Central Scotland Branch
Contact: Phil Wilson
Email: phil_wilson10@yahoo.co.uk
Q: Who are the committee members in the Central Scotland branch and where are you all based?
Philip Wilson (Dunblane) Neil Emslie (Grangemouth) Graham Falk (Glasgow) Ian Graham (Arbroath)
Q: What inspired you all to support Sunderland?
Phil – I was born in Sunderland and my entire family are Sunderland supporters. No choice really!
Neil – My local team I have followed all my life are Stirling Albion FC, who also play in red and white with the initials SAFC . Having watched in awe of Chris Turner’s heroics during the Milk Cup run of 1985, I was holidaying in Llorett and got chatting to a couple from Houghton Le Spring and I found out my SAFC t shirts were a good ice breaker. We swapped addresses and was delighted to be invited down the following season. Even more so when asked if I’d started supping yet? The welcome I received from the people of Sunderland made me hungry for more and soon after I started running bus loads of Stirling Albion supporters down when the Albion didn’t have a game. These trips were very popular and soon you could see locals sporting Stirling Albion shirts swapped in the Wheatsheaf pre matches. Many supporters of Stirling also have season cards at the Stadium of Light
Graham – Born in Southwick, grew up in South Shields during the 90’s. My Dad, My grandad, my uncle, my nanna, my auntie, my other uncle and all my cousin’s supported Sunderland – I had no choice!
Ian – I am Sunderland born and my Dad wouldn’t allow anything else.
Q: Have you watched Sunderland ‘til I die on Netflix and what did you think of it?
Phil – Yes, I even managed a cameo appearance during season 2! I think the actual content was hard to sit through for obvious reasons however the quality of the production and the global exposure it gave us as a club were positives.
Neil – Yes it was a difficult watch but hey, we are Sunderland and we expect the unexpected. My daughter and I were in episode one of season 2 as she was mascot in forst game of that season v Charlton. Proud dad moment
Graham – Yes, I was sadly part of season two as a few people may know. It was a hard watch and I must preferred season one which focussed on the fans. That is the true Sunderland for me, fans that travel the length and breadth of the country even during our worst ever season and never tire of backing the team – even when the team isn’t exactly backing them.
Q: How long have you been supporting Sunderland for?
Phil - All my life, so 44 years. I grew up in Northumberland and moved to Scotland in 2000 but it never leaves you.
Neil – Started looking for results due to the 1985 Milk Cup run and fell in love and became a regular attender in 1987.
Graham – Since I popped my head out of my Maw’s womb – so coming up 35 years!
Q: What are your plans for the Central Scotland branch?
The branch has laid dormant for several years so the four of us got together to bring it back and establish a community of Sunderland supporters in Scotland. We still have the first branch flag in the permanent North Stand display. Through our Twitter and Facebook pages we will communicate with members to build that community and membership numbers. We will encourage a culture of fun and arrange some travel to games either via bus or train from Edinburgh. We also plan regular meet ups somewhere central to allow members to watch some games together when they aren’t attending in person. We also plan some potential talk ins with Scottish former Sunderland players.
Q: Roughly, how many Sunderland fans are there in Scotland now that you know of?
We believe there around 300-500 Sunderland supporters in Scotland and the potential for many more to adopt Sunderland as their favourite English team.
Sunderland AFC has a long history with Scotland starting with the founding of the club by Scotsman James Allan, first ever captain James McMillen and 1937 cup winning manager Johnny Cochrane (in fact 5 of the 11 players that day were Scottish). Famous ex-players include Jim Baxter, Bobby Kerr, Ian Porterfield, Billy Hughes, Dick Malone, Ally McCoist and Alex Rae to name only a few. Rarely does a Sunderland squad not include players from Scotland.
Q: What was the first Sunderland match you ever watched? Can you remember the score?
Phil – Yes, I remember it like it was yesterday. I was in the back of the Roker End with my Dad on 11th May 1985, Sunderland 1 Ipswich 2 and we had already been relegated. Which kind of set the scene for many of the seasons to follow! I have since discovered that there were less than 10,000 people at the game but I was in awe of how many people were in one place. I was instantly hooked.
Neil – 24th October 1987. Clock Stand Paddock Sunderland 4- York City 2 . 2 goals from Eric Gates and 2 goals from John Cornforth
Graham – Fulwell End, Sunderland 0-2 Wolves 1993/94 season. Geoff Thomas managed to take on our whole team from the halfway line and they scored their first goal after a defensive mix-up – if I wasn’t put off then, I was never going to be.
Ian – 2-0 home win over Birmingham City in the 1979/80 season.