Sleeping with the enemy: Pete Sixsmith tells Man Utd fans how it is!

Scott the Red, the driving force behind the Republik of Mancunia website certainly provoked reaction from the Sunderland faithful with his reaction to last season’s Poznan. Pete Sixsmith is perhaps less provocative when reciprocating with his responses to the questions put to him for publication on their site. What follows is the set of questions and Sixer’s answers.

Peter Sixsmith

1. Why have Sunderland been so poor this season?

We have never got going. The first home game was postponed, there were two international weekends, the new players (Johnson in particular) took time to settle in, some of the others had a poor pre-season and have not found form. There is no single reason. Most of the players are good enough and the manager is as good as anyone a club like ours can get. Hopefully, we are on the up now – just in time to meet the league leaders.

2. How highly do you rate, O’Shea, Brown and Campbell?

Jake's take on Frazier

Campbell has been very unfortunate with injuries and will be leaving at the end of the season when his contract ends. Brown has been out for 12 months and is, apparently, close to a come back. Hmmm. O’Shea is a good player but his distribution is awful and is reminiscent of the central defenders that Mick McCarthy brought to the club. There is always room to hide at Manchester United; there is nowhere to hide at Sunderland – we don’t have the players who can cover up any deficiencies.

Kieran Richardson by Jake

3. Were you sad to see Richardson leave?

Like O’Shea, he was a good player, but had a tendency to flatter to deceive. He will never be forgotten for rattling home a free kick that beat the Mags four years ago.

4. What do you make of Sunderland fans celebrating City winning the league on the last game of last season?

I saw it as quite funny. I am sure that you know that MUFC is not universally loved and that the manager, although admired, does annoy many opposition fans. The reaction was as much to the incredible turn of events as anything else.

On a serious note, I spent the last 10 minutes of that game watching Paul Scholes, who stopped playing and wandered around, finding it hard to believe that he was likely to win a League Championship medal after coming out of retirement.

And remember, we did take 4 points (should have been 6) off your “noisy neighbours”. I mean, if you can’t win at Wigan…………

Man Utd fans fail to see the funny side

5. If you could have any United player at Sunderland, who would it be an why?

Where to start. A fully fit Vidic would settle us down at the back, where we have started to give away silly goals. He is a beast of a player. I can’t think of any supporter who wouldn’t love to have van Persie. If Steve Bruce were still manager, he would probably sign Bebe.

6. What would realistically make this season a success for Sunderland?

The ideal position for me would be 17th with Newcastle United 18th by a point – we sneaked one off them in October thanks to Demba Ba deflecting a John O’Shea header into the net. Even better if they had Shearer back as manager. An old man can dream………

7. Prediction for the weekend.

I saw us win at Old Trafford 2-1 in 1968, the day that City last won the title prior to 2012. We nearly did it a couple of years ago and the chances of doing it this year are about as good as those of Sooty failing to cover Harry Corbett in ink or water. I am pretty sure you will win, but I travel in hope.

Bye bye everybody. Bye bye.

See the MUFC v SAFC ‘Who are You?’: https://safc.blog/2012/12/the-manchester-united-who-are-you-go-down-sunderland-for-poznan-stunt/

Jake asks: 'greatest mismatch in history or a shock in the waiting?'

Colin Randall disguised as Monsieur Salut, by Matt

See also: Monsieur Salut talks all things Sunderland at ESPN FC: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/blog/_/name/sunderland?cc=5739



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Colin Randall disguised as Monsieur Salut, by Matt

16 thoughts on “Sleeping with the enemy: Pete Sixsmith tells Man Utd fans how it is!”

  1. Football humour is gallows humour. Always has had a hard edge to it. MUFC away fans as good as any. The Surrey comment is tiresome. I support SAFC but travel from Leeds. Hate the Munich crap from Leeds fans and anyone else for that matter. Lots of fans are jealous of MUFC’s success. MUFC fans can be solipsistic. For most SAFC fans there’s only one United……Newcastle. This Poznan nonsense is a storm in a teacup or Salut mug if you prefer. Rooney is a great player but an immature man as proven on many occasions. Time to move on from this thread

  2. JohnBoy, here’ s a ‘bully’ story. When Man Yoo got relegated in the mid 70’s your ‘hard’ fans were rampaging all over Division Two [Cardiff, Norwich particularly noteable] but when you played us on a Wednesday night at Roker your travelling support was a shadow of what it was all that season. The local paper up here said “United’s hooligans are known to have a more than healthy respect for their Sunderland counterparts”.
    So even then we didn’t put up with Man Yoo’s nonesense and arrogance.

    • Tom – I’m actually a Sunderland fan and was referencing the way that the MUFC fans have taken a daft bit of fun by our (SAFC) fans to be some kind of slur against their club.

