Len Shackleton

In February 1948, Shackleton was sold to Newcastle's rivals Sunderland for a British transfer fee record of £20,050. [ 26 ] He was one of a number of a squad full of big name players signed by the club for a total outlay of around £250,000 during the post-war era, which earned Sunderland the nickname of the 'Bank of England' club. [ 27 ] However Shackleton made his debut in a 5–1 defeat to Derby County at the Baseball Ground , and Sunderland finished just four points above the relegation zone – at that time the club had never been relegated out of the First Division . [ 28 ] He later admitted that the players were more a collection of talented individuals than a true team, and that "it takes time to harness and control a team of thoroughbreds . It took time to achieve the blend at Roker Park ". [ 29 ] Shackleton and centre-forward Trevor Ford would never build any kind of relationship on or off the pitch however, and Ford once threatened to never play in the same Sunderland team as Shackleton until he was forced to back down by manager Bill Murray . [ 30 ] Ford was sold on to Cardiff City in November 1953. [ 31 ] Shackleton never won any honours with Sunderland, the closest he came to doing so being a third-place finish in 1949–50 , when they finished one point behind champions Portsmouth . [ 32 ] Shackleton felt that a surprise home defeat to Manchester City on 15 April was both decisive and galling, as teammate Jack Stelling twice missed a penalty in a 2–1 loss. [ 33 ] Sunderland lost fewer games than any other team in the 1954–55 season, but still ended up four points behind champions Chelsea . [ 34 ] They also reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup in 1955 and in 1956, losing 1–0 to Manchester City at Villa Park and then 3–0 to Birmingham City at Hillsborough . [ 34 ] He injured his ankle on the opening day of the 1957–58 season, and announced his retirement shortly afterwards. [ 35 ] This meant he played only 45 minutes for new manager Alan Brown , who had a rep — Wikipedia