Salut!’s Sunderland’s Week: offering hands of friendship to Everton, Liverpool and Leeds

The business part of the weekend starts so early – 1245 kickoff at Goodison – that it makes sense for Salut!’s review of the past six or seven days to appear today.

One of the happier struggles of recent weeks has been keeping up with the flood of brilliant graphic art to flow from the little hideaway in north-western Spain that our Jake calls home.

So not for the first time, I shall use this synopsis of the week just ended to showcase his work, including items you may not have seen before because Monsieur Salut overlooked them. They start with photos of two of the relatively unsung heroes of what Martin O’Neill and collective effort have turned into a good season, Phil Bardsley and Kieran Richardson.

But what of the week?

* It began well enough, with another massive home win, Nicklas Bendtner clinching the winner against Liverpool. Pete Sixsmith brought incisive and entertaining analysis – https://safc.blog/2012/03/soapbox-the-beating-of-liverpool-again/ – that was so good and so friendly towards Liverpool that the first Scouse response read: “What a load of absolute crap.”

* Sixer is well above petty revenge. So he thought of 10 reasons he preferred Everton to Liverpool and wrote them here: https://safc.blog/2012/03/mersey-sound-bite-10-reasons-this-sunderland-fan-prefers-everton-to-liverpool/. Now there’s a piece opposing fans visiting Salut! Sunderland liked: this Everton message board described it a lurve-in. Toffeemen and women please note: Pete will be available to discuss his theories in the Leigh public house before the game.

* But before pleasing Evertonians, we had managed, without really trying, to offend legions of Leeds supporters. They did not like a headline – Arsène Wenger, Gareth Bale and the cheating legacy of Don Revie’s Leeds – claiming it to be a tabloid irrelevance when placed above an article about Wenger’s comments on cheating, allegations against Bale of cheating and a striking example from history of a Leeds manager ordering his players to cheat. Sorry, lads, we don’t ALL hate Leeds and Leeds and Leeds. Why, some of my best friends ….

That was not all. Come what may of our excellent FA Cup run and continuing rise in the Premier, Ellis Short is currently a man in favour as far as most Sunderland supporters are concerned.

He gave an interview to SAFC TV – https://safc.blog/2012/03/ellis-shorts-targets-well-within-top-10-respect-from-big-boys/ – which may have been harder for them to set up than it sounds, so reluctant is the owner to put head above media parapet. I can well imagine them having to camp outside his office for days before he invited them in.

The following sequence was described in a comment by Birflatt Boy as “the words that most of us have been waiting an entire lifetime to hear”:

… I hate to make projections but I would like it if we’re not in a relegation battle ever again, and I would also like to finish in the top 10

… rather than just a top 10 finish, I’d like it if we could finish comfortably within the top 10

… I’d like more respect in the league, which comes from better performance and better league table position

More? Sheila Webster Was Gibson told us about her latest charity venture, swimming Windermere in aid of MacMillan Care and Support.

We also heard about Martin O’Neill’s fascination with crime and justice.

Add we sat back an enjoyed Jake’s wonderful art. Which we must do while we can; a baby is about to arrive and time may be shorter for the poor chap.

Ha’way the Lads at Goodison.

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