‘I managed Sunderland favourite Luke O’Nien, I’m absolutely certain he would have done this if asked’
Luke O’Nien’s journey to Premier League football is something we could all take something from.
O’Nien, or as many affectionately know him, Mr Sunderland, joined the Black Cats during their dark days in League One.
He arrived at the Stadium of Light as an unknown entity from Wycombe and certainly not someone that anyone could have imagined growing into the heartbeat of the club.
His debut, by his own accounts, was one to forget, but his journey since changed that rocky start into a story full to the brim with resilience and belief, which is something to inspire the millions of young footballers around the world who envisage a career in professional sport.
Now 31 years old, to see him make his Premier League debut in Sunderland’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool at Anfield, no less, as a left-winger of all things, is nothing short of a fairytale, and the route he took to get to the top is something we can all learn from.
Where did it all start for Luke O’Nien?
O’Nien started his career as a youth player at Watford, but in 2015, he was released, and he would go on to join Wycombe Wanderers, where he started to make a name for himself in the EFL.
However, between his brief promotion to senior football at Watford and his release, the centre-midfielder-turned-centre-back had a spell at Wealdstone.
As reminisced by Mr Sunderland himself: “I remember sitting on the grass at Wealdstone because the bench was full, waiting for my chance and hoping for a moment to prove myself.”
The man who gave him that chance to prove himself was Gordon Bartlett, who has since spoken about O’Nien’s journey with immense pride.
Speaking exclusively to Mackem News, the Wealdstone manager of 22 years said: “In general, Luke is a genuinely nice fella who you couldn’t wish for someone to be more successful just by his attitude and his enthusiasm.
“It rubbed off on everybody. I saw him in a reserve team game, really liked him, and we had a great relationship with Watford at the time, and we managed to persuade them to let him join us for, I think, a month initially, maybe a couple of months.
“We then got him for a whole season the following year and couldn’t have been more delighted.”
- 13/14 – One appearance for Watford
- 14/15 – 33 appearances for Wealdstone
- 15/18 -119 appearances for Wycombe
- 18/25 – 315 appearances for Sunderland
“If everybody had his work ethic and desire to achieve something, this country would be in a far better situation than it is, let alone just football.
“His desire to achieve and his work ethic are probably better than all the players that I ever had anyway, and if anyone deserves success, it was Luke, and on top of that, being such a genuinely nice fellow as well, how can you not be impressed by what he’s achieved, and he deserves it.
“Would I have seen him get this far? No. In all honesty, we knew he was better than us. We had contacts at Wycombe. He went there for a week’s trial. I phoned Richard Dobson [Wycombe assistant] at the end of the week and said to him, How did he do?
“He said if you could imagine the absolutely perfect trial, Luke’s just done it it and he said how much do you think he wants?
“He played for nothing, and he would because he just loves football. I’m absolutely certain that if he didn’t get paid for it, he’d still probably do it.
“I’m full of pride, but for him, yeah, we might have started the journey, we might have given him that platform in the first place to give him some football and an opportunity to go out and play because he wasn’t getting that at Watford, but his success is down to him.”
Luke O’Nien is the definition of a club legend
Throughout his seven years at the club, O’Nien has brought out every emotion possible from the Sunderland supporters.
Very early into his time here, he looked completely adrift, and I remember thinking to myself a few weeks after his debut ‘What have we signed here?’
What I, and many others, failed to recognise at the time was that we weren’t watching a young player struggle to make the step up, but we were, in fact, watching someone who would go on to embody everything it means to wear the red and white stripes.
Sunderland fans have always been very clear on what they expect from a player, and from the very second he arrived in his jam-packed Vauxhall Corsa, O’Nien delivered that, and more.
His performances increased drastically, as did his relationship with the supporters, and it was all down to the human being that he is.
Hard work has its way of outshining pure footballing talent, and you’ll struggle to find someone who is willing to do all it takes as much as O’Nien has on Wearside.
His work in the community, his infectious smile, his loyalty and his never-say-die attitude are what have got him to the Premier League.
O’Nien gave 110 per cent in everything he did, and yet he still pushed himself to achieve more; that’s the type of person he is, and the type of person he has always strived to be.
Sunderland have some incredible footballers representing the famous red and white this season, and yet O’Nien is still the one that everyone will consider a club legend, and that will last an eternity.
Luke O’Nien to many, but Mr Sunderland to everyone on Wearside.
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