Sunderland legend Niall Quinn represented the club extremely well for more than a decade, as a player, manager and chairman.
Indeed, Quinn became a fan favourite at the Stadium of Light in his playing days, forming an incredible striker partnership alongside Kevin Phillips.
Ask any Black Cats supporters old enough to have watched the deadly duo and they will tell you just how formidable they were.
And the Irishman has always had a great relationship with most of the Sunderland faithful, but he was once furious with a section of the fanbase for doing something ‘extremely detrimental’.
Why Niall Quinn ‘despised’ some Sunderland fans
Quinn left Sunderland in 2002 with his retirement from professional football but it was not too long before he returned to the club in an even more important position.
The 59-year-old became manager and chairman of the Black Cats in 2006 and, while he only lasted a few weeks as the former, he kept the latter role for five seasons.
Quinn’s time as Sunderland chairman was relatively successful, as the club won promotion to the Premier League, under Roy Keane, and stayed there until he departed in 2011.
But there was a moment in time when the ex-Arsenal striker felt the need to go on a passionate rant about the club’s supporters.
“The illegal showing of Saturday 3 pm fixtures involving Sunderland has an extremely detrimental effect on our attendances,” he said, via The Guardian.
“I can point to the evidence uncovered by an agency that covertly visited pubs and clubs in our catchment area and witnessed thousands watching the illegal broadcasts.
“My belief is a significant number of these people are taking the easy option of spending their money in the pub, watching their team, as opposed to supporting their team and helping to create a better atmosphere at the stadium.”
Quinn said he ‘despised’ those watching the illegal streams and blamed them for lower attendances at the Stadium of Light.
“Our attendances are down for a couple of reasons and I would never criticise anyone who doesn’t come to the stadium because of financial constraints but I despise those who spend far more than the price of a ticket watching some overseas commentator describing the action.”
Niall Quinn ‘urged’ Sunderland supporters to attend games
Quinn’s rant continued with a demand that Sunderland supporters return to the stadium in order to create the atmosphere he was used to as a player.
“All clubs thrive on full stadiums,” he added. “Loud, passionate support is the backbone of football and when our stadium is full we are a force to be reckoned with.
“I know this first hand – when I was a player we could beat teams from the second they walked out of the tunnel, the atmosphere was so intimidating.
“To anyone watching the game illegally in the pub I will continue to say: ‘By doing so you’re not supporting your team, you’re actually damaging the progress of the club.’
“We have a real chance here to make this club feel great again but to do it we need everyone behind us. I would urge these people in the pubs and clubs to come back to the Stadium of Light.”
Well, the Mackems did not disappoint their iconic former striker, as the numbers below clearly demonstrate.
Mackems responded to Niall Quinn’s demands
Sunderland supporters are widely regarded as one of the best fanbases in the country – and for good reason.
There were often more than 30,000 Black Cats fans in attendance for League One games a few seasons ago and over 40,000 regularly now in the Championship.
But the figures in the 2010/11 season, while the club were in the Premier League, were rather disappointing to Quinn – an average of 36,487 in the five games prior to his rant.
Sunderland attendance before Niall Quinn’s rant
| Date | Opponent | Attednace |
| 28 Dec, 2010 | Blackpool | 42,892 |
| 1 Jan, 2011 | Blackburn | 36,242 |
| 8 Jan, 2011 | Notts County | 17,582 |
| 16 Jan, 2011 | Newcastle | 47,864 |
| 1 Feb, 2011 | Chelsea | 37,855 |
However, the Mackems seemingly responded to Quinn’s criticism in the best way possible, as the support immediately improved.
Sunderland attendance after Niall Quinn’s rant
| Date | Opponent | Attendance |
| 12 Feb, 2011 | Tottenham | 40,986 |
| 20 Mar, 2011 | Liverpool | 47,207 |
| 9 Apr, 2011 | West Brom | 41,586 |
| 23 Apr, 2011 | Wigan | 39,650 |
| 30 Apr, 2011 | Fulham | 39,576 |
In the five fixtures after his comments, Sunderland’s average attendance rose by over 5,000 to 41,801, and it’s not like they were in a European places or relegation battle.
This goes to show that Quinn’s words were heard loud and clear. After all, Blacks Cats fans rarely let their team down.