Sat 29th Nov - Stadium of Light
Last updated: 2nd September 2008
Higginbotham: Glad to be back
Sunderland defender Danny Higginbotham has completed his return to Stoke City for an undisclosed fee.
Higginbotham has signed a three-year contract at the Britannia Stadium just 12 months after joining Sunderland for £3million.
The Black Cats had rejected a £1.5million offer for the centre-half last week, with manager Roy Keane perplexed as to how Higginbotham's value had halved.
The 29-year-old had scored three goals in 22 appearances for Sunderland, but the arrival of Anton Ferdinand cast doubt on his future at the Stadium of Light.
He has now finalised his move back to Stoke, with the Premier League new boys delighted to have Higginbotham in their squad again.
"Danny is a player we know very well and we are very happy to have him back here," chief executive Tony Scholes told the club's official website.
"His character and leadership qualities are both absolutely first class and we know exactly what we are getting from him.
"He was a huge success here last time and he did very well at Sunderland, so to get him back here is brilliant news for us."
| Time | Fixture |
|---|---|
| Saturday 6th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 17:30 | Man Utd vs Sunderland |
| Saturday 13th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Sunderland vs West Brom |
| Saturday 20th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Hull vs Sunderland |
| Friday 26th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Sunderland vs Blackburn |
| Sunday 28th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 14:00 | Everton vs Sunderland |
| Saturday 10th January | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Middlesbrough vs Sunderland |
| Saturday 17th January | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Sunderland vs Aston Villa |
| Tuesday 27th January | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 19:45 | Sunderland vs Fulham |
| Saturday 7th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Sunderland vs Stoke |
| Saturday 21st February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Arsenal vs Sunderland |
| Saturday 28th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Sunderland vs Tottenham |
| Wednesday 4th March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 20:00 | Liverpool vs Sunderland |
| Time | Result |
|---|---|
| Saturday 29th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Sunderland 1 - 4 Bolton | |
| Sunday 23rd November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Sunderland 0 - 1 West Ham | |
| Saturday 15th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Blackburn 1 - 2 Sunderland | |
| Wednesday 12th November | |
| Carling Cup | |
| Sunderland 1 - 2 Blackburn | |
| Saturday 8th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Sunderland 1 - 2 Portsmouth | |
| Saturday 1st November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Chelsea 5 - 0 Sunderland | |
| Wednesday 29th October | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Stoke 1 - 0 Sunderland | |
| Saturday 25th October | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Sunderland 2 - 1 Newcastle | |
| Saturday 18th October | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Fulham 0 - 0 Sunderland | |
| Saturday 4th October | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Sunderland 1 - 1 Arsenal | |
| Saturday 27th September | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Aston Villa 2 - 1 Sunderland | |
| Tuesday 23rd September | |
| Carling Cup | |
| Sunderland 2 - 2 Northampton | |
| Saturday 20th September | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Sunderland 2 - 0 Middlesbrough | |
| Saturday 13th September | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Wigan 1 - 1 Sunderland | |
| Sunday 31st August | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Sunderland 0 - 3 Man City | |
| Wednesday 27th August | |
| Carling Cup | |
| Nottm Forest 1 - 2 Sunderland | |
| Saturday 23rd August | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Tottenham 1 - 2 Sunderland | |
| Saturday 16th August | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Sunderland 0 - 1 Liverpool | |
| Thursday 7th August | |
| Friendly Match | |
| Athlone Town 0 - 6 Sunderland | |
| Wednesday 30th July | |
| Friendly Match | |
| Nottm Forest 0 - 1 Sunderland | |
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Tottenham Hotspur | 15 | 15 |
| 17 | Newcastle United | 15 | 15 |
| 18 | Sunderland | 15 | 15 |
| 19 | Blackburn Rovers | 15 | 13 |
| 20 | West Bromwich Albion | 15 | 11 |
Andy Gray says there's no way you could describe Roy Keane's Sunderland reign as a failure.
Jason McAteer told Sky Sports News Roy Keane's volatile temperament made his exit inevitable.
Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn believes accepting Roy Keane's resignation was 'the best thing to do' for the club.
Phil Brown insists his focus is on the next two years at Hull City after he was linked with Sunderland.
Andy Gray says there's no way you could describe Roy Keane's Sunderland reign as a failure.
Jason McAteer told Sky Sports News Roy Keane's volatile temperament made his exit inevitable.
Wigan boss Steve Bruce admits he is shocked that Roy Keane has opted to quit Sunderland.