Pete Sixsmith originally said the Sunderland women’s team had lost the FA Cup final against Arsenal by 2-0, so it brought some consolation to check the itv.com website and find that unlike the Lads yesterday, the Lasses were able to pull one back right at the end.
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Soapbox: lost for words
Part two of the inquest. For Pete Sixsmith, it has been a depressing May Day holiday. “It’s cold and overcast,” …
On Sunderland, surrender and a sense of utter despair
It promises to be a busy day at Salut! Sunderland. For many of us, I suppose, it was the mind-numbing meekness of our surrender against a competent Everton side that shocked the most. Not sure the old computer will be able to cope with the venom to be expected from the keyboard of Pete Sixsmith, but the recriminations have already begun to be felt elsewhere. These thoughts, from Gerry Naughton*, one of our Irish supporters (though his allegiance long pre-dates Drumaville/Quinn/Keane), appeared first at that excellent home of wit and wisdom known as the Blackcats list. They merit repetition here …
I’ve supported Sunderland since the late 60s. As a young lad I used to pester my mother to bring me to Dalymount Park in Dublin to watch the Republic of Ireland play “soccer”. My favourite player was Charlie Hurley. He was the difference between Ireland getting trounced or losing by just the one or two goals.
As you all well realise following Sunderland is a roller-coaster ride. We know that when we reach a high it is sure to be followed by the inevitable fall! We can’t seem to escape the yo-yo. The elation of promotion or even seventh place finishes in the Premier League never seems to last long enough to feel a sense of security. Maybe when we stayed up last season there was a sense that we had finally arrived to the promised land of premier league stability. But now, again, we can’t seem to stop the force of the fall!
Soapbox: Keano – a man spurned
Pete Sixsmith shares some thoughts on Roy Keane sharing his thoughts …
Once again, Roy has been letting the world (or The East Anglian Daily Press) in on his views on Sunderland AFC. His revelation that Andy Reid is a little overweight and struggles to complete a full game is about as earth shattering as the Which? report that made the staggering revelation that motorway service areas are a little more expensive than ordinary shops, restaurants, and filling stations.
So, why is Roy doing this?
Ricky Sbragia talks up team spirit
… as well he might after last week’s insulting display at the Hawthorns.
On the official SAFC club site, Ricky says the players have reacted “vigorously” to the difficult few days that have followed their collective absence from a game none of them should have needed the least encouragement to treat as utterly vital. He has been “encouraged” by their response.
Who are you? We’re Everton
Another season of European football already assured. In the FA Cup final. Regarded once again as a force in the top flight. Not bad for what Everton’s chubby neighbour calls a “small club”. In returning to Roland Hughes*, the star of an excellent Who Are They? last season, we assumed Rafa would not be near the top of his Christmas card list. But then we’re just humouring Roly really, in the hope that his team will be kinder to us on Sunday than they have been in our last few encounters …
It’s been a fantastic season again. I was actually quite worried at the start as I really thought our place as the “next best team” would be threatened by more teams than in previous seasons – Villa, Spurs, Man City.
Thankfully, we’ve confirmed a place in Europe again (four top-six finishes in five years, not bad), and not just thanks to the other teams’ underperformance. We’ve also won a place in the FA Cup Final having beaten Boro, Villa, Liverpool and Man Utd to get there.
We are where we are through hard graft, some classy performances and having fought against the odds with key players (Yakubu, Arteta, Cahill and now Jagielka) out for long stretches of the season.
Soapbox: on our way…to Doncaster?
After being amused by a new terrace song that points the Mags in the direction of the Championship, Pete Sixsmith witnesses a performance at West Brom that suggests that they could well be singing it at us come the end of May …
Returning from the dismal performance at The Hawthorns on Saturday, we had a cathartic moment just to the east of Derby. As our convoy of unhappy travellers negotiated a roundabout, we were passed on the other side by coachloads of happy Wolves fans, returning from Barnsley having just been crowned Champions. Two clubs heading in different directions: their fate assured, ours in the process of being sealed.
Who are you? We’re West Brom (2)
Tim Joyner* is our second Baggie from WBAzone.comHe was also a Sunderland fan, but only for one afternoon…
Sunderland first came to my attention as an 11-year-old back in 1973 when I watched the FA Cup Final against Leeds. As a young lad and a fanatical football fan FA Cup Final day was always a big event and I’d always choose a team to support for the Final.
