10 Sunderland Players Who Really Weren't Worth The Hassle

5. Lee Clark

If ever there was a way to destroy one's career on Wearside, it was by taking a leaf from Lee Clark's book. A Geordie through-and-through, Sunderland supporters were initially not too enamoured by the prospect of signing a midfielder who had played nearly 200 times for the enemy. Having directly switched allegiances in 1997, Clark slowly began to endear himself with the Wearside faithful, as he was part of the side gained promotion to the Premier League in 1999 with a then-record points haul of 105. That same month, however, a knife was planted right between the shoulder blades of the club he had grown up despising, as he was spotted sitting amongst the Newcastle supporters at the FA Cup final, sporting a t-shirt emblazoned with the slogan 'Sad Mackem B******s'. An older, wiser and slightly greyer man now, the Birmingham City coach regrets the incident, stating that it was an sheer 'stupidity' and 'not something you should be doing'.

''The toughest thing for me is everyone forgets the job I did for them as a player. That's the biggest regret. It's difficult for me to ever go and watch a game there like my other clubs. That was my choice but I'm a lot more mature now. I've had to pay the consequence of my action.'' - Lee Clark, August 2014.

Unsurprisingly, the midfielder was immediately dropped from the team and never represented the club again. If nothing else, at least it furthered his cult hero status in his hometown.