John McCormick writes: For a while it looked like we might get something. We shaped up as a football team, with Borini and Januzaj being positive, and even Billy Jones getting close, and we showed fight.
Then they scored, and scored a second, and it became once again close, but no cigars.
And by the end of the game, really, it was not even close. What can you expect when City could bring on a player of the calibre of Kevin de Bruyne with fifteen minutes to go?
Yet, despite the gap, our manager found things to praise (somewhat ungrammatically) in his post-match message, and this time I agree with him.
Jake: ‘no lack of effort and only two nowt. I almost class that as a moral victory’
Monsieur Salut writes: we knew in our hearts how it would go. If only Fabio Borini’s header had been on target after Defoe hit the post and presented him with an open goal, if only David Silva’s passing wasn’t so precise, City weren’t so devastating on the break. If only. Positives: we put up a fight and, as Pete Sixsmith noted at half time, may well have been the better side until we went behind. In the end, though, we simply weren’t good enough. Sixer will be back to expand on the seven-word verdict you see below …
This arrived ‘in the post’ as an entry in Guess the Score for SAFC vs Manchester City and before today’s rather depressing run of scores elsewhere. The author, Tom Lynn, is not just another disgruntled fan – he’s part of the life and soul of the Sunderland fan base, a man you bump into home and away and former editor of The Wearside Roar. He went for SAFC 0-4 City and also described the ‘hype around Pickford’ as ridiculous, calling him a great shotstopper with no real command of his area. Monsieur Salut does not agree with every word but it’s written from the heart and deserves to be seen ..
Where would Sunderland fit into a spoof list of films that have won or been nominated for Oscars?
Some fun has been had on this very subject by the people at enhancedbets.com: Leicester’s Gone With the Wins (sadly for us, a sequence than came to a halt earlier this week) and poor Bob Bradley remembered as An American in Swansea.
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David Moyes’s Lads might qualify for their own version of this year’s best-film winner – La La Land, sorry Moonlighting – since they must have been up to something away from work to explain their wretched under-achievement in the day jobs. And then we see that Suicide Squad won best make-up and hair styling (you honestly couldn’t make up some of our play, or Ndong’s hair for that matter).
Which leads us to Craig McGinty*, a Sunderland-educated Manchester City fan without whose expertise on websites Salut! Sunderland would never have been created. Back in 2008, Craig was the fist City supporter to grace our Who are You? series. It seemed about time to ask him back …
John McCormick writes: Colin has made it known that he felt a sinking feeling on Saturday. And as such a feeling requires an SOS it’s appropriate that Wrinkly Pete’s update dropped into the Salut mailbox yesterday.
So here’s Pete, with a message that all is not yet lost
The only thought that came to mind after the defeat at Everton was “that sinking feeling”. And so the phrase appeared in my headline for Sixer’s Sevens, Pete Sixsmith’s traditional seven-word verdict.
Despite – maybe because of – having supported Sunderland since the days of Charlie Hurley and Brian Clough, I cannot now approach any game without the same pessimism.
Jake: ‘no mind-expanding drugs were taken in the making of this design’
Monsieur Salut writes: on quiet days, two thoughts cross the mind: one of relief that Sunderland are not playing, therefore cannot lose, and a second on what to put on the site to stop interest flagging. The slack times would be unimportant if our readers generally had the habit of dipping into a substantial archive of material accumulated since Salut! Sunderland breathed its first in early 2007. They do not.
Perhaps we need to give more thought on how to make historical items attractive and easy enough to look up. We were better at this in the past, but much of the ‘furniture’, the links that appear in the sidebar column to the right as you look at this page, vanished either when the site crashed under cyber-attack a while ago or when our much-missed web guru Sam later sorted out lingering problems.
Let me introduce Ten Years After, not the ancient rock band but a new category to accommodate articles from 10 years ago that may still have merit, whether because they have historical interest or because they may stir memories or simply entertain. Our associate editor John McCormick, has other ideas for doing more to alert today’s readers to what Salut! Sunderland has got up to and these will be implemented where possible.
Ten Years After starts with a piece that first appeared about but not exactly 10 years ago, ie on Feb 22 2007, and looked at some rotten refereeing decisions of what was, already in 2007, the past. I will make minor tweaks to take account of the passage of time. You may have better examples from before or since …
Pete has asked me if I can do a match report for him as he’s taking in Bradford v Toulouse and won’t get in until late.
I can, but you mustn’t expect his level of wit, nor his keen observation and erudition. This was only my third live game of the season and I have enough trouble recognising September’s signings, never mind any from January, and have yet to work out what system we use and where different players slot in, assuming we have one.
I got back from Goodison about half an hour ago. Pete Sixsmith and I were in agreement with most things during the game and in the post-game discussion on the way to the station, where we went in different directions. I won’t spoil Pete’s report by saying what we discussed but I will give you a clue:
David, I don’t agree with all of what you’re saying below and I don’t think Pete will either.
