Jordan Henderson and five other Sunderland academy products who played for England
Although things are definitely on the up, it’s probably fair to say there has not been a phenomenal amount for Sunderland fans to be proud about in recent years.
The incredible support is about the only thing we’ve had to cling onto since things imploded under the so-called ‘safe’ David Moyes.
Little wonder, then, that seeing a pair of Sunderland academy products, and massive Lads fans to boot, taking a starring role for England as they attempt to win the World Cup has been a genuine pleasure.
While Jordan Henderson and Jordan Pickford are the best Sunderland youth products in living memory to play for England, they are not the only ones.
Nick Pickering
Nick Pickering is not going to be the most glamourous name on this list, but South Shields-born Pickering was a real jewel in the Sunderland crown back in the 1980s.
It’s worth remembering too that the 80s was a particularly grim time for Sunderland, comparable, in many ways, to the last ten years. There was top-flight football, relegation, a league Cup final, heartbreak, and ultimately a decline into the third tier.
Pickering played around 200 games for Sunderland between 1981 and 1986 and he did so with sufficient distinction to earn an England cap against Australia in the middle of it. He was just 20-years-old at the time.
It was the only one he won, although he was also part of the England under-21 team that won the 1984 European Championships.
Michael Gray
IMAGO
Michael Gray was always a talented young player, although I am not sure anyone ever really expected him to play for England.
Gray broke into the Sunderland team as an 18-year-old and scored on his full debut. That was in 1992, and he was in and out of the team after that until Peter Reid gave him a new lease of life.
Four years later, Gray had gone from a jinking right winger under Peter Reid to a flying left-back, and he timed it perfectly.
At that time, England had a well-known problem at left-back. It was just before the emergence of Ashley Cole and Gray got his chance, and as a Championship (First Division at the time) player too.
That chance amounted to three caps, two of them as a substitute.
Jordan Henderson
It’s incredibly difficult to not be proud of Jordan Henderson and all he has achieved in the game, isn’t it? Of course, in a perfect world he would have achieved it all in a Sunderland shirt. Perhaps once upon a time he would have, but football is far from a perfect world now.
Nevertheless, we all watched Henderson develop from a skinny wisp of a right winger to a beast of a central midfielder who led one of the biggest clubs in the world to a Premier League and Champions league title.
Even after he left, he stood with us in heartbreak as Sunderland lost the 2014 League Cup final to Manchester City.
At the time of writing, Henderson has won an entirely Sunderland-appropriate 73 England caps, the first of which came when he was still playing for his hometown club.
Jordan Pickford
It’s actually quite frustrating to think what might have been with Sunderland and Jordan Pickford. He emerged at exactly the wrong time for the club really. Then again, without his transfer fee is scary to think what might have happened.
By the time he was ready to establish himself as number one at Sunderland, the club were in no position to give him the platform his talent needed.
The further frustration is that it was England who were ultimately responsible for that. Had Sam Allardyce remained at Sunderland, Pickford would have been able to grow as a Premier League player with his hometown club in much the same way Henderson did. Under David Moyes, he had no chance.
Pickford never played for England as a Sunderland player. His first cap game a few months after he left to join Everton. He has arguably become England’s finest ever goalkeeper though and he remains very much red and white at heart.
Barry Venison
Barry Venison is an odd one to stomach in some ways, because he only actually played for England whilst he was a Newcastle player.
Still, Sunderland have every right to be proud of Venison. He made his debut for the Black Cats aged just 17-years-old in October 1981 and was the captain by the time Sunderland played the Milk Cup final in 1985. That’s the League Cup, or EFL Cup, for any younger readers.
He set a record for being the youngest ever captain in a Wembley final that day, and a year later Liverpool came calling for him.
Venison was mainly a substitute and utility player at Anfield, but he had a lot of success. In 1992, he moved to Newcastle and earned two England caps against USA and Uruguay – both at Wembley.
Colin Todd
In the 1960s, Sunderland’s tradition for developing homegrown local talent saw them manage to entice Colin Todd despite rivals Newcastle and Middlesbrough also making him offers.
Todd was actually part of the Sunderland youth team coached by Brian Clough in 1965, although that would bite the club on the bottom later on.
He became a fixture in the Sunderland team in the late 1960s, making nearly 200 appearances and filling the considerable void left by Charlie Hurley.
After a relegation from the top flight, though, Todd decided it was time to leave, and Brian Clough was absolutely delighted to have him at Derby.
Todd ended up with 27 caps for England for five years in the 1970s, although he never played at a World Cup and none came whilst he was a Sunderland player. He did though play many times partnering Sunderland legend Dave Watson in defence for the three lions.