RR: First and foremost Alex, thanks for sitting down and chatting to Roker Report. Nice easy one to start - what would be your best eleven of players from your time at Sunderland? AR: Tommy Sorensen, Makin, Mickey Gray, Melville, Stevey Bould, Bally, McCann, Summerbee, Allan Johnston, Quinny and then Kevin Phillips. RR: You came to the club in 1996 whilst we were still at Roker Park. Living in London at the time, what convinced you to make the move up? AR: I’d been at Millwall for six seasons, so it was an easy move to make, to be honest. There were one or two times, I think it was Denis Smith - guys like that - who had tried to get hold of me before, so there was always a link with Sunderland. The fact I was only two and a half hours away from Glasgow so I could get up and watch Rangers was a factor also. Plus, I knew the North East was always so passionate about the game. I used to hate it before I moved actually. It was always so hostile. RR: You actually made your debut against Newcastle in the final derby at Roker Park, but you spent the majority of your time on Wearside at the SOL. Which did you prefer, and why? AR: I was suspended at the beginning of my first season because I got sent off in my last game at Millwall. To be honest, the first two seasons for me at Sunderland was a waste of time, because I wasn’t really living my life all that well. In answer to your question - 100% the Stadium of Light, because Roker Park was falling to bits. Having to share a bath that hadn’t been cleaned for about one hundreds years wasn’t great, especially when you consider we signed lads like Nicky Summerbee and Makin. That wouldn’t have been great if we were still at Roker then because they weren’t the cleanest f**kers! It was no big issue for me to leave the place, even though the atmosphere was brilliant. Like I say, it wasn’t the best few years for me then because of how I was living my life. Sunderland v Man Utd X RR: In the BBC documentary, Premier Passions, there were some pretty entertaining moments on camera from Reidy and Sacko. Was the dressing room always like that? Do you feel Bobby Saxton gets the credit he deserves for his work in that period? AR: I was there five seasons, and there’s one thing I’ve noticed since I’ve gone into coaching and Management - you need all those ingredients in the dressing room. As much as Reidy was funny - there was a fear factor, most of the boys were **** scared of him. Then you had Sacko who was old school. You had a bunch of boys who were buying into the infrastructure of it all. We used to break it down into five battles for the match day. You had Johno and Mickey Gray, Summerbee and Makin on the other side, me and whoever was in the middle, then the boys up top. It was a case of the more of those battles you win individually; the more likely you are to get a result. That marinated into a team bond - a team ethic. It was a really strong formula you had at the time. That went over into the management too. Reidy as the disciplinarian, Sacko the old school coach. RR: The season later we were phenomenal after a tough start and it all culminated in that breathtaking play off final - a great game for the neutrals, but as a fan it was draining. How was it as a player? AR: Everyone has a different perspective on certain events. We went to Bournemouth near the end of the season, around March-April time, for a jolly up as such. Some of the boys went to the horses, others went to the pub. Unfortunately, I took it to the extreme. The game after I got sent off against Charlton - Reidy came in and said "that’s it! You’re f**ked! You’re finished here". It was really sad to be honest, because I had been playing a lot of games. So at this point, I thought I was finished because Reidy very rarely gave you more than one chance. So anyway, I came onto the pitch late in that play-off final game. It was one of the biggest disappointments of my career. For some reason, there were just little individual mistakes in that game - ones we hadn’t made all season really - that cost us. To concede four goals in that manner was just poor. I had number 13 on my shirt that day and I had a history with Charlton - playing for Millwall I had been sent off a few times against them. So, I’m stepping up to take the penalty and I’m just thinking "if I miss this, there’s no way I can go in and face the boys". It was a ****e penalty though, just sneaking under the keeper, but it went in. It was disappointing, but it gave us the opportunity to do what we did the season after. RR: The season after, we just blew that division away, but there was a period you had to take time out because of your alcohol problems. You very bravely sought out help at that time and went to rehab. How hard was that period for you and how supportive was Peter Reid and the team during that period? AR: I was going mad at the time - I was off the planet. My lifestyle just wasn’t good. The saving grace for me was the support I received from Reidy and the club. It was great, that group of boys rallied around me when I came out of The Priory. My first game back, I was warming up and I remember the fans were cheering me on the touchline. I thought something was happening in the crowd, but it was for me. That support from everyone