Having always had an affinity for the underdog, I became a Sunderland fan for the day and vividly recall the match even now, the goal by Porterfield, Montgomery’s unbelievable saves and Bob Stokoe running onto the pitch.
That apart I must admit to not having really followed Sunderland’s fortunes too closely, there are the links with Super Kev, Kilbane and of course Don Goodman who was a very popular player at The Hawthorns and who still appears at Albion supporters functions now and then, and even more recently our former defender Paul McShane, a popular player with Albion fans.
Off the pitch your former manager Denis Smith had a spell as Albion manager during the late 1990’s and actually did a reasonable job considering the lack of any real finance available for team building during his spell in charge.
And now your questions:
Q1: Were you surprised to go up, and are you surprised to be where you are now?
I don’t think any Albion supporters were surprised at our promotion last season, we came very close to achieving promotion the previous season, narrowly losing the Play Off Final at Wembley against Derby. While our defensive frailties were, and still are, a major concern to Albion supporters our attacking play was outstanding and we deservedly won the Championship title in what was a hugely enjoyable season in which we also got to the Semi-Final stage of the FA Cup.
As for this season, Yes I am surprised to see us 8 points adrift from safety. While very few Albion fans were expecting anything other than a very tough season back in the Premiership, hopes were high that the squad was capable of avoiding an immediate return to the Championship with most of us very confident of finishing ahead of both Hull and Stoke who came up with us last season. Until our home defeat by Newcastle on 7 February there was genuine hope and optimism that we might avoid relegation and we went into that game with high hopes of a home victory having only lost one of our previous five Premiership home matches (and that against Manchester United) and gained a point at Hull the previous week with a good performance.
Since the hugely disappointing Newcastle defeat we have gained 3 points from the 21 points available and, despite an encouraging performance at Fratton Park against Portsmouth in a 2-2 draw on Easter Saturday, we are all now reconciled to Championship football next season.
Understandably, there is currently a downbeat feel among our support with many supporters questioning both the Board and Team Management. However, even at this stage of the season, with relegation a virtual certainty, there has been no vociferous dissent at any of our matches against either the Chairman or Team Manager. Having said that there are now a number of Albion fans openly calling for the managers dismissal on various Albion fan sites, although they appear to still be in a minority.
From a personal perspective I think the progress and improvements in the clubs infrastructure undertaken by our Board of Directors over the past 10 years deserves applause and without the benefit of outside finance the club continues to be run on a sound business like basis. There is no evidence to suggest we are likely to suffer the financial difficulties incurred by numerous other clubs and for this Jeremy Peace our Chairman deserves credit in my opinion.
As for Tony Mowbray, while his “Messiah” like status has obviously taken a “hit” he retains my own support and if, as I suspect, he takes on board the errors made this season, then I expect him to guide the club to a top six finish next season if not automatic promotion.
Who are you? We’re West Brom (1)
You know how it is with London buses. It’s the same with Baggies. When Salut! Sunderland appealed for a West Brom fan ahead of this Saturday’s monumentally important game, it waited for ages before – courtesy of the admirable WBAzone.com fans’ site – two came along. Josh Roberts*, pictured, and Tim Joyner answered the call simultaneously. Both provided stimulating answers to our questions; Josh kicks it off and guess who he thinks is going down…
Q1: Were you surprised to go up, and are you surprised to be where you are now?
I was not surprised to see us go up, I was expecting at least playoff spot last season. Mowbray did an decent job in getting out the players who did not want to be here and bring in players who were of good enough quality to get us up and battle and gelling them into a team so quick.
As for this season, I had hopes like most Albion fans we could kick on and become established. Whether surprised is the word I don’t know. Using hind sight it’s not surprising at all if I’m honest all the signs of relegation are there for all to see, from the school boy errors we see every week in defence, to the aimlessness of our football at times in essence when you defend like we have at times, and when we fail to create enough chances it’s no surprise we are bottom of the league. The only surprising factor in my mind is how stubborn our manager has been in playing to his principles when a sacrifice to style at certain times would have been the best option. I am surprised to see us this far adrift as I honestly believe we do have a decent enough playing squad to be competitive at this level.