plying his trade for one of the most successful sides in the country, but after an injury sustained at St James’ Park following a tackle by Billy Whitehurst, Bracewell would lose almost three years of his career.
Despite being told he may not return to professional football, and only having 50% movement in one ankle, he did return to action, albeit not the same player as he was, and he would never officially pass a medical for the rest of his career.
At the beginning of the 1989-90 season, it was clear he would not get the minutes on the pitch he craved at Everton and a move was required, which led to a call to his former Stoke City teammate, Denis Smith, who was in his third full season as manager of Sunderland.
A brief loan spell was quickly followed by Smith forcing the board to part with the cash to make the move permanent, with reports of Newcastle United making a move at the time. The season would end with a strange promotion after defeat in the play-off final against Swindon Town, after famously swatting the Mags aside in the semi-final.
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Bracewell stayed for three years until he found himself a free agent after rejecting Sunderland’s one-year offer for their captain who had just led his side to an FA Cup final. Bracewell explained the situation when he spoke to the Roker Rapport podcast, which you can listen to here, where it became an easy decision when Kevin Keegan offered him a three-contract up the road.
He would return as Peter Reid’s player-assistant manager in the summer of 1995 and slotted straight back in, leading us to the title and promotion to the Premier League with his performances in the middle of the park.
Relegation followed the next year, with Bracewell making over 40 appearances in all competitions, but for our first season at the Stadium of Light, Reid was going in a different direction.
The acquisition of Lee Clark from the Mags for a club record £2.5m, meant it would prove difficult for Bracewell to carry on his playing career, with Kevin Ball and Alex Rae just two who were fighting it out for the remaining place in midfield.
Despite the Lads not getting off to the best of starts, Bracewell wasn’t part of the matchday squad until he appeared on the bench at Bradford City, where he would replace Clark with a couple of minutes left on the clock as we led 4-0.
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He would appear in the 2-1 victory over Bury in the League Cup second round, first leg, playing against former teammate Gordon Armstrong in a 2-1 win courtesy of goals from Darren Williams and Michael Bridges and a week later, the second leg would be his last for Sunderland.
Sandwiched in between the two League Cup games, Reid’s side drew 1-1 with Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Stadium of Light, with the Lads opening the scoring through a rare event – a header from Martin Smith – and 12 minutes into this fixture at Gigg Lane, he repeated the same feat.
Michael Gray went on a mazy run and laid the ball wide to Martin Scott, who crossed low to the near post, to find Smith meeting the ball with a diving header that glanced into the far corner.
Then just after the half hour, an attempted clearance by future Sunderland defender Paul Butler, was charged down by Alex Rae and landed in the path of Smith, who charged down the left before cutting the ball back perfectly for Rae to score and put the tie out of sight of Stan Ternant’s side.
David Johnson would pull one back, scoring past Edwin Zoetebier, who was making his debut, but it was well out of sight and Sunderland would proceed to take on Middlesbrough in the next round.
But, a fairly routine, low-key victory for Sunderland, was all the more significant as it was the final time we’d see Paul Bracewell in a Sunderland shirt before he’d join Kevin Keegan at Fulham.
