Monsieur Salut writes: Pete Sixmsith wrote – with his customary command of detail, style and humour – on the delights of Goodison. But he wasn’t there to send his traditional seven-word instant verdict. In his absence, the task fell to our associate editor John McCormick (we use asterisks to signal a supersub for Pete). John will doubtless have more to say about our 3-0 defeat, dumping us out of the League Cup. An Everton fan site mentioned beforehand that our team had players totalling more Everton appearances between them than their own. That, it could be argued, is why those players are now with us. As Gary Bennett put it (Barnes & Benno, BBC Radio Newcastle), the plus side for Simon Grayson was probably limited to ‘no injuries’ (there was something else, maybe about a rare goalscoring chance, but it’s now been forgotten). The home side, he said, “won at a canter” …
Monsieur Salut introduces another prize edition of Guess rhe Score and promises belated movement on the backlog of winners …
As we hover just above the relegation zone despite ending the losing run, there is just one consolation: it’s a different relegation zone with names like Brentfor, Burmingham and Bolton instead of Palace, Bournemouth and – would you believe it, Jordan? – Everton.
John McCormick writes: I talk to Evertonians most weeks. They tend not to be short of opinions – like most fans – but I don’t know how many of them go to Goodison regularly and I have to take much of what is said with a pinch of salt.
That’s not the case with today’s guest. Bernard Walker first graced these pages in 2014 (I commend his first “Who are you?” to you) and it’s great to welcome him back. He’s was at Goodison before it was a World cup venue, even before Z cars graced TV, and he’s a keen observer of all things Everton, so much so that some of his answers to our questions might surprise you.
When you get to the bottom you’ll find I haven’t asked Bernard if he will be at the game. He will, I’ll be sitting next to him, and I’m really looking forward to it.
At the end Hull City had three of our former players on the pitch, so it had to happen. Nevertheless, we stopped the rot and James Vaughan broke his duck. So there was some sunshine against the KC band.
Pete Sixsmith’s immediate post-match text, in exactly seven words, however, suggests that it was merely a ray, and that the clouds have not yet cleared:
Happy man: Gary Clark at the playoff final at Wembley, April 2014
For the second part of Gary Clark‘s* epic replies to Salut! Sunderland‘s questions – in fact not always replies but speeches, so don’t be surprised if the response does not always seem to correspond to the question – we take a long look at the wretched relations between ownership and club. We whinge about Ellis Short; for Hull City supporters, the problems may be deeper. But Gary also has time – lots of it – to exorcise a grudge against Arsenal and Mike Riley …
Colin Randall writes: I’d quite forgotten that when the estimable Hull City-supporting author Gary Clark* does Who are You? interviews, his clear intention is to out-Tolstoy Tolstoy for length. It’s great craic and much appreciated. But the sheer torrent of words forces me, not for the first time (Gary has been this way before), to split the resulting article into a more manageable two parts. In the first, Gary gives his lowdown on relegation, the season’s prospects, Seb and Elmo and the city of Hull’s once-hidden charms …
Jake: ‘you may have seen this one before – M Salut just deleted the date’
So we are on a run of four successive defeats. The alarm bells are not so much ringing as cracking into many pieces due to the sheer volume of their sound.
And Hull? Hammered at Derby, beaten in midweek at Fulham, their own dip in form undoing the relatively good work of earlier in what is still early in the season. When I set the Who are You? questions to Hull City fan and author Gary Clark – stand by for answers stretching to War and Peace length – the Tigers were just behind the top six. Now they’re 16th, just four places above us.
Monsieur Salut writes: Charlie Whebell was just 64 when he died at the beginning of this month. He was not a Sunderland supporter but a Hammer through and through and right down to his solid East End roots. He was a treasured colleague, both in London and Abu Dhabi, and his presence, sparkle and wit seemed to enrich the lives of all who came across him.
Not one of us maybe, but his beautiful words – Charlie was a gifted writer – did grace these pages just 16 months ago, when he mused poignantly from the Middle East on his sense of loss at the end of an era, West Ham’s final home game at the Boleyn or, as we call it, Upton Park. He said later that he recognised Sunderland supporters, by implication the older ones with their memories of Roker Park, as kindred spirits.
Read it in full at this link and you will see why it was warmly received by our readers.
Charlie was looking forward to lots of golf and football in retirement. Illness put paid to that, with cruel haste. But wherever Charlie was known, among friends still in the UAE or dispersed around the word (many of whom knew him far better than I ever did), glasses have been raised in his honour. I raise mine now …
