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The celebs who support Sunderland: A-list or Z-list?

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tasmin


Colin Randall has only himself to blame for being lumbered with a search for celeb supporters of Sunderland. He accepted the task cheerfully. He should have known better, having previously done a Famous on the Fulwell piece for A Love Supreme. But he persevered …

It was probably the most crushing condemnation of all the work we put into making Salut! Sunderland a half-decent site.

In one of those periodic threads at Ready to Go about celeb supporters of Sunderland, I yet again pointed out that the most comprehensive and reliable list, with interviews, had appeared here. And someone came back like a rocket to say he hadn’t even heard of half my candidates.

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Who are you? We’re Wolves (2)

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3jody


If Andy Nicholls played the long ball, with a few elegant runs here and there, our second Wolverhampton Wanderers supporter, Garry Dingley*, found via the Wolves-Mad fan site, prefers it short and sweet. And he grows in confidence as he goes on: an unknown third slot for relegation is filled, a few questions later, by Stoke City. Read on to see who else he reckons will go down, and who he thinks will win on Sunday. Salut! Sunderland thanks all Wolves fans for their interest – plus Jody Craddock for permission to showcase his art …

Salut! Sunderland: A lot of our fans wondered how Mick McCarthy might have done with the money available to Keane and Bruce. Has he had enough at Wolves and has he spent it wisely?

I think he could of done with a little bit more so we could get one or two players in with Premier experience. He does seem to rely on players who have played for him before thought.

On that note, Greg Halford seems to be picking up a lot of five out of tens in newspaper player ratings. He was a great disappointment at our place. Still not up to it? What about other signings from Sunderland eg Neil Collins and Jody Craddock?

Halford as been moved to full back now and as played well there. I never liked Collins but Jody isn’t a bad player at all now.

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Who are you? We’re Wolves (1)

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1jody

If no one minds, this week’s Who are you? feature, ahead of SAFC v Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday, is an in memoriam edition. It honours David Graves, a Wolves-supporting colleague and great friend who died in a diving accident seven years ago, and Jake, the baby taken by cot death syndrome a year later from Jody Craddock, a centre back who has been a model of commitment and professionalism at both Sunderland and Wolves. Fittingly, the game is previewed – in the first of two Black Country contributions – by Andy Nicholls*, another Wolves man with a Mackem connection …

Briefly, David was a reporter I had known since our days together at the Press Association. He was extremely good at his job but also a committed family man. He, his wife Diana and their two boys deserved better than that he should die while diving in the Bahamas. He would have been my first choice to answer questions prior to a Wolves v Sunderland encounter.

Equally briefly, Jody – coincidentally a big fan of Bahamas holidays – was still a mainstay of our defence when he and his wife Shelley, lost Jake at just five months. Jody, a gifted art student when at school, returned to canvas to work through his grief. His work – which can be seen and bought at his own site – illustrates (with Jody’s consent) this series of excellent responses from Andy Nicholls, from the top Wolves fan site Molineux Mix. Our thoughts are with both families.


And here are the questions …

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Soapbox: nearly a perfect day

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soapbox4


A cruise through to the next round of the Carling Cup, a toaster that works, a working day that brings hope: Pete Sixsmith sees us dismiss Brum with a minimum of fuss and reflects on the bright side of life ..

Once in a while you get one of those days where everything runs perfectly.

Early morning, the toast browns perfectly, the shower temperature is just right and the paper girl delivers early.

At work, everything runs smoothly. In my job, the students are well behaved, they learn how to do new things and remember what they were taught last week. Your colleagues smile at you in the corridors, the sun shines and the coffee you have made is as close to perfection as you will get.

At home, there is a surprise cheque in the post, the library book you put your name down for weeks ago has arrived and there are old friends contacting you via Facebook. With a Lou Reed track playing in the back ground, it really is A Perfect Day.

And then you remember we have a Carling Cup Tie against Birmingham City!!!

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Can’t we always be two-nil up?

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me

So, we beat Birmingham 2-0 and advance, as we hoped we would, in the Carling Cup. Job done, but only to be celebrated properly if we also go on to claim the three obvious home points against Wolves on Sunday. Colin Randall offers some thoughts on low-key wins …


Two staples of the Salut! Sunderland Who are You? questionnaire, which we present to a fan of each team we next face in league or cup, are the Eduardo question – effectively “do you mind your team cheating?” – and the scoreline forecast.

Most fans of Premier teams will care relatively little how about how they got on tonight, assuming they were still in the Carling Cup. Look at the attendances (the fact that Sunderland got above 20,000 – just – was, in an odd sort of way since it’s really quite poor, a source of pride if only because it didn’t dip pathetically below 20,000) and at the teams the big clubs fielded. That tells you most of what you need to know.

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Sunderland: changes in sight

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me-at-sol2

Read Pete Sixsmith’s verdict on Sunderland v Birmingham at Salut! Sunderland tomorrow – and stand by for a special Who are You? treat ahead of SAFC v Wolves

Colin Randall‘s shopping list from Hull City (h), Burnley (a) and Wolves (h), nine or at the very least seven points from three Premier games on the trot against supposedly inferior opposition, has already been torn up. A woeful second half at Burnley saw to that. Now, with lots of changes likely, Sunderland have the chance to advance in the Carling Cup. Don’t blow this one, too, Lads …

So the Birmingham City version of Kevin Ball confesses that he doesn’t give a stuff about the Carling Cup.

I’d have said the same last season and the season before, when it was clear all along that we’d be struggling for survival. This season, we have to look at the league cup as just the sort of trophy that is within our reach, given the mixture of ambivalence and contempt with which so many clubs approach it.

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Who are you? We’re Birmingham City

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kevinball1kevinball2


It wasn’t that we’d forgotten about the Carling Cup. But tomorrow’s game at home to Birmingham City has crept up on us, and the scurry for a Bluenose to answer a few questions began only this morning. Stepping forward to spare Salut! Sunderland some red faces is none other than Kevin Ball*. Er, no, not our Kevin Ball but the owner of the BCFC fan site Joys and Sorrows – a name Sunderland fans would recognise as summing up their own supporting experience …

Salut! Sunderland: SuperKev. What does he mean to Birmingham fans? Give or take those who accused him of lack of commitment in his last season with us, most Mackems still cherish him

Kevin: He scored really important goals for us last season, including the winner to take us up. I don’t think you’ll hear a Blues fan say a bad thing against him. Having said that, he is no more than a squad player this season. Mind you I wouldn’t bet against him scoring eight or nine goals!

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Soapbox: Burnley blues

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soapbox2

His verdict for The Observer was succinct and spot-on. But that shabby second half at Turf Moor left Pete Sixsmith with plenty more to say …

Standing in the away end at Turf Moor at half time, I received a text from a Burnley supporting mate, sat in the Bob Lord Stand to the right of the Wearside hordes. “I’ll settle for a point,” was the message. Full of optimism, (and probably cockiness), I texted back “I won’t.” Hubris strikes!!

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