Content Warning: contains reference to former Sunderland footballer Adam Johnson's conviction for one count of sexual activity with a child.
Costel Pantilimon - Retired
Starting off with a bang, we have Romania's Costel Pantilimon. A 27-time international, the goalkeeper will have been known to Mackems prior to his signing as part of the Manchester City side that denied them 2014 League Cup glory.
Batting away Georginio Wijnaldum's set-piece efforts and smothering an Ayoze Perez chance to earn his side a clean sheet on the night, Pantilimon's time on Wearside would soon sour. Dropped in favour of Italian Vito Mannone and a young Jordan Pickford, the Bacău native later claimed he "hated" Allardyce, and was sold to division rivals Watford at the end of the season.
Since leaving Vicarage Road with only 2 league appearances to his name, spells by the Mediterranean Sea in Spain, Cyprus and Türkiye came either side of a 2-year stint beside the slightly less appealing River Trent with Nottingham Forest. Now 38, Pantilimon retired in 2021, and has not made any ventures into coaching since.
Younes Kaboul - Care Home Owner
A gem of a footballer, Younes Kaboul wrote himself into Tottenham Hotspur folklore on the pitch and campaigned against racism off it. Though he only spent one season at the Stadium of Light, it was a rollercoaster. Shown a red card in his first game as Mackems captain, the French international turned his reputation around to form a resolute partnership with fellow French-born defender Lamine Kone. Beating Newcastle 3-0 clearly didn't result in enough Geordie tears for Kaboul, who went on to put on a man-of-the-match performance in a famous victory against Everton, which saw the Mags sent packing down to the Championship. The centre-back was spotted crying on the pitch following the final whistle, much to the adoration of the red and white faithful.
An injury-hit move to Watford followed, and 2 years at Vicarage Road was all that was left in Kaboul's tank. While an initial desire to gain coaching badges suggested a managerial journey was on the cards for the defender, a complete 180 now sees Younes running a care home for the mentally disabled in Belgium. The former black-cat is supposedly very active in his work, telling former club Spurs that his desire to enter the care sector was motivated by "what football gave me, it is just to transmit that to them and give them a chance of a better life, really". What a bloke.
John O'Shea - Assistant Manager, Ireland.
Not as well known as the likes of Vidic, Ferdinand or Neville, John O'Shea was nonetheless a workhorse of the Fergusson era at Manchester United. Integral to Sir Alex's later seasons, the Irish international started at right-back in the 2008/09 Champions League final, but was unable to prevent Lionel Messi and the Blaugrana storm to their third European title, losing 2-0 on the night.
O'Shea was forced off just 37 minutes into derby day, making way for Uruguayan Sebastian Coates - no way to sugar-Coate that. Despite relegation in 2016/17, the Waterford native signed a 1-year contract extension through to 2018. Not to spoil Netflix's 'Sunderland 'Til I die', but O'Shea's new deal couldn't hold back a further relegation to League One.
Following a brief spell at Reading, in which the Irishman received a straight red card on his league debut, O'Shea has taken to coaching. Part of the backroom staff for Wayne Rooney's infamous stint at Birmingham City, O'Shea's time as both interim and assistant manager for his country has earned the former Mackem considerably more success.
Billy Jones - Retired
No, you haven't misspelt the 'Vienna' singer, welcome to the wonderful world of former Crewe and West Brom right-back Billy Jones. 'If Mbappe cost €180m, how much is Billy Jones worth' - one Instagram post from 2017, though perhaps tongue-in-cheek, speaks to Jones' cult status. It was his 65th minute goal that put the Mackems firmly in command in Allardyce's first derby - a rather unflashy tap-in, but they all count.
Jones was among many to, like the violinists on RMS Titanic, go down with the ship as Sunderland tussled with double relegation, but left for the sunny shores of Rotherham the following season. The Crewe academy product is now retired, presumably waiting for that €180m bid from PSG to come his way.
DeAndre Yedlin - Real Salt Lake
Matthew 26:14-16 in the Bible details the betrayal of our lord and saviour - Jesus, not Chris Wilder - by Judas Iscariot. Christ's 12 followers and Allardyce's starting XI are similar in that regard - both had a traitor in their midst.
Born in Seattle, DeAndre Yedlin signed for Tottenham following an impressive 2014 World Cup with the USMNT, later heading to Wearside on loan. Now, you'll hardly hear 'Yedlin' mentioned with the same spite as 'Cashley Cole' or 'Judas Sol Campbell', but any goodwill the American may have built up at Sunderland was immediately ruined the following year, after DeAndre decided Newcastle was the place to be.
The defender, a vegan, saw out his 5-year contract at St James', and, following a brief spell at Galatasaray, returned to the MLS with Inter Miami. The first player to share a dressing room with both Lionel Messi and Billy Jones, Yedlin signed for Real Salt Lake in August.
