Prize Guess the Score: cock-a-hoop Chelsea, rock bottom SAFC and Eric Roy

Can Sunderland make a nonsense of the somewhat contrasting league positions and return to winning form?

No one who saw our performance at Swansea, whether at the Liberty Stadium or watching abroad or on dodgy streams, would give us the slightest chance of ending Chelsea’s run of nine straight wins.

Monsieur Salut often, though not always, adopts an optimistic outlook in ESPN FC predictions but cannot go better than a 2-2 draw for this one – and even that seems an absurdly hopeful pitch.

Then we remember what happened last season, when 1-2 became 2-2 and then 3-2, providing one of the most exhilarating comebacks of recent seasons.

Wednesday’s game will be played before the eyes of Eric Roy, whose glorious run and pass set up Niall Quinn for the first of four first-half goals in that still more exhilarating afternoon of December 4 1999. Eric rang M Salut to say he was hoping to attend and then confirmed he would be at both the Chelsea and Watford games.

Listen out for him in the buildup to Nick Barnes and Gary Bennett’s BBC Radio Newcastle coverage of Wednesday’s match.

And now guess the score. No one was so downbeat as to predict a 3-0 hiding at Swansea so there is no new winner to announce.

The prize and rules remain the same. Be first with the correct scoreline, post it before kickoff, have a UK delivery address and you win a print from our generous sponsors at Art of Football.

Chelsea fans are also invited to enter and a winner from their ranks would naturally be invited to choose more suitable print from the same suppliers.

See these (above) and other Art of Football prints by clicking anywhere on this caption

Ha’way the Lads. And get yourselves back to Salut! Sunderland later today for another smashing “Who are You?” interview featuring a return of the very amusing Ray Knight.

Sample:

Salut! Sunderland: Can I just say the finest answer given in the Who are You? series was yours.

Q: How did you persuade Peter Reid to buy Gareth Hall?

A: Peter Reid was under the impression that it was a property deal – he’d been told that Gareth Hall was in fact an old Mormon church behind Sloane Square that, with the right amount of investment could be turned into a highly profitable concert venue.

So go on: who is Chelsea’s more-Gareth-than-Gareth Hall, the worst you’ve seen in blue?

On our post-match journeys home Sid [David ‘Sid’ Millward, nicknamed after his bandleading uncle and an occasional visitor to these pages – Ed] and I soon tired of “Pick your best or favourite Chelsea eleven” games in favour of “Our worst Chelsea XI”, a much more entertaining pastime, and always the first name on my sheet was David Mitchell, allegedly an Australian international bought by Bobby Campbell, on the recommendation of his son. His name should rank alongside that of Ali Dia, formerly of Southampton and Blyth Spartans, with regards to footballing skills.

By the way, Gareth Hall has since been renamed Cadogan Hall, and is a very successful concert venue, where I saw John Mayall perform a couple of years ago.