Salut! Sunderland’s ‘state of the club’ poll closes tonight

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[polldaddy poll=9771633][polldaddy poll=9771633]

The poll has had a good run and has now closed. The final vote updates the fugures you see below and is shown in each case in brackets as well as on the poll image.

As you see, the question was whether, between them, Ellis Short and Martin Bain were – with their wretched dithering – destroying any hope of an immediate return to the Premier League.

It remains to be seen whether, with the withdrawal of the fans’ consortium, a deal is quickly struck with the German suitors who are decidedly not fans having previously wanted Hull City and, for all we know, keeping other clubs in their sights if negotiations with SAFC fall through. If they do buy us out, Monsieur Salut sincerely hopes they are not fans, either, of the latest name in the managerial hat – a certain Mr Pardew.

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The Championship cometh: we start with Derby, end with Wolverhampton

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Sixer: ‘can I just lick ice cream instead of fretting about the season ahead?’

Monsieur Salut writes: so now we know the who and the when of our Championship opponents for the coming season. We haven’t the faintest idea who will be managing Sunderland, owning Sunderland or playing for Sunderland except that – news update – it won’t apparently be Fulwell73, but the fixtures list doesn’t wait for such trivialities to be resolved. I believe we’re entitled to reproduce the full list these days and will do so in due course. For now, Pete Sixsmith casts an entertaining eye over the good, the bad and the ugly of the season to come – and it’s here in full at the Sunderland Echo site …

The fixtures have arrived. We know where we are going and when. We can start to plan our holidays (a week in Barnsley anyone?) and decide which trips are do-able (Sheffield United on Boxing Day) and which aren’t (Ipswich Town on a Tuesday night – [who are these clowns to allow such a thing – Ed?].

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Our poll hammers Short and Bain. But there is another Sunderland viewpoint

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Paul Summerside urges patience

Salut! Sunderland is always anxious to present the other side of a contentious story. We cannot pretend to know much about the Fulwell73 group of wealthy, would-be owners (could they be the mysterious unseen people who wanted to buy out this site not so long back?) beyond what we’ve read elsewhere

But we do know what Paul Summerside, another long-suffering fan, makes of our current predicament. A stern critic of the club and especially Moyes last season, he is now on the side of rational consideration and a spot of patience …

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Already given up on SAFC promotion? Have your say in our poll

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[polldaddy poll=9771633]

Even before the lamentable SAFC club statement on the bleak farce of the supposed attempts to sign a manager, Pete Sixsmith had – with customary eloquence and gallows humour – captured the miserable state of affairs with his piece entitled “The comic opera that is SAFC just now“.

Then came the extraordinary statement announcing that Ellis Short’s business affairs, specifically his desire to sell the club, were holding up an appointment.

“Thanks for utterly wasting my time,” Derek McInnes must have been thinking.

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Sunderland AFC: truly a wretched state of affairs

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Jake: ‘what a way to run a football club!’

Monsieur Salut writes: in case anyone wondered why Derek McInnes, and frankly any other self-respecting candidate for the long-vacant position of SAFC manager, might be tempted to run a mile …

Do we blame Ellis Short? Probably. Do we also ask whether Martin Bain is completely clueless, or a victim of corporate folly? Either way, perhaps the least welcome phone call in football is currently the one from Bain asking whether you’re interested in managing Sunderland. What in God’s name are they doing to our club?

Here is the club’s statement today. I repeat it without further comment, but invite yours:

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Jordan Pickford: a fond farewell and good luck at Everton

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Jake: ‘thanks, Jordan and good luck’


We knew it was happening and have said as much here. So let’s just record, via the two clubs’ websites, the confirmed departure of Jordan Pickford for Everton. From us? A simple message of good luck – and gratitude for what he did and tried to do for the club we – and he – love.

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Your views on SAFC kit: from ‘absolutely vile’ to ‘okay’ or better

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The new home top

Monsieur Salut reports on responses to our poll on Sunderland’s new home kit …

Well, we asked the question as neutrally as possible and got the answer: a big thumbs-down for the new Sunderland home shirt.

Of 111 votes at the last count – not too bad a sample by opinion poll standards but no more than that, of course, when you consider our average attendances – a thumping majority (nearly 74 per cent) think it “an absolute eyesore”.

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