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Soapbox: Wigan, Sunderland and a sobering history of bouncebacks

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How much of a beating do you have to take before it can be called a thrashing? Four, five, six? Nothing to do with the headmaster’s study of old; we’re talking about goals conceded. Pete Sixsmith worries about the backlash that sometimes awaits the walloped side’s next opponents after such drubbings as Spurs 9 Wigan 1 …

We Sunderland fans are very pleased to have Steve Bruce as our manager. He has made an excellent start. He has brought in good players and moved on players who had gone past their time at the Stadium of Light. He looks a winner.

Imagine my surprise then, to read that he was to blame for Wigan Athletic’s 9-1 defeat at Tottenham. It was his entire fault, according to Dave Whelan. He had left the club with a poor selection of players which new manager Roberto Martinez was desperately trying to sort out. Bruce should take the blame, Martinez was faultless.

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Who are you? We’re Wigan

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No Darren Bent, Kenwyne Jones still suspended. No Cattermole, first choice keeper out too. Wigan 1 Sunderland 9 somehow doesn’t look on the cards. Bernard Ramsdale*, who runs the Olde Tree and Crown Wigan fans’ site and romped home last year as winner of our award for the best “Who are You?” feature, has probably spent his Spurs ticket refund already. But he does not expect to be as glum after Saturday’s game as he was in the “after” part of these before and after shots from last Sunday afternoon …

Salut! SunderlandCrikey. You beat Chelsea only to get thrashed by Pompey and murdered by Spurs. Explain Wigan’s season so far.

Errr, how about inconsistent?

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Another trophy for Arsenal

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Sunderland supporters are known for their complete objectivity and generosity of spirit.

So let’s offer congratulations to Arsène Wenger’s team for bouncing back from defeat at the Stadium of Light – how pleasing it is to write those words – to brush aside Standard Liège.

And there’s another trophy heading the Gunners’ way, or more accurately a Gooner’s way. This one takes the form of Salut! Sunderland‘s modest prize for what it considers the best Arsenal response to our criticism of Wenger’s post-match comments, which appeared (in context and out of it) haughtily dismissive of SAFC.

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Come on you Arsenal

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Salut! Sunderland presents a challenge to Arsenal supporters – the poster of the best comment received by 10am tomorrow WED NOV 24 will be offered a Nick Hornby book (regular, that is, not special edition) of his of her choice …


We’ve had our say. Sunderland fans, even those who have a lot of admiration for the players Arsène Wenger chooses and the way they play for him, think he went way beyond the limits of reason and fairness in his post-match comments. Notably this:


“Sunderland were aggressive but you expect that. I think that they tried to stop us from playing, sometimes on the fringes of the rule, but that’s part of the game.”

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Arsène, Thierry and Jean-Louis: a triumvirate of French arrogance?

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Colin Randall treads difficult domestic territory, braves the disapproval of a French wife and two half-French daughters and, setting himself up as judge, jury and La Cour de Cassation, finds two of the above guilty as charged …

Not every Englishman is a BNP thug who steams through French railway carriages singing: “If it wasn’t for the English, you’d be Krauts.”

We don’t all subscribe to the “lovely country, shame about the people” jibe – though I actually heard it recently on the lips of my French barber (a necessarily short encounter). Some of us even marry ’em, Frenchwomen that is not the barbers.

But what are we to make of the behaviour of three Frenchmen, clues to whose identities appear in the headline? Two are easy to guess; the third is largely unknown in England unless you support Sunderland and therefore feel that Jean-Louis Triaud, president of the Girondins de Bordeaux football club, is a cross between arrogant oaf and prize clown.

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Soapbox: Dave Lish RIP – an affectionate farewell to a good man

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Just before Saturday’s rousing win over Arsenal, I spotted Pete Sixsmith in his usual 20-minutes-before-kickoff spot in the East Stand concourse, chatting animatedly to another Sunderland fan. That other fan was about to see the last game of his life. Only in his early 50s, he died next day. Pete pays tribute to Dave Lish …

We all agree, I think, that Saturday was as good a game as we have seen at the Stadium for a long time. At half time, on my return from the toilet, I spoke with Dave Lish and we both agreed that we had a good chance of winning this one. As we returned to our seats, we agreed to meet at Sunderland RCA for their game with Shildon on Wednesday night.

Alas, this is not to be, as Dave suddenly and tragically passed away on Sunday. I had known him for a number of years, bumping into him on the non league circuit. As the relationship changed from acquaintance to friend, I always looked for his Corsa (R99 KER), knowing that his presence would always mean an entertaining and enjoyable evening even if the football was dire.

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Sorry Sir Alex, but this refereee is a class act

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Cana the lionheart yes. Bent for his tireless running and for his goal. Da Silva’s unbeatable defending. Henderson for the maturity he displayed in sticking to his task and to Fabregas. McCartney and Bardsley for their best performances in memory. And, says Colin Randall, don’t forget Alan Wiley …

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It is not hard to see what it is about Alan Wiley that so annoys Sir Alex Ferguson. Here is a referee who makes players take throw ins and free kicks from the right place, doesn’t point automatically to the penalty spot when a big four striker falls over, allows robust but fair challenges and applies common sense judgement in incidents involving both sets of players all over the pitch.

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Soapbox: outshooting the Gunners

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While most of the near 45,000 attendance at the Stadium of Light saw a match that Sunderland won, Radio 5 Live and MoTD  reported on a match that Arsenal lost.  Pete Sixsmith redresses the balance …

The highlights and the stats on Match of the Day did this superb game a disservice. The editing made it look a decent game with Sunderland winning with a well taken but slightly fortuitous goal. The stats suggested that Arsenal had most of the possession and more of the chances – which just goes to prove that there are lies, damn lies and statistics as Disraeli, Burke or Twain (Rochdale’s all conquering half back line of the early 50s) are alleged to have said.

This was no flukey 1-0 win à la 2000 when Arsène’s Arsenal battered us and Saint Niall nicked it at the end. It wasn’t down to a deflection off a piece of beach orientated play equipment. It was down to a hugely committed and thoughtful performance from 14 players who had spent the training sessions listening to Messrs Bruce and Black, then going out and putting into practice what they had learned.

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Soapbox: another week, another drama. But let’s hand it to Thierry Henry

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As Sunderland prepare to face Arsenal, the debate rages on. Should France v Republic of Ireland be replayed? If so, what about Reading 1 Sunderland 0 (goal given, not over line), Sunderland 1 Aston Villa 1 (legitimate, last second SAFC winner inexplicably denied by Steve Bentley), Sunderland 1 Liverpool 0 (beachball clinches the points).
One view of Thierry Henry’s public contrition is that it reaffirms his greatness; another is that it was a little belated and therefore that public reaction forced his hand (sorry).
No serious football controversy would be complete without Pete Sixsmith weighing in. And he says the Irish just have to get on with life …


Like the poor Swedish referee, I didn’t see the Henry Handball incident on Wednesday. I was driving home from Billingham, having got my midweek football fix by watching an entertaining game between Synthonia and West Allotment Celtic (2-1 to the visitors if you really want to know), but I did have the commentary on Radio 5 Live.

In between the whoops and soars and the intervention of Radio Moscow, I heard John Murray say absolutely clearly that Henry had handled it and the goal should not have stood. Mark Lawrenson came on at the end of the 90 minutes and said the same, only more forcefully. Both spoke about the need for technology to help the officials with their decisions.

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