Dean Cruddace 
In the second of Salut! Sunderland‘s look back at Martin O’Neill’s first year in charge – visit the home page salutsunderland.com to see the first – Jeremy Robson wonders whether our manager will still be at the helm 12 months from now. He has his doubts…
Martin O’Neill has been in charge for twelve months now and Salut! Sunderland contributors have their own thoughts on the success or otherwise of the Ulsterman’s time at the helm. Malcolm Dawson looks at what is going wrong, argues that a rethink is necessary and weighs up the O’Neill In/Out arguments …
Peter Sixsmith stuck in the wilds of snowy Shildon, delves into his bumper book of footballing phrases to sum up Sunday’s game in the flatlands of East Anglia. Whilst this one didn’t have Delia ranting and raving like some inebriated old harpy on the pitch at the break, she was seen in close up on Match of the Day towards the end of the game, biting her nails and mouthing the word bun, as the boys in red and white laid siege in the home side’s goalmouth. But then again she may just have been feeling a bit peckish and thinking of refreshments laid on in the board room. The outcome of the match hardly leaves Sixer over the moon. Let him explain……
Peter Sixsmith has been watching Sunderland since the days of Cec Irwin and Ambrose Fogarty. In that time he has witnessed some dross and he now adds Tuesday’s visit of the Premier League’s bottom side to that collection. Much of the pre match speculation was about the effect Harry Redknapp would have on the game but in truth QPR could have had Louise Redknapp in the technical area and the outcome would probably have been the same – such was the dearth of attacking options provided by Martin O’Neill’s boys. As a contributor to Total Sport said earlier this evening: “The Samaritans were outside the ground handing out leaflets after this one.” We’ll let Sixer talk it through.
Malcolm Dawson writes….: There are times when I question the logic of spending good money going to football. Yes there are times when the team puts in a performance that lifts the heart, when a close game or a dramatic fightback creates a tension that gets the pulse racing, when a back to the wall performance, defying the odds, creates a sense of relief that brings a satisfaction all of its own. But it seems that more often than not I feel like I did on Saturday. After a half an hour or so I had that familiar feeling of resignation that we would get nothing from the game and what may have been a disappointing couple of hours became excruciating as the whining bloke behind me, kept up a constant two word analysis of the team’s performance. On my way back to the car I bumped into a couple of friends, North East born but living in Staffordshire, who had been to see Show of Hands at the Sage on Friday and were stopping off at Derby on the way home to catch a Bellowhead concert. Folk music may not be your cup of tea but you know what you are getting for your pennies. Still I’ll be back for QPR as will Pete Sixsmith. Here’s what he has to say about the Baggies….
There is nothing Pete Sixsmith likes more than a pub crawl, utilising what’s left of our rail network where possible, some craic with knowledgeable football fans and being present at a Sunderland victory. Well as Michael Lee Aday once said, ‘two out of three ain’t bad’ and Sixer sees the green shoots of optimism peeping out from behind the Everton induced blues …
FIREWORKS AT HETTON – BUT NOT ON THE PITCH.
Malcolm Dawson writes: as I jumped into my car early Tuesday evening and the radio fired up to Radio Newcastle’s “Total Sport”, the first voice I heard was that of our own Pete Sixsmith, putting forward his theory to Simon Pryde, John Anderson and Marco Gabbiadini, that perhaps Martin O’Neill is of an age where he should be thinking more of bobsleighing down a grassy hillside in a tin bath and letting loose his ferrets in his neighbour’s coal shed, than working out how to break down Everton’s defence whilst keeping 11 red and white shirted players in their own half of the pitch. Marco was having none of it but Simon was a little more intrigued. Pete also commented on the thoughtful Aston Villa contributions that have flooded into www.salutsunderland.com and gave the site several plugs which probably means M Salut and I will have our work cut out moderating all the abusive posts from our black and white neighbours. But still! You should be able to hear the programme via the BBC i-player local radio links if the following doesn’t work. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00zyfr5 (42 minutes in)
The previous evening, our roving reporter was much too busy visiting the delights of the Eppleton Colliery Welfare ground to see how the younger elements of SAFC fared against the Saints of Southampton.
Malcolm Dawson writes: With £10 tickets available via season card holders, a healthy crowd of over 41,515 turned up for this one. The majority, Pete Sixsmith included, were hopeful of a turnaround in fortunes and took their seats looking forward to an opportunity for the Lads to finally stamp their authority on a game there for the taking. Certainly the Villa fans I spoke to before the match expected to lose and had travelled up more in hope than expectation. An early goal ruled out for offside provided false optimism and it wasn’t long before normal service was resumed. Sixer takes up the story………….
