Colin Randall

Salut! Sunderland was edited by Colin Randall up until December 2019 - read more

Sixer’s Sevens: Grigg’s off the mark and Burnley are turfed out of the cup

by

Pete Sixsmith gets to a lot of Sunderland games home and away – though he’s introduced a ban on matches south of Lincoln this season – and whizzed across the Pennines to show solidarity with Bury and Bolton and watch the Lads at Turf Moor. Only the Carabao Cup. But up against Premier League opposition again.

In his instant seven-word verdict – a full account of the game will follow – Pete didn’t say that we have three more scorers this season, or that Will Grigg got the first. Instead, he just happened to express a little bit of pleasure at yet another win across the Pennines, then an even more pleasing summary of a game that went our way and set up another test against Premier League opposition, away to Sheffield Utd in the next round:

Read more

Bury buried, Bolton cling on by fingertips in a tragedy to focus Sunderland minds

by

STOP PRESS: from the BBC … Bolton Wanderers: Football Ventures completes takeover to save League One club

We think of Bury and we think of Paul Butler, Chris Maguire and SuperKev’s four promotion-winning goals. Bolton will stir older memories (Nat Lofthouse in Bolton minds, Charlie Hurley in ours). Here are Pete Sixsmith‘s reflections on a social and sporting tragedy …

In their breakthrough hit Letter from America, The Proclaimers charted the destruction of Scottish industrial towns like Methil, Bathgate and Linwood. After the events of yesterday, those towns could well be replaced by the names of old established football clubs on this side of the still invisible border.

Bury are first on that list. They went yesterday after a prolonged period on a deathbed that was created for them by two men with similar names.

Stuart Day was the man who mortgaged the ground, the social club, the historic trophies and memorabilia and who offered contracts to players that were unrealistic.

Read more

Burnley vs Sunderland: how important to them is winning on Wednesday?

by


Burnley fans who recall straying here in the past may also remember we would preview each game between our clubs with comprehensive question-and-answer interviews with one of their fellow supporters.

That has changed, not because we are now two divisions lower than the last time we met but because we have introduced a simplified version of Who are You? this season.

Instead off hunting down Alastair Campbell, as we did once at this link, or another Burnley fan and firing off questions at him (or her), we now – as with all other games – post a shorter list of questions here and invite responses in the Comments below.

Answer as many or as few as you wish. Sometimes the new way (and indeed WAY) works, mostly – it’s early in the season but on the evidence so far – it doesn’t but we’d welcome responses from as many Burnley fans as possible …

Read more

Burnley vs Sunderland: a useful test against Premier League opposition

by

Sunderland’s record against Burnley was at best patchy even when we were also in the Premier League. Now two divisions separate us and we travel to Turf Moor for a Carabao Cup tie.

There are different ways of looking at the game. Chris Maguire’s fine hat-trick in the 3-1 win against AFC Wimbledon will have done team confidence a power of good as did the notching up of four wins in a row. A fifth would be welcome, especially in this test against a much smaller club that has a rather bigger team just now.

But losing – narrowly by preference if it has to happen – would not be the end of the world in a season where promotion is the priority over all other matters.

Tell us how it will go.

Read more

Sixer’s Sevens: Sunderland keep the momentum going against AFC Wimbledon

by

John McCormick writes: yesterday Pete Sixsmith’s piece raised plenty of questions about ownership and investment. Underlying them was the question of whether or not we’d go up this season. Have we developed the ruthless killer-off streak that was missing last year?

Charlie Wyke’s form suggests we might have but two games don’t make a season. Matches like today’s are key, given that we are on the edge of the kind of winning streak that was conspicuously absent last season, and a 3-1 went some way to answering the question.

As did the seven word text Pete sent immediately on the final whistle:

Read more

The Great Sunderland Buy-in: Pete Sixsmith’s view

by

Somewhere in the archives, under the “Who are You” byline, is a comment by a Man United fan. It’s to the effect that American investment does not end well. I can think of three times when he may have been proved right: one being his own club, where they have moved from being debt-free to owing £300 million since 2005, and the second being Liverpool, where  legal action forced the sale of the club. The third case is, of course Sunderland, where Ellis Short managed a decline that exceeded all expectations, but did enough to ensure the survival of the club when he finally left.

Yet Man United are still one of, if not the, richest and most successful club(s) in the world and Liverpool are champions of Europe, and both are still owned by Americans. So should Sunderland get back into bed with another American billionaire? Here’s what Pete Sixsmith thinks:

Read more

Sunderland vs AFC Wimbledon. An invitation to Dons fans whether or not they remember the Crazy Gang

by

The early progress of the new-look Who are You? series, in which Salut! Sunderland simply posts the questions here and sits back to await the flood of replies, had been a little like Sunderland’s start to the season: stuttering at times with some bright patches.

Excellent responses were posted b y Ipswich Town supporters and one or two trickled in from supporters or our opening day opponents, Oxford United. From Pompey and Rochdale, there was total silence, each understandable for different reasons (the Portsmouth buildup coincided with a sharp dip in our readership because of technical problems and our appeals to such sites as Vital Portsmouth for help in spreading the word were ignored (thanks Lads!).

But we shall persevere. Here are the questions for Wimbledon fans. Answer as many or as few as you wish and remember that especially warm, witty or wise replies may qualify for a prize in our annual HAWAY (Highly Articulate Who are You?) awards at the end of the season:

Read more

Sunderland vs Wimbledon. Can we win this one in style?

by
Jake: ‘any win does the job but a thumping victory would do wonders for morale’

If you followed the game one way or the other, or saw Pete Sixsmith’s splendid match report here, you’ll know we gained three massive points at Rochdale without covering ourselves in glory.

Perhaps we should take comfort in the fact that successful teams have always had a knack of grinding out or snatching results when playing well below par or just being matched in all respects save goalscoring by opponents.

It is not sycophantic but a sheer matter of common sense to applaud a disappointing but winning performance, especially when it happens to be the third victory in a row. That level of consistency in results has been sorely lacking in recent seasons.

So without further ado, let us be having your feelings on whether, on paper, another highly winnable game – at home to AFC Wimbeldon on Saturday – will go to script.

Read more

Sixer’s Sevens: Rochdale don’t make it easy but Sunderland get there

by

John McCormick writes: I should have been there today but life got in the way, as it so often does. Instead, because I’m too superstitious to subscribe to Ifollow I’m making do with updates on various websites and awaiting mid-game texts from Pete Sixsmith (Rochdale very effective, we are less so came at half time) while watching Sky and listening to them praising Danny Graham.

Pete will be providing tomorrow’s report. From that half time text and the one below, sent just as the ref put his whistle down, it will be a gripping read

Read more