Dean Cruddace

Sixer’s Soapbox: second best Manchester United escape with a point

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SBOXMANUMalcolm Dawson writes…..Fifty years ago, Peter Sixsmith, M Salut and myself were all at the opening fixture of the 1964/5 season. I wasn’t to meet either of them until many years later, but here the three of us are half a century on, still hoping that the first home game of a new season will bring some long awaited success. Our golden anniversary coincides with Match of the Day’s own 50 year celebrations and it came as a bit of a shock to discover that in all that time only 11 sides have won the Football League/Premier League title. Sunday’s opponents were to finish top of the pile for the sixth time in 1964/5 but it is doubtful that they will do it for the twenty first time this campaign. At least Pete doesn’t think so based on what he saw at the Stadium of Light. Here is how he saw things.

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Sixer’s Substitute’s Soapbox: Udinese like a Sunday morning

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Malcolm Dawson writes……Following his most recent visits to the O3 Arena, Peter Sixsmith has developed a liking for watching a team in red and white stripes at St James’ Park, so when the Football League fixtures were announced he got Pardew, his faithful manservant, to organise a suite at the Exeter Travelodge and a ticket to see The Grecians play Pompey in what to many of us, is still the old Fourth Division. It was all sorted before SAFC announced their final pre-season arrangements and Pete will be at The Hawthorns next week to bring his unique insight into the first game of the campaign proper, but it fell to me to make the ten minute trip to Heritage Park, home of the “Two Blues”, for the final warm up match…..

Malcolm Dawson climbs up on the soapbox at Bishop
Malcolm Dawson climbs up on the soapbox at Bishop Auckland

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Sixer’s substitute’s Soapbox: plenty to enjoy at Hartlepool

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Malcolm Dawson climbs up on the soapbox
Malcolm Dawson climbs up on the soapbox

Malcolm Dawson writes…..the past few days have been a hectic time for our star reporter, Pete Sixsmith. Having been at the Shildon v Stranraer pre-season friendly, endured a soaking at Bishop Auckland, sunned himself at cricket in Scarborough, taken in a grand tour of Yorkshire mill towns by rail and then on to Carlisle for the first of back to back warm up games, last night’s visit to Hartlepool has left him exhausted.

This bright sunny Thursday morning sees him lying supine on the red velvet chaise longue at Sixsmith Towers with his copy of The Kenneth Horne Bumper Book of Fun for Boys and a DVD of The Hundred Greatest Moments from the North Dorset and South Wiltshire Combination Alliance League – Reserves Division to get him through the day. That and ever attentive butler Pardew, who keeps our sage’s glass of Dent Brewery “Owd Tup” topped up and regularly supplies him with morsels of Taylor’s pork pie.

So it falls to me to give the eye-witness view of events at Victoria Park last night and very interesting it was too ..

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The Robson Report: Brazil 2014 – overblown, over hyped and over on Sunday

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taking a detached view of events overseas
taking a detached view of events overseas
Jeremy Robson is not a man to shy away from a good debate. It could be said that had he studied for the Bar it would have been at the Devil’s School of Advocacy, but his observations are always incisive and well argued. He has been watching the affairs in Brazil with interest and shares his thoughts about a World Cup nearing its conclusion.

Over the course of the last month we’ve seen the best of the world game, for what it is. There may be no Pele, Muller, Beckenbauer, Tostao, Jairzhino, Ronaldo, Charlton, Gascoigne, Cruyff, Neeskens, Baggio, Schillachi, Platini, Garrincha, or Maradona. There is really no stunning team, but we have seen some very good football. It has to be said that there have been some awful games to watch as well.

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