      I’m genuinely surprised that this issue has lingered and caused such bad feeling from MUFC fans towards SAFC fans, something that hasn’t been helped by quotes from Rooney and Ferguson.

      My point was that MUFC fans (and some of their players, ridiculously) had completely overreacted and are seeking ‘revenge’ against SAFC fans who, as a whole, couldn’t really give a toss about them or their club.

  3. This whole episode smacks of schoolyard posturing. SAFC fans acted like the little kid in the back of the class making a joke at the expense of the school bully. MUFC fans have acted like the school bully wanting to teach that little kid a lesson for daring to make fun of one of the big boys.

    Pretty pathetic really. Maybe people should stop being so sensitive and grow a pair.

  4. Agreed Tom the United fans in the boxes behind us in the West stand were really larging it and fully deserved their comeuppance.I know City are moneybags now but it was their first title since 1968 whereas Man U have won it countless times.What a great pity they haven’t more dignity than to berate us for a little bit of spontaneous wit.

  5. Additionally, in that final game at the SoL last season, your fans were singing ‘Champions’ before City’s match had even finished. How arrogant is that? Ha, ha, ha, ha let’s all do the Poznan….

  6. Steve Mac. I’m a Sky generation luvvie am I? Once you’ve been to Mansfield away on a wet midweek night in Division Three, seen your side lose at home to Chester in the same division, relegated by Gillingham, humiliated by Swindon at Wembley etc etc etc and gone to nearly every game home and away in a 15 point [pointless] Premiership season? If anyone epitomises the avarice and glory hunters of Sky its Man United or ‘United’ as they call them to the offence of all other fans of clubs whose names end in United.
    Man United’s support only really built up after the tragic Munich air disaster as you well know. Your view that people are jealous of your bloated football club [it was hilarious when Red Nose bleated on about City having too much money to spend last season-how much did Berbatov, Young, Ferdinand, Van Persie etc cost?] shows how arrogant, insecure and
    lacking in humility and perspective you lot at Disneyland Trafford are.
    So how many of the 75,000 will be from Salford/Manchester? ABU indeed.

  7. oooh, Big Pete telling United fans “how it is” – that’s tellin em Petey. Try it on a United site, never mind a pub.

    Well done Tommy for keeping notes on every ABU cliche known to the ignorant and envious and coming on a Sunderland forum to prove your point. Brilliant. Proper club me arse. You’re just 2nd class Geordies. United have been the best supported club since the 50s but being a Sky-generation luvvie you wouldn’t have a clue….and before you jump onto more cliches I’ve been a Salford-born United fan since before Maurice Setters was our glamour-boy and captain and remember an epic cup tie with two replays when you had decent fans. Non of this bitter shite. See how you’d see the “funny side” if the barcodes put you lot back down where you belong – laugh then. What goes around…..maybe we’ll be laughing at the end of the season when we notch title no 20 and put you lot down. We won’t do the fckn Poznan though.

    • “remember an epic cup tie with two replays when you had decent fans”

      Strange how things change!

      I was at the first two of those games (the first standing (wearing my colours) in the Stretford End and remember how Utd supporters possessed humility and were welcoming, knowledgeable, respectful and appreciated good performances from their opponents.

      In the passing years, though, they have turned into a condescending, arrogant bunch who are very happy to dish out the abuse and laud it over their opponents but squeal like children on the (admittedly rare) occasions when their approach can be turned on its’ head.

      The majority are just glory hunters who don’t know the meaning of support and next season could quite easily be seen wearing City, Chelsea or Arsenal colours!

      Don’t forget, the wheel continues to turn!

    • You’ll see if you read the intro – and the headline which was mine not Pete’s that this is a copy of the answers he provided to the Republik of Mancunia site. Pete has been following footy since TV was in Black and White so he is hardly a Sky generation fan.

  8. A series of good honest answers Pete, that displayed humility and humour.

    The exact opposite, in fact, of the qualities demonstrated by “Scott the Red” in the earlier article.

  9. Man United. Arrogance personified in every direction from their watch-wielding, red nosed manager to Wayne the Wig, the guy who kissed the Man U badge at Goodison in his own city at the club who made him and who has let England down in World Cups and who often fails on the really big occasions. Scott the Red indeed. Scott the humourless, narrow minded idiot more like- what about the United fans who laughed when we got relegated at OT a few seasons ago? Its what fans do-take the piss.
    ‘Republik of Mancunia’, eh? More like ‘Republik of South East England, Devon and Cornwall camera-in-hand glory hunters’ more like.
    SAFC. Proper club with genuine fans. 40,000 average and one of the best away supports around, with one trophy since 1937, numerous recent relegations and 19 and 15 point seasons. Man U eat yer hearts out you big babies. Show some grace and humility and understand what proper support is, man.

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