was brilliant. Spending that time in The Priory just gave me time to get some clarity about my lifestyle at the time, because it can get tiresome, it catches up on you. By not doing that, it gave me a total lease of energy. It gave me an unbelievable boost of energy. I’m so pleased I got the opportunity to change that life I was living. It could be me saying "I could of been a contender", and had a few regrets, but I didn’t have to say that, I had a good career. I remember the open top bus parade. There were a few lads at the back of bus enjoying some beers, but I just kept watching the fans and what was going on, soaking in all those people that had come to see us. A few months beforehand, that could of been me sitting at the back of the bus drinking and it would have been a shame because that day was one of the best of my career and I got to soak it all in. RR: Who do you think was your best central midfield partner? Gavin McCann. He was a very unassuming fella, very quiet, but a really good football player. I always liked playing alongside Bally; you know what you’re going to get with him. I loved playing against Bally when he was at Pompey. We were both guys in that mind set of I’m going to hammer that guy today. We had players like Schwarzy, you had Eric Roy and players like that as well - you had challengers. One of the best things that ever happened was when Niall Quinn negotiated a win bonus after we got promoted. It was substantial, it was more than my weekly wage and I would kick my Granny to win that. It was all geared up to incentivise, and who knows, if they’d just raised my weekly wage I could have went off the rails again. It worked perfectly, because whoever it was - Gavin, Bally, Schwarz or Roy - I was thinking I’m getting in that f**kin’ team man because I want that money. I was on my arse at the time. Every time we got a win though in that period, the lads would put £200 into a slush bucket each and give the money to one of the members of staff like John Cooke the kit man, or Micky ‘Fingers’ the masseur, as a gift. So what that creates is that togetherness, an environment where everyone’s objectives were the same. You had the players fighting like f**k for a win and rewarding the staff if they did. We were all in it together. Nowadays you have players sitting on their arse and earning 30k a week basic. There’s the difficulty for the modern manager. The game has changed - It’s day and night. It’s easy for me to say as an old school guy because there wasn’t a culture of clubs in say China offering massive amounts of money in my time, which obviously makes your head turn if you’re a modern day footballer. The game has changed alot. RR: You never got a cap for Scotland, despite playing top level football for almost your entire career. Why do you think that was? AR: (Laughing) Listen... that was partly my fault. Without going into too much detail, I was playing in the Under-21s - Craig Brown was the Manager at the time - and we had a disagreement and I said some things I shouldn’t have said. Lo and behold, he became the Manager of the national team and I couldn’t get in. It’s regrettable, because I was playing against the likes of Vieira, Petit, Keane, Scholes week in week out and I could have got into the team. I don’t lose too much sleep over it, though. RR: You played a big role in a successful derby games against Newcastle - you’re also a Glasgow man and have played in the Old Firm. Which game is bigger? AR: I’ll always say Rangers. I was born and bred into that rivalry. I’m a Rangers boy. To put into context what that game means for me, my first Old Firm I played, they built it up as me versus Neil Lennon a little bit. I went in for a tackle on him in the second minute and tore my calf. I looked at the bench and gave the bench the that’s me done look, but I wouldn’t bow down. I took a couple of paracetamol and I played the full ninety minutes with a torn calf. I ended up being out for eleven weeks after that. It meant that much to me - I had waited all my life to get into that game. After I recovered (from that injury) one of the first games after that was against them at Ibrox. We hadn’t beaten them in eighteen months or so and we beat them. That meant the world to me (to beat Celtic). But let me tell you about Sunderland Newcastle, and this is no bullshit. I remember the game in the rain when Kev scored. It was an unbelievable experience. It was loudest game I’ve ever been involved in. There was only 36,000 in the ground and only about 400 were Sunderland fans up in the Gods. My wife was there in amongst them too. I’ll never forget it. Coming in through the entrance, the rain was bouncing off the ground so heavy. I remember as you come into St James, you have to walk up and then around to get to ground level. I was walking in and the hairs were standing up on the back of my neck, and I remember thinking I can’t wait to get the f**k into these tonight. That was a phenomenal night. I remember the pictures of me and Bally, wee Kev celebrating. RR: Pretty much your entire period here was successful – but what was personally your best memory from your time at the club? AR: There’s a couple that I remember. The back to back seventh place finishes are probably the main ones, though. It