Teacher turned part-time postman, Gordon Taylor* joins the illustrious band of Salut! Sunderland writers but is given the hardest of first-day-at-school tasks: make SAFC v Colchester sound fun …
Did you see the interview with Ancelotti at the weekend where he was asked why his Chelsea team never seem to ease up towards the end, whoever they are playing, however many they have scored? He said something like “The supporters pay to watch 90 minutes of football, so we play for 90 minutes”! Simple, but brilliant.
Still to come, the view from Abu Dhabi. But let’s begin our build-up to Man City at home on Sunday by welcoming back the winner of the 2009-2010 Salut! Sunderland “Who Are You?” award, Martin Haworth. His responses were described by one of the judges, Mike Amos, himself an award-winning journalist (marginally better than being called an accomplished burglar), as “an appealing mix of passion, knowledge, honesty and occasional humour”. It seemed right to invite Martin, a lifelong City fan exiled in the North East, to do the honours again …
We know a Colchester match report is coming. Please be patient. In the meantime, let Jeremy Robson turn our attention towards Martin O’Neill’s immediate career prospects …
Amid the concerns that some of our fans have raised about Steve Bruce’s management. a constant name was raised in terms of who we might replace him with: the boyhood Sunderland fan, and currently unemployed Martin O’Neill.
As I cleared the spam box of drivel about colon cleansing, quack weight loss treatments and fake designer handbags, it dawned on me that our own Pete Sixsmith isn’t the only Sunderland fan with a strong, occasionally stronger (like last night, when he gave Colchester a miss) attachment to non-league footie. Stephen “FTM” Thompson*, the latest contributor to our occasional “Another Team” series, accepted my invitation to share his love of Histon with fellow SAFC supporters …
“Look at that twat in the Sunderland top. I bet he’s never been to a Histon or Sunderland match in his life.”
That was one of the comments I read on an online message forum following Histon’s famous FA Cup victory over Leeds United** two years ago.
Steve Bruce is a a tough old pro who would have expected a start to the season as disappointing as ours to raise concerns. “I think we’ve won five out of the last 26 games,” someone wrote. “How many clubs would put up with a record like that, never mind PL clubs?” We’ve given you the case against sticking with Bruce; here’s the balancing argument. Jeremy Robson hardly offers ringing endorsement, but feels it is far too early to start baying for blood …
The first real murmurings of discontent about Steve Bruce’s management have started to rumble.
Abject apologies to the many readers who attempted to visit Salut! Sunderland yesterday only to run into a brick wall of “site maintenance” and “this page not available” messages. We were up and down like a harlot’s drawers, as a judge once put it to me (he was describing the yo-yo existence of his own team).
The excuse is simple: our friends at footballunited.com were changing server. It’ll all be for the best, we’re assured, but some disruption was inevitable.
All the same, the interruptions and imperfections caused some inconvenience and disappointment, and meant that our Who Are You? feature for tonight’s Carling Cup tie may have been overlooked. So here’s another, with any luck hitch-free, outing for the interesting replies of Jon Burns*, chairman of CUSA (Colchester United Supporters’ Association), who takes heart from a good start to the League One season to point out that a big upset is far from an “impossible task” …
A week ago, we were hard on those spouting doom and gloom on the strength of an iffy pre-season and a disappointing opening game. But then, after a dismal showing at West Brom (and there is no other sensible way of looking at it), a check on the games to come revealed us to be in a potential pickle. Ask today and we would not replace Steve Bruce. But there are those, eyeing a newly available chap with impeccable credentials from Villa Park, who would disagree. Let Mike Allcock*, a Sunderland fan now living in America, address the point made by Andy Nichol, a fellow subscriber to the Blackcats list: “Well if I was Ellis Short, I’d be inviting O’Neill to dinner over the next few weeks. Just in case, of course.” Salut! Sunderland awaits the opposing view …
Dinner with Martin would be a positive step.
Yes it’s early days for this season, but midterms time for Bruce. He’s made some good decisions as well as some poor ones; he’s far and away better than some of the sh*** we got used to in the late 80s/early 90s and compared with other Sunderland managers in recent years he has a pretty good record. I don’t think Steve Bruce is failing as a manager of SAFC.
Salut!’s Nice corner, our regular look at French football and in particular the exploits of our team of choice Nice, finds a club manager casting an envious gaze across the Channel …
No sexy football please, we’re French. After all the fun the French have had over the years at the expenses of the supposedly sexless British, it is our turn to gloat.
As Arsenal, Chelsea and – whisper it – Toon won their weekend games with an aggregate of 18-0, Ligue 1 stuttered to a customary cluster of scoreless draws and low-scoring wins.
No one can accuse Salut! Sunderland of descending into mindless tribalism, though they probably will. We lauded, however grudgingly, Chris Hughton’s impressive achievement of last season, rising above the awfulness of the Ashton Factor to turn Newcastle United into runaway lower league champions. This, however, is taking the mick: Andy Carroll and Joey Barton transformed from gruesome thugs into cuddly heroes on a par with Jackie Milburn. Well, maybe not. But Pete Sixsmith‘s text read “Misery complete: Mags win 6-0. Villa resign from Premier in shame.” His original West Brom headline – New tricks desperately needed – stood no chance, no matter how clever. But that’s what Pete’s typically engaging dispatch from the West Midlands is all about …
Salut! Sunderland whinged the other day about the fans who were already, after the surrender of a two-goal lead in the opening game (and, in some case, even before the season started), raising doubts about the quality of our squad.
It hardly excuses us that we at least had the decency to wait until after the second game.
