Monsieur Salut writes: I had a good stream and watched a poor Stoke side made to look efficient by as inept a display as I can recall (well at least since the last inept display). Pete Sixsmith had a tougher day, up early to travel to the Potteries and see yet another abysmal performance which, he said as the last seconds of stoppage time ticked away, suggested a team that will be adrift without a hope at the bottom come Christmas …
Malcolm Clarke* is the latest in a long line of amiable, forthcoming Stoke City supporters to grace these pages. He is realistic enough a supporter, as well as being a passionate representative of fans generally as chairman of the Football Supporters’ Federation, to recognise the the odds are probably against his beloved Stoke winning the Premier League title any time soon. But he does believe they’ll survive this season, and – perhaps no surprise here – that Sunderland won’t. He also tells us about his association with Neil Baldwin, Stoke’s ‘marvellous’ (read on) but most implausible media star …
We’ve had far too many must-wins and crunchers and season-deciders. They usually they turn out to be nothing of the sort.
So let us just say the Guess the Score for Stoke City v Sunderland is open to all, Stokies included, and carries a prize.
Even a site that professes relatively little interest – on the part of its main contributors – in international football can stand back and applaud when England call up a player who is not only a Sunderland team member but “one of our own”.
Jordan Pickford therefore carries Salut! Sunderland‘s warmest congratulations into Tuesday’s World Cup qualifying game against Slovenia.
Following on from M Salut’s look at how Seasonal Adjustment Disorder (SAD) is affecting the Stadium of Light faithful, Malcolm …
Around this time of every year, there are certainties we take for granted. The calendar will tell us it is October, trees shed leaves, shops advertise Christmas as if it’s only next week and Sunderland supporters still await a first win of the season.
We generally don’t draw too much comfort for we have actually won twice, because there is something distinctly hollow about beating lower league opposition in the League Cup when you can barely pick up a draw in the Premier League.
At Facebook, Nick Barnes could barely contain his excitement at the commentary duties that lay ahead of him: ‘a beautiful evening for the carnival of football that is the Checkatrade Trophy’. Needless to say, our Pete Sixsmith was there too and, without getting too enthralled by the spectacle, quote enjoyed the rare sight of a Sunderland team winning a game …
A disaster for Durham, says Pete Sixsmith of the enforced relegation of Durham County Cricket Club. I shall leave him to explain the intricacies and implications of the England and Wales Cricket Club decision. Suffice to say Sixer – who traditionally uses what he earns marking examination papers towards the cost of attending SAFC and DCCC matches – is an angry man …
Malcolm Dawson writes……For some reason I found it hard to get fully involved in this game yesterday and my attention …
Malcolm Dawson writes….I have literally just got back from the ground. For some reason the traffic was a nightmare in …