Monsieur Salut returns from Revolutionary Road, a two-week tour of Cuba including a two-hour trek to the mountainside rebel headquarters of Fidel Castro, full of admiration for the two wins recorded in his absence and the splendid efforts of Salut! Sunderland comrades to keep the site buzzing. Sixer ducked the 700-mile round trip to Swansea and missed a useful 1-1 draw, with Jermain Defoe’s excellent 40th minute opener raising hopes of victory until a second-half diving header from, perhaps inevitably, Ki. Alvarez might have won a penalty when he seemed to be tripped early in the second half, and 2-0 at that stage would have surely have been enough to secure three points. From then on, there was little else to cheer, beyond a solid defensive display in which John O’Shea was outstanding, as Swansea gradually took control for the remainder of the game. A good point, though, and an encouraging return to the Liberty for Danny Graham. Think what wonders a winner against QPR on Tuesday night would do for him and for us. Our illustrator Jake provides the substitute seven-worder you see below …
Jake provides today’s seven-word verdict in Sixer’s absence
Feb 7 2015 Swansea (0) 1 SAFC (1) 1 * Had to be bloody Ki, didn’t it?
Jake the rebel
Feb 3 2015 Fulham (1) 1 SAFC (0) 3 Our quality showed in the second half
Jan 31 2015 SAFC (2) 2 Burnley (0) 0 Comfortable. All of a sudden pressure removed
Jan 24 2015 SAFC (0) 0 Fulham (0) 0: Inept selection – awful from beginning to end
Jan 17 2015 Tottenham Hotspur (1) 2 SAFC (1)1 *Useful Defoe debut ruined by familiar failings or, from Sixer: Other results make this defeat less damaging
Jan 10 2015 Sunderland (0) 0 Liverpool (1) 1 Selection and tactics raise questions about Poyet
Jan 04 2015 FA Cup 3rd Round: SAFC (1) 1 Leeds United (0) 0 Scraped through after a shocking second half
Jan 1 2015 Manchester City (0) 3 SAFC (0) 2 Opened up too easily for the winner
Dec 28 Aston Villa (0) 0 SAFC (0) *Just couldn’t break down 10 man Villa
Dec 26 SAFC (1) 1 Hull City (1) 3 A good Christmas spoiled by awful performance.
Dec 21 NUFC (0) 0 SAFC (0) 1 Four in a row brings Christmas cheer
Dec 13 SAFC (1) 1 West Ham United (1) 1 One point better than none. Tight game
Dec 6 Liverpool (0) 0 SAFC (0) 0 Ho ho ho: a well deserved point
Dec 3 SAFC (1) 1 Manchester City (2) 4 City’s hoodoo ended, aided by poor defending
Nov 29 SAFC (0) 0 Chelsea (0) 0*A performance to make Sunderland supporters proud or Could and maybe should have won it
Nov 22 Leicester City (0) 0 SAFC (0) 0 Two points lost rather than one gained
Nov 9 SAFC (0) 1 Everton (0) 1 A good point against a good side
Nov 3 Crystal Palace (0) 1 SAFC (1) 3*Sometimes a win is all that matters
Oct 25 SAFC (0) 0 Arsenal (1) 2 *Farcical errors lead to further foot shooting
Oct 18 Southampton (3) 8 SAFC (0) 0Total humiliation today. Players should be ashamed
Oct 4 SAFC (2) 3 Stoke City (1) 1 Duck broken but still some hairy moments
Sept 27 SAFC (0) 0 Swansea City (0) 0 Better performance but cannot finish teams off
Sept 23 Capital One Cup 3rd Round: SAFC (1) 1 Stoke City (1) 2 No Wembley date this March. Wasted evening
Sept 20 Burnley 0 (0) SAFC 0 (0) A thoroughly disappointing performance. Early optimism evaporating
Sept 13 SAFC (1) 2 Tottenham Hotspur (1) 2 Not quite sure how we managed that>
Would have taken this before the game