West Brom, Watford safe. Palace, Bournemouth, Burnley relaxing, ‘Boro, Hull, Swansea sweating. Sunderland propping them up.

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John McCormick: We're not bottom, so is it a Happy Christmas?
John McCormick

Another empty weekend unless you’re a groundhopper like Sixer or a local league fan like Malcolm, which means it’s time for a relegation review. With six games to go in a compressed framework and a holiday coming up this is probably the last one I’ll be able to fit in.

It has been a long and tedious season (as have been the last four apart from that trip to Wembley,  only three years ago although  it seems like a lifetime, those six wins in a row, a sequence of wins against Citeh and wins at places like Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge *[see below]) and while some of our chosen teams have reached safety we haven’t and are still awaiting a conclusion.

And according to my calculations, as if you needed them, that conclusion isn’t good for us.

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From Bradford to south Manchester, Sixer’s Easter groundhopping odyssey

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Pete Sixsmith: ‘thanks heavens Sunderland aren’t the only team to watch at Easter’

Pete Sixsmith had his say with Gary Bennett on the radio as he left the Sunderland-West Ham game, had his say at Salut! Sunderland and then started to enjoy his Easter football programme. Read on for a groundhopper’s fascinating description of journeys to Yorkshire and across the Pennines to add another batch of grounds to those he has hopped between …

 

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Kate Bush says ‘Don’t give up’, and so does Wrinkly Pete

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Peter Lynn, aka Wrinkly Pete

John McCormick writes: So you think it’s bad, do you?

In this post Wrinkly Pete opens with a reminder of a time when the mortgage interest rate was just about dropping into single figures after peaking at 15%+, Sunderland were struggling in the bottom half of the second division and averaging gates of under 20,000, and down here in Liverpool the militant tendency were about to send my redundancy notice out via taxi.

Then he jumps forward almost thirty years to bring a simple message to all our readers.

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David Moyes: steering his Sunderland ship on to the rocks?

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Source: Sunderland AFC via Facebook

Sunderland look doomed and, in honesty, have done for weeks. Games that must produce points produce none or, as against Burnley and West Ham, just one. Here, James Reynolds, a freelance sportswriter, looks at the reality staring David Moyes in the face. We can question some of his conclusions (why, for example, would Moyes’s career be over if we went down?) but it’s mostly hammer hits nail on head …

With six Premier League games remaining, Sunderland need a miracle to avoid relegation to the Championship. David Moyes was thrown in the deep end a little at the start of the campaign but his side hasn’t been anywhere near good enough.

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Moyes on the Boys v West Ham Utd: ‘we needed Khazri’

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Moyes on the boys

John McCormick writes: post match, on radio five live, Fabio Borini hinted at changing-room issues. When asked to elaborate he talked about injuries but did nothing else to explain. Was something lost in translation? You might think not, given the way  David Moyes manages to suggest everything’s hunky-dory in his post-match missive:

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Sixer’s Sevens: SAFC 2-2 West Ham. Welcome fight too little, too late

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Jake: ‘the game’s up but at least Khazri’s “Killer Korner” raised smiles

Monsieur Salut writes: awful defending cost Sunderland the goals that made the start of each half so disappointing but at long last, effort was matched by an ability to score. Wahbi Khazri added pressure on David Moyes to explain rationally why he has been used so little with his astonishing curler directly for a corner and Fabio Borini grabbed the second equaliser after Victor Anichebe caused problems in the West Ham penalty area. Ndong had early missed a sitter and, of course, even a win would not have been enough, but at least we say plenty of fight and Pete Sixsmith is right in his seven-word verdict in thinking we might well have taken all three points …

Jake: a point that hardly helps

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From a SAFC fan staying away until Moyes goes: ‘so much wrong’

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Paul Summerside: ‘me on matchdays until Moyes goes’

Monsieur Salut writes: as his pals and mine on Facebook speculate about a dream managerial pairing of Roy Keane and John O’Shea to restore Sunderland’s fortunes, Paul Summerside – an occasional contributor throughout the season – offers what he says will be his ‘Final View from the Avenue’. Paul feels David Moyes has brought nothing to Sunderland AFC and says he will not attend a match as long as remains in charge. I understand the anger and share it; I find Moyes difficult to warm to but I also cannot believe a good manager at Everton can suddenly, after poor experiences in Manchester and Spain, turn into a bad one at Sunderland. But here’s Paul view …

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West Ham Who are You?: Payet, Big Sam and Defoe as benchwarmer

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Pete May with a former Hammers star Clyde Best

Only seven to go before ‘Who are You?’ researchers have to start turning their attentions to fans of Burton, Barnsley and Brentford. Pete May* is our West Ham guest, a highly respected author of books about the Hammers but also Sunday league football, the ‘joys of Essex’ and Dr Who. He senses Jermain may be due for a return to West Ham but that, unlike at Sunderland, he won’t be an automatic choice for the starting line-up. Read on for Pete’s interesting take on all things Hammers plus a cheeky offer to buy fellow supporter Keira Knightley a pre-match drink …

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Sunderland vs West Ham Guess the Score: needing to play for pride

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From Jake’;s archives

Monsieur Salut introduces another prize edition of Guess the Score as Sunderland face West Ham and the world asks whether they can actually score …

Our latest defeats brought – sorry, will bring once I get round to it – prizes for Eric Bowers and Chris Boyle, both past winners.

Chris will receive a mini-edition of the Nick Barnes Matchbook, which means the publishes will pay £5 into the Bradley Lowery fund while Eric has chosen a Salut! Sunderland mug, the fiver for the same cause therefore to be paid by us.

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