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Everton Who are You?: ‘Pickford looks a great signing; Kone never did impress me’

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Jake wants answers …

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.

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Sixer’s Hull City Soapbox: Simon Grayson’s big band still not hitting all the right notes

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Malcolm Dawson writes……while I was watching Pete Sixsmith‘s home town club of Shildon progress to the next round of the FA Cup, thanks to a softish penalty which the goalkeeper saved, only to watch helplessly as the rebound was headed straight back into the net, the man himself was at the KCOM stadium where a promising first half performance was negated for the second time in five days by a player who used to turn out in the red and white stripes. As ever, Peter’s account of his day goes beyond the match itself. Did he enjoy his day in the City of Culture? Read on to find out.

HULL CITY (away)

This weekend was a difficult one for managers in the Football League as three of them lost their jobs on Saturday evening. Good ‘ol ‘Arry went at Birmingham City, Chesterfield parted company with Gary Caldwell and Michael Brown picked up his P45 at Port Vale. And if you listened to some of the people I shared a coach with back from Hull, Simon Grayson should be joining them within the week.

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Hutch’s Hull City verdict: Olivia says hello, and keep clear of the Balti pies

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    Rob Hutchison: far away at the time. Still travelling

Hutch is back. If not in person then via a very welcome proxy.

Olivia, Rob Hutchison‘s daughter, texted Colin post-game with a message and his one-word verdicts on our performances today.

First, the message:

One wordies are back! A long way to go to give up 2 points, and have the worst Balti pie I’ve ever had at a football match.

And now, the verdicts:

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Sixer’s Sevens: Hull City invoke the curse of the former player

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Jake: ‘it won’t always be pretty’

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:

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Hull City Who are You? : (2) Arsenal ‘cheating’, toxic Tiger times, ‘new fans’

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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 …

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Hull City Who are You?: (1) ‘fans queued to take Elmo to Aston Villa’

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Gary with his wife Karen at Wembley

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 …

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The First Time Ever I Saw Your Ground: Hull City

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Malcolm Dawson writes……..here in the latest instalment of his series in which, prior to an away game, he recalls the first visit he made to the home(s) of our upcoming opponents, strong Pete Sixsmith looks back on previous outings to the UK City of Culture that is Kingston upon Hull.

TFTEISYG HULL CITY.

One of the big disappointments of Hull City’s first promotion to the Premier League was that they were no longer the answer to the question “Which is the biggest city in England never to have had a team in the top division?” although they are the answer to the question “Which is the only club in the 92 where you cannot colour in any of the letters!?”

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Hull City vs SAFC Guess the Score: who can bounce back?

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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.

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Homage to a West Ham fan: nothing and everything to do with SAFC

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Charlie Whebell with son, Daniel

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 …

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