Colin Randall

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

Who was at Hibernian 2-2 Sunderland? Tell us what you think

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Pete Sixsmith had other plans after the Bury game so no one from Salut! Sunderland was at Easter Road for the 2-2 draw against Hibs.

Khazri and, believe it or not, the lesser-spotted Jeremain Lens scored good goals to put SAFC in a commanding position that was duly sacrificed as the home side scored two in three minutes and then went close to grabbing a winner. The clip shows excellent finishes for our goals and woeful defending for theirs.

Both of our scorers were surely in the shop window though imagine what assets they could be in the Championship if they stayed and were committed to the cause.

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Sixer’s Gigg Lane Gleanings after Sunderland beat Bury

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Jake: ‘was that goals we scored? I’d forgotten what they were’

Pete Sixsmith‘s pre-season training got under way with a visit to Bury, where (Monsieur Salut believes) he saw Sunderland clinch promotion with a 5-2 win under Peter Reid in 1999. The early tweets were hardly encouraging. Two down and lots of moaning from fans who don’t buy the mantra that ‘it’s all about fitness’. Then a strange thing, mm well strange for recent times, happened; we scored three times. So Simon Grayson is off to a winning start, albeit only in a friendly ….

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Middlesbrough, Fulham, Aston Villa, Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds head the poll. Norwich, Reading and Derby slip down

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with an increasing feeling of optimism…

The poll I set up a couple of weeks ago is still running and you’ll find it below, so you can still vote if you have a mind to. (If you’re new to the site and want to see what it’s about follow this link.)

At the time of writing we have had some 3,818 votes cast, with Middlesbrough leading the pack. Sunderland crept up a couple of places and edged Norwich out of the top six by two votes. Given this is a Sunderland fans’ site we could be expected to do well so I’m taking that as a vote of confidence in Norwich. I’m a little surprised by Fulham, who have exceeded my expectations, and by Derby and Reading, who haven’t done as well as expected and at the moment aren’t going to make the cut.

“What cut?” You may be thinking. Well, read on, and all will be revealed

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Gambles’ Rambles: Hi Ho Silver Lining, the one breaking through the clouds

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Ken Gambles: bringing more positivity to the SoL

A calamitous season was followed by the calculated torpor of close-season inactivity at SAFC. Suddenly, we moved forward a little, the would-be German takeover collapsing and Simon Grayson arriving as manager. Ken Gambles  isn’t getting carried away but sees reason for cautious optimism and offers a proud comparison with the (presumaby pre-Chinese, pre-Russian sponsorship) Bundesliga side Schalke 04 …

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Sunderland’s 10 relegations. Number 6: last game heartache again

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Pete Sixsmith

John McCormick writes: we have a manager and the transfer window’s open. A new chapter in the SAFC story is about to begin. But we also have history, some good, some not so and we would do well to remember it. So here, with the hope that the players running up alps in Austria will find it when they when they plug themselves into their alternative worlds, is some of that history, courtesy of Pete Sixsmith.

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Middlesbrough, Villa, Fulham, Sheffield Wed, Leeds, Norwich top six. Bristol and Burton Albion – ‘nul points’

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John McCormick: We're not bottom, so is it a Happy Christmas?
John McCormick. Going for a Burton

Should I be disappointed? Not with the goings-on at the offices and by the officers of Sunderland Football Club but with the response to my “who’ll be the top six” poll. In 2015 our “who’s going down” poll had over 7,000 votes cast, last year we had over 2,500.

This year it wasn’t until events at the club brought in new readers that we got past 1,000 votes. To date we have had perhaps 200-300 readers bothering to take part. What’s more, whereas in the past we have had interesting and entertaining comments from fans from other clubs this year we had had nothing. Is this what the championship’s like? Or is it the Ellis Short effect? I don’t know.

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Sixer says: meet the new boss

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John McCormick writes:

Pete Sixsmith reports that it’s cold, wet and miserable where he is – presumably Sixsmith Towers, deep in County Durham. It’s not much better here, down south in Liverpool.

But news has come in that we have a manager.  Is that sufficient to warm the cockles of our too-chilled hearts? I think it might be, and so does Pete, judging by the welcome he’s penned for Simon Grayson:

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Enter Simon Grayson from Preston – plus exclusive transcript of the job interview

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Credit: MattytheWhite at Wikipedia

First a club statement on Simon Grayson’s appointment as manager. Read it here or see a summary in the footnote*.

And secondly, apologies to Martin Bain, chief executive, and Simon for hacking their phone conversation. In fact, it’s so exclusive that it isn’t true. All imaginary, just a spot of fun – and a warm welcome to the new boss …

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