Monsieur Salut confesses: thank heavens no one went for Sunderland 0-2 Leeds. There are quite enough people who could tell you I already owe them mugs. They will come, I promise.
Pete Sixsmith had almost forgotten what it was like to have to churn out, week after week, doom-laden masterpieces combining gallows humour and sharp footballing analysis. It had been relatively upbeat so far, a tolerable pre-season followed by a decent start in league and cup. The visit of Leeds United changed all that. So were we put in our place, ominously so? Or is it just a case of getting back to the drawing board as things will work out fine? Read on …
The thump as we fell to earth was a resounding one and could be heard all over Wearside. After a good start to our (hopefully short) life in the Championship, we came up against the first really well organised side that we have played this season and ended up distinctly second best.
We’ve seen it before of course. A great chance to take the lead is cleared off the line and almost immediately a counter attack puts us behind. It has to be said Leeds got back into the game and looked the more assured for much of this match.
Pete Sixsmith was there and as he always does sends us his seven word verdict as soon as the referee blows the final whistle.
Malcolm Dawson writes…..like most websites Salut! Sunderland gets approached from time to time to plug various commercial enterprises and whilst most are given short shrift there are some that we feel will be of interest to visitors and some to which we are delighted to be linked.
As we looked in the 1890s
Now another which is worthy of a look comes to us via our old friend Tom Lynn, former editor of The Wearside Roar which he in turn received from Paul Days.
Malcolm Dawson writes….I nearly put SAFC v Dirty Leeds in the headline in an attempt to attract a few irate United fans along to our Guess the Score competition but opted for diplomacy rather than provocation.
If you’ve never been here before then all you have to do is be the first to correctly predict Saturday’s scoreline before kick off and a prize could well be winging its way to you post match should Monsieur Salut feel inclined to dig deep into the pockets of his pantalon.
Pete Sixsmith (before the fierce slimming regime began)
Monsieur Salut writes: in his latest addition to this hugely entertaining series recalling his first encounters with opposing teams or – for away games – their grounds, Pete Sixsmith begins with a confession.
But do not be fooled by his Leeds origins. Sixer moved to County Durham – just up the street from me – as a boy and soon became a Sunderland supporter. While successive SAFC teams, managers and owners have sorely tried his patience over the past half-century, he has remained passionate throughout (save for one season-long sulk after the first of Peter Reid’s relegations). And the only Leeds team he likes are the Rhinos.
But as Sunderland prepare to engage once again with old footballing foes, Sixer looks back on his roots ……
Unfortunately, it never came and I, for one, was worried by the arrival of Stephen Fletcher in the second half, because I’ve seen him at his best and ex-players do well against us. He did do OK. But how OK, and did he and Kieran Westood stop us getting that win? Pete’s match report will tell you all you need to know:
Kevin Ayscough with a miniature Leeds fan, his grandson Charlie
You’ll need to scroll down now if you want to know Kevin Ayscough‘s* link to Salut! Sunderland and why he thinks a certain Sunderland fan ought really be supporting Leeds.
Kevin is a down-to-earth United supporter who sees no point in harking back to his club’s glory days, though he says he still cannot work out how we made his trip home to Leeds such a miserable one on May 5 1973. He rates Simon Grayson highly and, even before this week’s results put us 6th and Leeds 7th, saw both clubs finishing in the top six – a re-run of 1963-64 would suit him and most of us, even if we’d want the positions reversed ….
Pete Sixsmith‘s instant seven-word verdicts on Sunderland games are part of the staple diet of Salut! Sunderland. If he is not present, the supersub’s snap judgement is preceded by an asterisk. Tonight, he was indeed present as George Honeyman gave us an early lead, Grabban and Vaughan missed good chances to extend it and after conceding a seemingly inevitable equaliser (David Jones’s top quality 25-yard strike described by Sixer as ‘an absolute worldie‘), we ended up fighting a desperate but ultimately successful battle to hang on for a point …
Not many people, and Sunderland supporters must be included in this, honestly believed Simon Grayson capable of leading an immediate push for promotion.
Starved of funds, even those generated by big-money sales or savings on wages, and not even the club’s first choice to replace David Moyes, he was at best seen as a sound Championship manager who would probably secure a a top-half sort of season. A playoff spot was not impossible but a big ask on the shoestring budget he had been handed.
But a decent start, drawing and almost beating Derby County before a good win at Norwich, with progress in the League Cup in between, has prompted some re-thinking.
If you think Sunderland for promotion is worth a wager, perhaps you should start expecting the odds to shorten. We’ll leave it to you to take a look at such places as NetBet Sport for an idea of how others assess our chances in a cooler, more professional way than a partisan site can manage.
Malcolm Dawson writes….I nearly put SAFC v Dirty Leeds in the headline in an attempt to attract a few irate United fans along to our Guess the Score competition but opted for diplomacy rather than provocation.
