Colin Randall

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

Another look at Colchester, through Colchester eyes

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Abject apologies to the many readers who attempted to visit Salut! Sunderland yesterday only to run into a brick wall of “site maintenance” and “this page not available” messages. We were up and down like a harlot’s drawers, as a judge once put it to me (he was describing the yo-yo existence of his own team).

The excuse is simple: our friends at footballunited.com were changing server. It’ll all be for the best, we’re assured, but some disruption was inevitable.

All the same, the interruptions and imperfections caused some inconvenience and disappointment, and meant that our Who Are You? feature for tonight’s Carling Cup tie may have been overlooked. So here’s another, with any luck hitch-free, outing for the interesting replies of Jon Burns*, chairman of CUSA (Colchester United Supporters’ Association), who takes heart from a good start to the League One season to point out that a big upset is far from an “impossible task” …

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Bruce in? The case against

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A week ago, we were hard on those spouting doom and gloom on the strength of an iffy pre-season and a disappointing opening game. But then, after a dismal showing at West Brom (and there is no other sensible way of looking at it), a check on the games to come revealed us to be in a potential pickle. Ask today and we would not replace Steve Bruce. But there are those, eyeing a newly available chap with impeccable credentials from Villa Park, who would disagree. Let Mike Allcock*, a Sunderland fan now living in America, address the point made by Andy Nichol, a fellow subscriber to the Blackcats list: “Well if I was Ellis Short, I’d be inviting O’Neill to dinner over the next few weeks. Just in case, of course.” Salut! Sunderland awaits the opposing view …

Dinner with Martin would be a positive step.

Yes it’s early days for this season, but midterms time for Bruce. He’s made some good decisions as well as some poor ones; he’s far and away better than some of the sh*** we got used to in the late 80s/early 90s and compared with other Sunderland managers in recent years he has a pretty good record. I don’t think Steve Bruce is failing as a manager of SAFC.

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Arsenal, Chelsea & Newcastle six-hitters leave French dreaming

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Salut!’s Nice corner, our regular look at French football and in particular the exploits of our team of choice Nice, finds a club manager casting an envious gaze across the Channel …

No sexy football please, we’re French. After all the fun the French have had over the years at the expenses of the supposedly sexless British, it is our turn to gloat.

As Arsenal, Chelsea and – whisper it – Toon won their weekend games with an aggregate of 18-0, Ligue 1 stuttered to a customary cluster of scoreless draws and low-scoring wins.

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Soapbox: Newcastle, West Brom and a wretched weekend

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soapbox

No one can accuse Salut! Sunderland of descending into mindless tribalism, though they probably will. We lauded, however grudgingly, Chris Hughton’s impressive achievement of last season, rising above the awfulness of the Ashton Factor to turn Newcastle United into runaway lower league champions. This, however, is taking the mick: Andy Carroll and Joey Barton transformed from gruesome thugs into cuddly heroes on a par with Jackie Milburn. Well, maybe not. But Pete Sixsmith‘s text read “Misery complete: Mags win 6-0. Villa resign from Premier in shame.” His original West Brom headline – New tricks desperately needed – stood no chance, no matter how clever. But that’s what Pete’s typically engaging dispatch from the West Midlands is all about …

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No bright side to look on: Bruce knows the score

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Salut! Sunderland whinged the other day about the fans who were already, after the surrender of a two-goal lead in the opening game (and, in some case, even before the season started), raising doubts about the quality of our squad.

It hardly excuses us that we at least had the decency to wait until after the second game.

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West Brom 1 Sunderland 0: bad to worse

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How typical that after a brighter spell in the second half, a sloppily conceded late free kick – and booking – by Paulo Da Silva should lead to an Albion goal, Odemwing making up for an dreadful first half miss.

And how typical that unlike when we go one up – nervously hanging on to the lead – Albion simply pressed on in hopes of a second.

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HT: West Brom 0 Sunderland 0. Unconvincing stuff

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THIS POSTING NOW SUPERSEDED BY
WBA 1 SAFC0: bad to worse


Update: lost 1-0. How typical that after a brighter spell in the second half, a sloppily conceded free kick – and booking – by Da Silva should lead to an Albion goal, Odemwing making up for his dreadful first half miss. All to do now …

Steve Bruce was probably reasonably happy to go in at half time with the game all square. That is about all he can have been pleased with.

Sunderland’s failure to demonstrate greater class, sharpness and punch, when faced with a newly promoted side widely expected to struggle all season, has been alarming.

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Soapbox: Premier football – having a laugh

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soapbox

Apologies if you tried to visit the site earlier only to hit a brick wall formed by all the Sunderland fans who, we are told, are the fattest in the Premier. All beyond our control, I’m afraid. Still, Pete Sixsmith is always worth waiting for (though things are still in a state of chaos behind the scenes at Salut! Sunderland towers so this is a bit of an emergency posting)
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One week in, is it just me, or is the nation distinctly underwhelmed by the first week of the new Premier League season? Our game was hardly one to set the pulses racing with excitement – phrases like “positives outweigh negatives” suggest that there are sufficient of the latter to cause problems.

Then, look at the crowds. Ours was a poor 38,000, only marginally better than the crowd we had five years ago for the game with Charlton when we had a strike force of Jonathan Stead and Andy Gray, Steven Caldwell and Gary Breen in defence and Calamity Kelvin in goal and ended up accumulating 15 points.

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West Bromwich Albion v SAFC: beware Dorrans, Brucey

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pacific open (274)


Requests from Salut! Sunderland to a couple of Baggie fansites met with a stony silence – shame on you lads! – but one high profile WBA supporter’s response has been good as gold. In the first part – click here – of the BBC tennis commentator David Law‘s* fascinating story of his support for Sunderland’s next opponents, we heard of his success in converting John McEnroe and Goran Ivanisevic to the Albion cause. Now David moves on to Midlands rivalries and West Brom greats …

Salut! Sunderland: how much do you personally enter into or identify with Baggie/Villa or Baggie/Wolves rivalry?

The Villa rivalry was always the big one for me growing up, but then they became too good for us it seemed a bit futile to hate them, which is when Wolves became the big rivalry. Obviously I want us to stuff them every time we play them (and I’d love to finally beat Villa again for the first time in a quarter of a century), but when they are not playing against us I will be supporting Wolves, Blues and Villa because I’m from the area. I’ve lived overseas a lot and I hate it when people assume I’m from London just because I’m British. I’m from the Midlands, and proud of it.

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