The 1906/07 campaign would show a slight improvement with the side ending up 10th, but as far as Sunderland was concerned this was hopeless. We had been used to high standards and for some reason they were not being maintained.

The year 1906 was significant for the formation of the North Eastern League, a competition that both Middlesbrough and Sunderland's reserve sides would dominate, with 21 championship victories between them, until its eventual demise in 1958. Our first fixture in the new competition was a 3 v 1 victory over West Stanley at Roker Park on 1 September 1906. 3 weeks later the red and whites travelled to Devonshire Park, the home of Carlisle United. No Brunton Park in those days.

The first game of the season was the local derby with Tyneside neighbours Newcastle United. Such was the excitement generated that a crowd of 56,378 attended. The Magpies got off to a winning start with a 2 v 4 defeat of the red and whites (see below), despite Sunderland having taken the lead. Receipts for the game amounted to £1,575 and was played in a temperature of 90 degrees. The 2 teams for the game lined up as follows:

Newcastle United: Lawrence, McCombie, Carr, Aitken, Veitch, McWilliam, Rutherford, Howie, Appleyard, Orr, Gosnell
Sunderland: Naisby, Rhodes, Watson, Tait, Barrie, Willis, Hogg, Gemmell, Shaw, Hall, Bridgett

A run of 4 games without defeat for Sunderland followed, then 2 successive defeats...then it just went all topsy turvy....once more we knew that it would be a comparatively poor season to what we were used too and there were few highlights to note.

We had a first game against "The Citizens" of Bristol City. 20 October witnessed a game at Roker Park against the newly promoted Manchester United. They'd amount to something in the years to come. 7 days later the "A" team defeated Leeds City 5 v 1. The Yorkshire team were the forerunners of the Elland Road outfit we know today. 17 November and the second string took on Maxwelltown volunteers in a friendly at Roker Park. 26 December and the Magpies "A" side were put to the sword 5 v 1.

By 1907 Gemmell had left Sunderland for Stoke city. In time he would also feature for Leeds city, returning to Wearside in the close season of 1910. Worthy of mention is the 4 v 1 demolition of Leicester Fosse on 12 January in the English Cup. Gate receipts from a 21,000 crowd totalled £612. This was followed by an astonishing 5 v 5 draw at Roker Park with Liverpool.

The "Livers" arrived on Wearside as league champions and had incredibly failed to score in their previous 5 league games. It all looked like curtains for Sunderland at half time. They were on the wrong end of a thrashing, but 4 goals in the last 45 minutes saw us home. 7 days later, and in preparation for the game with Bristol City the Sunderland side travelled to Portishead. The match ended 1 v 1.

The English cup started in earnest 2 February and Sunderland faced southern League side Luton Town. The crowd of 10,333 recognised gate receipts of £594. The outcome was a scoreless draw so a Roker Park replay was required some 4 days later. A narrow red and white victory saw us into the second round where we would clash with Sheffield Wednesday. Incidentally at that time Luton were known as the "Straw Hatters". The Wearside attendance of 18,900 produced gate receipts of £538. Compare therefore the average admission price of Sunderland and the southern League club.

The game at Owlerton against Wednesday was a tough affair and Sunderland were happy with a 0 v 0 draw. Whilst not complacent, surely we would advance with the replay at Roker Park. Nope...we lost 0 v 1....our jinx continued...It was estimated that for the first game more than 1,000 spectators made the journey from Wearside. The 36,324 crowd paid gate receipts of £1,247.

By now games in the north east were being watched by both sets of fans. It was common for Newcastle United fans to give their backing to Sunderland at Roker Park, when their team played away, and visa versa. How times change. Sunderlands last 16 games were evenly spread, 8 in March and 8 in April. What toll that must have taken on the players can only be imagined. 2 of the matches were end of season friendlies against Third Lanark and Falkirk, the former played at Celtic Park, Glasgow.

The game at Roker Park against Woolwich Arsenal on 6 April attracted only 14,000 fans. The international match at St James Park was the focus of most north East attention. England drew with Scotland 1 v 1. 20 April, and the smallest crowd of the season, only 3,500 turned up to watch Sunderland suffer a 3 v 5 home defeat at the hands of Bury.

8 June annual report resulted in the annual meeting of shareholders at the Queens hotel, Fawcett Street on Friday 19 June. Presided over by the chairman Fred W Taylor, it was reported that the financial year had been good, even if performances on the pitch had not. Receipts for the campaign were at an all time high £12,508 nearly £2,500 up on the previous best financial performance in 1904/05.

The debt owed by Blackpool FC had been written off, although curiously a satisfactory explanation of how it arose in the first place was never properly chronicled. The directors proposed to pay shareholders a dividend of 5%, the maximum allowed by the football Association.

Although crowds for the first half of the season had been good, performances meant that the latter half of the season had been in effect subsidised. Up around £1,600 on the previous season it was estimated that postponement of the holiday fixtures against both Newcastle United and Notts County had "lost" the club about £700.

The game against Sheffield Wednesday in the English cup had realised £602 despite the fact that a few hundred supporters had gained admission without paying. The "A" team were once more praised and enjoyed a great season. Not only did they win The Shipowners cup and the Durham Senior Cup but they ended runners up in the inaugural North Eastern League.

For the first time ever the directors announced plans for a season ticket, urging all shareholders to subscribe. It was hoped that this would result in about £500 of revenue.