This was Monsieur Salut’s Facebook posting:
Wanted France to win, they deserved it overall but Portugal suddenly burst into life for just enough of the second period of extra time to tear up the script. Both teams responsible for an awful final …
With no interest in the final of the European Championships later this evening, Deputy Editor Malcolm Dawson‘s thoughts have centered …
Monsieur Salut introduces the finale of Euro 2016. He can hardly disguise his allegiance, which would have been forced on …
Pete Sixsmith casts some light, and also some wisdom, on talk of Big Sam for the England job, finding relief in reports – albeit from an occasionally dodgy source – that the FA don’t want him anyway …
Monsieur Salut writes: tomorrow night, should France do what logic expects and defeat a Portugal side that has won only once in normal time on the way to the Euro 2016 final, the country will be en fête. But the same will go for a part of Sunderland that is forever French.
Salut! Sunderland found a Sunderland-supporting Portuguese fan, Sam Verissimo, for the first of these special Who are You! interviews. Now it is the turn of FrenchFancy1971, as she calls herself on Twitter, Véronique Laniel as she is known in real life, a product of Saint-Etienne – where the film version of Sunderland, the hit Paris play, was relocated – but settled on Wearside with the Red and Whites firmly lodged with Les Verts in her heart. She warns us ‘to read this with a French Mackem accent in mind’ …
Tomorrow: another SAFC season ticket holder – Véronique, a solidly French adopted Mackem – exudes passion for La Belle France …
Monsieur Salut writes: here’s a special treat from the tireless souls at Salut! Sunderland. Many readers enjoy the Who are You? series. Why not one for the Euro 2016 final?
Help was sought from miles around. Loads of friends of this site tried to dig up suitable candidates, a supporter of France and a supporter of Portugal.
And we ended up – I am delighted to say – with two Sunderland fans. Once Ronaldo and Griezmann had declined our offer (“reward in heaven guv, honest”), it could not have worked out better. Shout-outs are due to Kay and Steve, also Sunderland supporters, for putting me on the track of Sam Verissimo, home-and-away regular but also half-Portuguese.
So let’s start with Portugal, whose plodding route to the final has underwhelmed most neutrals. Sam describes himself at Twitter as ‘a born entertainer who apparently looks like Michael Mcintyre’ and has a SoL season ticket despite living in London. He fears the worst for his country on Sunday …
Pete Sixsmith had some moving words to say about Davey Dowell, a faithful supporter of Sunderland AFC though Pete would also see him at Durham Country Cricket Club games, who is presumed to have died after disappearing on June 21.
From Tom Lynn, another great SAFC fan, the sort you meet home or away, comes this message:
A celebration of the life of the late, loyal SAFC supporter Davey Dowell, who was even more importantly a wonderful human being, will take place starting at the Black Cats Bar, Stadium of Light at 1pm on Saturday July 16th, 2016.
All those who knew this fanatical and friendly follower of our football club are invited to attend to show their love and respects.
Davey was a real character and will be very much missed by all who knew him. The venue for this celebration could not be more fitting.
Bear with the clip. It’s a Breton musician , Alan Stivell, singing Brittany’s version of Land of My Fathers, also …
It reminds us of what we know about the official club site, good and bad.
Safc.com talks to Jan Kirchhoff, a revelation in almost every game after the unfortunate debut at Spurs and the player most of us want to hear is committed to Sunderland.
It’s all very interesting and site’s privileged access to players always makes the effort to check out the content worthwhile. But we don’t go there in the hope of finding much that is groundbreaking. Bless its cotton socks, safc.com will not or is not allowed to ask the obvious question.
Just as I watch Olivier Giroud and Paul Pogba’s storming finishes (and now the wonderful Dimitri Payet, then Antoine Griezmann) push France into a position of total dominance, making the dream final of Wales v Iceland rather unlikely, a bit of Salut! Sunderland housekeeping needs attending to.
This is not, as I have said before, a political site. We all have views and it may be some views are shared by a majority of the editors, contributors and readers. But, within the kind of reason I hope not to have to explain, we accept the differences that will inevitably arise. It has nowt, essentially, to do with the raison d’être of Salut! Sunderland.