THE DESTROYERS
12 Daniel Dichio
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Position Striker
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Date Of Birth 19/10/74
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Place Of Birth Hammersmith
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Height 6'4"
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Weight 13.9
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DANNY Dichio scored 12 goals in 22 starts in the 1998-99 season despite playing second fiddle to Niall Quinn for most of the campaign.
He was named as the Nationwide League's Player of the Month for August '98 and helped the reserves to the Pontins League crown.
The London-born forward was signed from Italian Serie A outfit Sampdoria for a fee of £750,000 in January 1998. He also spent some time at Lecce during an unsuccessful 10-month stay in Italy.
Dichio started his career at QPR and was on YTS forms at Loftus Road when Peter Reid played there in the early 1990s.
The striker made his League debut with the R's as a teenager after being capped by England at schoolboy and youth team levels. He is a part-time DJ and has built a recording studio in his house. His records can often be heard blasting out in the Sunderland dressing room.
Dichio, who has just signed a new four-year contract at Sunderland, suffered a nightmare campaign last year when most of his season was disrupted with a back injury. But he has fully recovered from the problem and is again providing valuable back-up for Quinn.
10 Kevin Phillips
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Position Striker
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Date Of Birth 25/07/73
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Place Of Birth Hitchin
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Height 5'8"
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Weight 11.4
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KEVIN Phillips had an unforgettable first season in the Premiership with Sunderland.
The England man ended the campaign as the Premiership's top scorer with 30 goals which secured his place in Kevin Keegan's squad for Euro 2000.
His goals tally earned him the Golden Boot award both at domestic level and in Europe and he is now recognised as one of the main contenders to take over from Alan Shearer at international level.
Phillips won his first England cap against Hungary in April 1999 but is still waiting to establish himself at international level after not getting a chance in the European Championships.
The frontman smashed Sunderland's post-war scoring record with 35 goals in his first season on Wearside.
Phillips - nicknamed SuperKev by Sunderland fans - started his career at Southampton where he cleaned Alan Shearer’s boots but was not offered professional terms by the south-coast club.
He went on to play for Baldock Town as a right-back and was spotted by Watford boss Graham Taylor when playing as an emergency striker for the non-leaguers.
Phillips suffered a career-threatening injury at Vicarage Road but recovered and was snapped up by Sunderland for a bargain price in 1997.
The striker signed a new contract last season to keep him at the Stadium of Light until 2004.
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9 Niall Quinn
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Position Striker
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Date Of Birth 15/8/66
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Place Of Birth Dublin
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Height 6'4"
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Weight 12.4
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NIALL Quinn enjoyed a fantastic season back in the big time last year, scoring 14 goals and helping strike partner Kevin Phillips hit the back of the net a remarkable 30 times.
The Republic of Ireland international hit 21 goals in season 1998-99 as Sunderland raced to the First Division title.
Quinn has won over 60 caps for Ireland and is the joint-highest scorer in the country's history.
The big striker made his League debut for Arsenal in 1985 and helped the Gunners to a League Cup triumph two years later before moving to Manchester City for £800,000 in 1990.
At Maine Road he became the first player since Brian Kidd in the 1970's to hit 20 League goals in a season.
Quinn played in the same team as Peter Reid at City and was also a player for the Blues when Reid was boss.
He again linked up with Reid on the eve of Sunderland's first Premiership season when he became what was then the club's record signing of £1.3m, although he missed most of his first season through injury.
Quinn's partnership with Phillips has been a major factor behind Sunderland's resurgence in recent seasons.
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