Bournemouth banter: (2) just one win but already part of Sunderland folklore

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Olivia
Rob’s daughter Olivia would have loved this souvenir, but had to make do with dad taking a photo of another girl’s prize acquisition

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Bournemouth away was an occasion to remind supporters of Sunderland AFC, from nippers to long-in-the-tooth codgers, why they care so much about football. And this lovely piece from Rob Hutchison, the perfect complement to an excellent Chapman Report, captures our part of a special day …

“Which is the away end mate?” asked Colin, aka Monsieur Salut, as we approached the stadium. “Follow the voices”, the young friendly steward replied “They sound nothing like us!”.

We’d just been putting the world to rights in the Sir Percy Florence boozer with a few hundred other Mackems who had started drinking when the coaches left at 6am by the sound of the place.

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Bournemouth banter: (1) even the home fans acclaimed Jordan Pickford

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Robert Chapman: 'can we keep doing that?'
Robert Chapman: ‘can we keep doing that?’

Monsieur Salut writes: in the absence of Sixer, almost recovered from surgery but giving this long trip a miss, Robert Chapman was given the Soapbox-ish commission as we stood waiting outside the Sir Percy Florence pub in Bournemouth, which was operating a one-in-one-out entry policy. Maybe wiser counsel should prevail: one win in 11 is not exactly top six form. But hey, it was our one win in 11 and the fabulous support was for once rewarded, so this is the first of two special reports from the south coast

The Observer’s Alan Smith was good player, is good company (I sat beside him the press box for an England game at Europe 2000 and once saw Niall Quinn’s face light up on meeting him at the SoL) and a good analyst. But he was hopelessly wrong to say Sunderland were ‘second best in every facet of the game’. Unless that is, superb goalkeeping, backs-to-the-wall resistance when a player short and robust hold-up play are not facets of the game. Yes, Bournemouth had possession and chances galore and looked smarter on the ball for most of the game, but we were well on top in the second half until Pienaar’s dismissal and had been a match for the home side for what remained of the first half after Anichebe’s equaliser.

Now over to Bob …

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Hutch’s Patch. Arise Sir Victor: Bournemouth reveals a new colossus

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Rob Hutchison: life suddenly feels better
Rob Hutchison: life suddenly feels better

Monsieur Salut writes: it was a pleasure seeing Rob Hutchison, purveyor of one-word wisdom, in the away-friendly Sir Percy Florence Wetherspoons – and his charming daughter Olivia – before the game. Olivia, 18, has seen every away game so far so deserved the victory we secured. She sent dad’s one-word ratings as he shouted out his verdicts while driving home. ‘Well that was emotional,’ he told her to add, ‘about time we got a break’. Like everyone in the away end, Rob was taken with the mighty performance of Victor Anichebe …

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Wise Man Says: the buck stops with Ellis Short

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Nic Wiseman
Nic Wiseman

It’s a bit like ‘kindly’ but cane/slipper-wielding schoolmaster or parent of days gone by: ‘this is going to hurt me far more than it will hurt you.’ Sometimes, Salut! Sunderland feels obliged to publish items that raise serious and perhaps harsh criticism of the club or individuals within it. Our pages are ALWAYS open to reply from anyone feeling aggrieved at what appears here but we need to exercise care in the first place.

Nic Wiseman is a solid, long-established, thinking member of the SAFC-supporting family. He helped to create the excellent but short-lived fanzine It’s The Hope I Can’t Stand!. Though also critical, Monsieur Salut thinks Ellis Short may be more sinned against than sinning – money has been made available to managers and incompetently spent; it’s enough to make any boss bad-tempered – but Nic is fully entitled to take a sterner view. Here it is …

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Bournemouth Who are You?: ‘doomed SAFC, know-nothing Lord Sugar, Cherries delight’

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Tom Latchem with Howe
Tom Latchem with manager Eddie Howe after the 2013 promotion to the Championship

Monsieur Salut writes: by the time we’d counted to three the Bournemouth fans we might approach for this week’s Who are You?, and then added ones we interviewed last season, we probably had the entire home support covered.

But what the Cherries lack in numbers, their team makes up for with football that sometimes ‘sparkles’ and produces results, according to Tom Latchem*, presenter of talkSPORT’s Extra Time, our man in the hot seat. Tom describes himself at Twitter as a ‘journo, republican, electoral reformist and old school raver’ and sounds a bloke you’d enjoy a pint with. A long read that I thoroughly enjoyed …

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View from The Avenue, questions for Moyes and how to beat Bournemouth

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With due acknowledgement to AgentOrange731 at YouTube

It’s a little like a game in itself. Paul Summerside puts a longish post on the Salut! Sunderland pages at Facebook, knowing I’ll often enough bite and republish it here. And my old pal Barry Emmerson chips in, too. If I didn’t have this distraction from writing about Islam in France or political turmoil in Lebanon, I’d probably go mad. Both comments were in response to mention of this week’s Guess the Score …

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Guess the Score by which Sunderland will beat Bournemouth and start the revival

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Jake: 'things must get better - and by that I don't mean only a narrower defeat'
Jake: ‘things must get better – and by that I don’t mean only a narrower defeat’

Monsieur Salut digs deep yet again – and promises to keep up the selective double-prize offer until Sunderland finally win a Premier League game …

Honest, I swear I kept a straight face while writing that headline.

No, I am not any more confident than the next sufferer. But Sunderland have to win some time – a Newcastle United fan reminds me that when Derby went down with 11 points, their solitary victory was 1-0 versus the Mags – and Saturday, before my own eyes, wold be a great place for it to happen.

So I will maintain the discriminatory approach to the prize: until Sunderland finally win, the winner of Guess the Score, ie the first to predict the eventual scoreline, will qualify for not one but two mugs if opting for a SAFC victory.

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Barnes and Benno: eloquence meets passion, football inspires art

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All roads lead to the Nick Barnes Matchbook
Nick Barnes and his Matchbook

We have been wanting a chat with Nick Barnes and Gary Bennett for a while. In some ways an unlikely pair, the tweed-loving culture vulture with a passion for the countryside and a former player and manager, fondly remembered for the sheer commitment he gave in red and white, who eschews tweeds in favour of the heart he wears on his sleeve …

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