was Sunderland’s most successful period for fifty to sixty years. If you consider where we were when I got there, in terms of dynamics - Roker Park 18,000 crowds to the Stadium of Light 46,000 every week - that was a brilliant achievement. I never wanted to leave Sunderland. I had a big beautiful house in Durham city centre. They used to call me the Lord Mayor of Durham because I’d walk around with my big Alsatian dog and I’d wave to everybody, because the atmosphere around the club and the fans was great at the time. I got injured late on in the season before I was sold; Adrian Heath came up to me and said he thought I could have won Player of the Year if I hadn’t got injured. I recovered early next season, came back and they sold me. I don’t know why, maybe they wanted to make some profit on me when they could; maybe I had been there too long. Wolves came in and they offered me a contract where the basic was what I was earning if I got all the incentives at Sunderland - the bid was accepted and so I went to Wolves, but it was through gritted teeth. 40th Anniversary Memorial of Ibrox Disaster Held In Glasgow PHoto by Danny Lawson - pool/Getty Images RR: Finally, we’ve a Glaswegian in charge of the club just now. Have you had a chance to get down to Sunderland recently? What do you think of David Moyes and the current team? AR: I was at the Chelsea game where they lost 0-1. The start of the season has made it difficult - they couldn’t buy a win. Davey has the experience though and I think with him they have a good chance. I think they’ve been given £15m to spend in January, and if they can get Defoe a bit of help in terms of scoring goals with that, it’ll make a massive difference. They’ve got a guy in there that I know well from my time at Rangers - Martin Bain. The Chief Executive isn’t always the most popular man, but he’s a smooth operator. He’s a really sharp bloke. I’m saying this as an outsider now but he’ll have a strategy, even if they go down. Like he’s already said, you can’t just keep chucking money at the team with a new Manager, start poorly and then sack the Manager. It’s the definition of insanity, doing the same thing every season and expecting different results. I know it can seem a little grim how honest he’s been, but it’s good he’s not giving you the fairy-tale. Sometimes you need honesty. I think with Martin Bain there, Sunderland have a chance.
I ****ing loved him. I remember as a youngun, wishing him luck for Scotland at the training ground. Not sure if he was selected but didn't play, or if all the talk at the time was of him getting a call up. I think it is very interesting he has mentioned we have 15m to spend this month and then goes on to talk about how he knows Martin Bain. For the record, I've always been a Martin Bain 'fan' after reading loads about him when he came to the club. I believe we are in safe hands with him
Part 1 RR: First and foremost Alex, thanks for sitting down and chatting to Roker Report. Nice easy one to start - what would be your best eleven of players from your time at Sunderland? AR: Tommy Sorensen, Makin, Mickey Gray, Melville, Stevey Bould, Bally, McCann, Summerbee, Allan Johnston, Quinny and then Kevin Phillips. RR: You came to the club in 1996 whilst we were still at Roker Park. Living in London at the time, what convinced you to make the move up? AR: I’d been at Millwall for six seasons, so it was an easy move to make, to be honest. There were one or two times, I think it was Denis Smith - guys like that - who had tried to get hold of me before, so there was always a link with Sunderland. The fact I was only two and a half hours away from Glasgow so I could get up and watch Rangers was a factor also. Plus, I knew the North East was always so passionate about the game. I used to hate it before I moved actually. It was always so hostile. RR: You actually made your debut against Newcastle in the final derby at Roker Park, but you spent the majority of your time on Wearside at the SOL. Which did you prefer, and why? AR: I was suspended at the beginning of my first season because I got sent off in my last game at Millwall. To be honest, the first two seasons for me at Sunderland was a waste of time, because I wasn’t really living my life all that well. In answer to your question - 100% the Stadium of Light, because Roker Park was falling to bits. Having to share a bath that hadn’t been cleaned for about one hundreds years wasn’t great, especially when you consider we signed lads like Nicky Summerbee and Makin. That wouldn’t have been great if we were still at Roker then because they weren’t the cleanest f**kers! It was no big issue for me to leave the place, even though the atmosphere was brilliant. Like I say, it wasn’t the best few years for me then because of how I was living my life. Sunderland v Man Utd X RR: In the BBC documentary, Premier Passions, there were some pretty entertaining moments on camera from Reidy and Sacko. Was the dressing room always like that? Do you feel Bobby Saxton gets the credit he deserves for his work in that period? AR: I was there five seasons, and there’s one thing I’ve noticed since I’ve gone into coaching and Management - you need all those ingredients in the dressing room. As much as Reidy was funny - there was a fear factor, most of the boys were **** scared of him. Then you had Sacko who was old school. You had a bunch of boys who were buying into the infrastructure of it all. We used to break it down into five battles for the match day. You had Johno and Mickey Gray, Summerbee and Makin on the other side, me and whoever was in the middle, then the boys up top. It was a case of the more of those battles you win individually; the more likely you are to get a result. That marinated into a team bond - a team ethic. It was a really strong formula you had at the time. That went over into the management too. Reidy as the disciplinarian, Sacko the old school coach. RR: The season later we were phenomenal after a tough start and it all culminated in that breathtaking play off final - a great game for the neutrals, but as a fan it was draining. How was it as a player? AR: Everyone has a different perspective on certain events. We went to Bournemouth near the end of the season, around March-April time, for a jolly up as such. Some of the boys went to the horses, others went to the pub. Unfortunately, I took it to the extreme. The game after I got sent off against Charlton - Reidy came in and said "that’s it! You’re f**ked! You’re finished here". It was really sad to be honest, because I had been playing a lot of games. So at this point, I thought I was finished because Reidy very rarely gave you more than one chance. So anyway, I came onto the pitch late in that play-off final game. It was one of the biggest disappointments of my career. For some reason, there were just little individual mistakes in that game - ones we hadn’t made all season really - that cost us. To concede four goals in that manner was just poor. I had number 13 on my shirt that day and I had a history with Charlton - playing for Millwall I had been sent off a few times against them. So, I’m stepping up to take the penalty and I’m just thinking "if I miss this, there’s no way I can go in and face the boys". It was a ****e penalty though, just sneaking under the keeper, but it went in. It was disappointing, but it gave us the opportunity to do what we did the season after. RR: The season after, we just blew that division away, but there was a period you had to take time out because of your alcohol problems. You very bravely sought out help at that time and went to rehab. How hard was that period for you and how supportive was Peter Reid and the team during that period? AR: I was going mad at the time - I was off the planet. My lifestyle just wasn’t good. The saving grace for me was the support I received from Reidy and the club. It was great, that group of boys rallied around me when I came out of The Priory. My first game back, I was warming up and I remember the fans were cheering me on the touchline. I thought something was happening in the crowd, but it was for me. That support from everyone was brilliant. Spending that time in The Priory just gave me time to get some clarity about my lifestyle at the time, because it can get tiresome, it catches up on you. By not doing that, it gave me a total lease of energy. It gave me an unbelievable boost of energy. I’m so pleased I got the opportunity to change that life I was living. It could be me saying "I could of been a contender", and had a few regrets, but I didn’t have to say that, I had a good career. I remember the open top bus parade. There were a few lads at the back of bus enjoying some beers, but I just kept watching the fans and what was going on, soaking in all those people that had come to see us. A few months beforehand, that could of been me sitting at the back of the bus drinking and it would have been a shame because that day was one of the best of my career and I got to soak it all in.
If Rae thinks Bain is the man for the job that's good news. He's clearly not the type to bullshit about it if he thought he wasn't the right choice. Fifteen mil with a well chosen sale or two could make a big difference to our season especially when our best injured players are back.
Great post and memories recalled for me. The Alex Rae spirit is what's missing now and as he feels we'll be alright with Bain in the background a big KTF from me
I heard a story about him. Apparantly he was travelling on his own on a train and a group of geordies were shouting abuse at him. He didnt say a word back to them but when the train stopped he stepped off onto the platform and offered them all out for a fight. Not one of the soft shytes took him up on his offer.
The big point in this interview for me was Alex saying the players were **** scared of Reidy, I just can't imagine any of today's players would think the same about Davie Moyes. A good read though.
I've got a photo of me and Ricardo Gabbiadini somewhere!!! Although he's a little less high profile than Alex Rae was!!
Yeah yeah, well I've got a football card misprint of Ricardo Gabbiadini's face with Marco Gabbiadini's name on it.
Loved Alex Rae, my type of player and person, no blah blah just straight in, no messing, worry about the aftermath later.. I remember seeing his wrists that day outside the SOL when he was on a bad road with his then missus, really went to town he had. You remember that @Teessidemakem Thanks for sharing too btw..