Ola Toivonen - Retired
The streets of Eindhoven will never forget Ola Toivonen. Four goals in one game against ADO Den Haag, that famous 10-0 victory over Feyenoord, European nights, cup victories. The streets of Sunderland, meanwhile, haven't thought about the Swede in almost a decade.
Indeed, Toivonen's loan spell on Wearside was thoroughly unremarkable. Far from the double-digit heights he had hit in Holland, the now 39-year-old's goal in a 4-1 cup loss to Manchester City was as good as it got in Sunderland. His best days behind him, Toivonen went on to play in France and Australia before returning to his native Sweden and retiring in 2022.
Yann M'Vila - Caen
You'd think a certain amount of Sympathy is owed to Yann M'Vila. Having been on loan at European giants Inter Milan, studying the art of football under Roberto Mancini, a further loan move to Sam Allardyce's Sunderland may not have seemed particularly exotic. The Frenchman seemed to prefer it, however, and his man-of-the-match performance in Sunderland's 3-0 victory over Newcastle solidified the player as a fan favourite.
Sunderland's board of directors had other ideas though, and ghosted M'Vila like a failed first-year hinge date. "I called Sunderland, but they are not picking up the phone - why? My heart is broken", the player said on an Instagram story - happens to the best of us, Yann.
It wasn't until a 2024 loan move to West Brom that M'Vila returned to England. An impact sub, the former international was forced to sit on the bench, presumably listening to the Joji song 'Glimpse of Us', as Sunderland beat his new side 0-1 at the Hawthorns. West Brom chose not to extend the Frenchman's short-term deal, and M'Vila now plays for Ligue 2 side Caen.
Lee Cattermole - Coach
The anthropomorphic embodiment of a yellow card, Lee Cattermole is nothing short of a modern-day legend, so long as you don't ask referees. Some children dream of World Cups and UCL glory, but on a quiet night in Stockton-On-Tees, a young Cattermole dreamed only of one day amassing 7 Premier League red cards. Despite the Sunderland midfielder's reputation, derby day saw only one player sent for an early shower, as Newcastle skipper Fabio Collocini was shown red in the first half.
Unfortunately, relegation in 2016/17 meant Cattermole could never match Patrick Viera's tally of 9 Premier League red cards, but the 'hardman' stayed faithful to Sunderland in the EFL.
In a real 'what the hell is a polar bear doing in Arlington, Texas' move, the former Mackems captain spent his final season as a pro in the Eredivisie with VVV-Venlo. Coaching opportunities followed at Middlesbrough and Bristol Rovers, but - to the relief of referees everywhere -Cattermole is currently out of work.
Steven Fletcher - Free Agent
Sunderland's third goal-scorer in Allardyce's masterpiece, Steven Fletcher has among the funniest career progressions in world football. You're guaranteed never to find another footballer who spent 6 months at French giants Marseille in between spells at Sunderland and Sheffield Wednesday, but that's Fletcher for you.
Signed for £12mil, the Scotsman's first season at Sunderland was electric - it's no coincidence that he holds more Premier League Player of The Month Awards than Kevin De Bruyne. However, a serious Ankle injury sustained in Fletcher's second season meant the striker never hit similar top-flight performances again.
Jeremain Lens - Retired
A product of AZ Alkmaar's youth ranks, Jeremain Lens dazzled in front of the cameras of his native Holland, but fell out of focus elsewhere - let's zoom in on his career! Action!
Establishing his name during a loan spell at NEC Nijmegen and subsequent return to AZ, Lens later shared a dressing room with Ola Toivonen at PSV. It was at the Eindhoven club that the 37-year-old played his best football, lifting silverware in all but one of his three seasons at the Philips Stadion.
Signed by Sunderland following an invincible season in Ukraine with Dynamo Kyiv, Lens linked up with his former coach Dick Advocaat, only to receive a red card in the manager's final game at the Stadium of Light. Under Allardyce, things turned sour. The £9mil man featured only sporadically under Big Sam, telling Fox Sports "I did not come to the Premier League to sit on the bench". Spending the rest of his Sunderland on loan in Turkey, the winger joined Beşiktaş in 2018.
Now retired, Lens spent his last years in more flashy surroundings than Sunderland, playing semi-professional football for Versailles in France's third-tier.
Adam Johnson - Inactive
Content Warning: contains reference to former Sunderland footballer Adam Johnson's conviction for one count of sexual activity with a child.
Sunderland's first goalscorer in the 3-0 victory over their bitter rivals, Adam Johnson was found guilty of one count of sexual activity with a child in March 2016, and did not feature for Sunderland beyond the 2015-16 season.