The big mystery of the day is this: did Pete Sixsmith go to Swansea after all? A very late Sixer’s Seven – “Back across Offa’s Dyke with a point” – suggests he may have done. Only time will tell. BUT here’s how Rob Hutchison saw it, player by player, in a word and a mark out of 10 for each …
Rob says: “A point gained with an adequate display. Bigger game Tuesday with a chance to nail the season.”
Pants 7 consistent
Pva 5 struggled
O’Shea 7 dominant
Vergini 6 improving
Revva 6 composed
Larsson 6 worker
Bridcutt 5 adequate
Alvarez 7 handful
Gomez 5 wasteful
Defoe 7 clinical
Graham 6 grafted
Subs
Johnson 5 subdued
Fletcher 4 quiet
Match of the Day has always been crap,even before Sky so its not going to change now!..Bring back SHOOT! oon a sunday afternoon.
North Shields it was; the Offa’s Dyke comment was sent to M Salut from a lay by on the A19.
It was a good 4-1 win for the Robins over a mardy and tetchy team from South East London called Phoenix Sports The afternoon was spent in good company but was spoiled by the news of Ki’s equaliser, given to me by the former Newcastle United programme editor and all round good egg, Paul Tulley.
Poor Gary Bennett had to keep BBC Newcastle going for 40 minutes in the absence of any United callers. I counted six “definitely so’s” and there might well have been others.
Incidentally, BBC 5Live did not read out the football results at 5.00p.m. because of the Six Nations game between Scotland and France, a game that was of little interest to those south of Hadrians Wall and on either side of Offa’s Dyke.
Were I a Scunthorpe supporter or a follower of Fulham I would not have been impressed at having to wait until 5.45 to see how they got on.
I am currently searching for lined writing paper and a green pen in order to write to Lord Reith or Hugh Carleton-Green or whichever asinine 12 year old is in charge of the BBC now.
As eloquent as ever Pete, though surely it should be ‘both’ sides of Offa’s Dyke. I have noticed an increasing tendency for either to mean both, rather than one or the other. This must be stamped out. Then again, I could be wrong….
Mention that we were last on MOTD yet again Pete , or is our licence fee less than the rest of the country’s ?
Draft of my letter ready to go on Thursday morning in anticipation of Wednesday’s midweek MOTD.
Dear BBC.
What is the world coming to when I can no longer rely on the esteemed institution that is the British Broadcasting Corporation. You see last night I tuned into Midweek Match of the Day at exactly midnight expecting to catch the last two minutes of the goalless draw between Hull City v Aston Villa before enjoying Sunderland’s 5-0 drubbing of Queen’s Park Rangers crammed into the 30 seconds of the programme remaining after Danny Murphy’s ten minute monologue in praise of Harry Kane.
You see despite the fact that there wasn’t a single goal in any of the Premier League’s other nine matches Sunderland’s traditional spot is last, except of course when we play Chelsea or Manchester United and that is where we belong. Who I wonder took the ridiculous decision to move us to the penultimate slot, thus making me suffer the ignominy of having to watch Alan Pardew clap the Crystal Palace supporters whilst apparently simulating a head butt in the direction of the section of the crowd who had removed their black and white shirts to show their Pradew owt tattoos.
It put me off my cocoa. I trust that on Saturday our 4-0 demolition of Bradford City will return to its rightful place at the end of the show (available via the red button) after an advert for East Enders and a montage of the greatest examples of Harry Redknapp’s labradoodle’s tax returns.
Yours etc.
Well written, Malcolm – from my piece published the other day: “I do not usually buy the Daily Mail, but when handed one on January 30th on boarding a BA flight, I did actually spend time reading it. An article on page 95 stated that Sunderland AFC is the Premiership club whose fans have to fight sleep the most, as this season they have the longest to wait to see their team on Match of the Day. “Gus Poyet’s team have held the bottom slot on a Saturday night – which usually airs close to or after midnight – seven times this season, once more than goal-shy Aston Villa, and twice more than Crystal Palace or Swansea”. Clearly the BBC producers assume that our solidly northern city is in a different time zone. – See more at: https://safc.blog/2015/02/the-lars-word-2/#sthash.pkinPdAa.dpuf
Alvarez was excellent he’d get an 8 for me. I’m not a Gomez fan but first half his and our ball retention was good.
Given how bad we were second half it was definitely a good point. Bridcutt is simply a championship player and we’re going to struggle like that with him in the side.
I have it on good authority that PS was at North Shields yesterday watching them progress in the FA Vase.
He might have crossed Hadrian’s Wall on the way but Offa’s Dyke can only refer to the team and the Lads and Lasses of the Durham Branch.