Pete Sixsmith talked at half time about lots of huff and puff without clear chances, save for the superb Khazri cross that Defoe should have reached and nodded one. Then Sunderland carved out numerous reasonable chances after the break but poor luck, wasteful finishing and safe goalkeeping from Ben Foster kept us out. Norwich’s late win made it, on balance, a worrying day. We played quite well, especially second half, but the lack of killer instinct may well prove our undoing. Yet two more points wasted and time is running out, along with the obviously winnable games …
Malcolm Dawson writes…….the sad news reaches us that another celebrity has passed away. Agony Aunt Denise Robertson died today after a short illness. Denise was a lovely lady and Sunderland through and through. As we pass on our condolences to her family, we reprint in tribute the piece that Colin Randall first published here back in February 2007 though the interview dated from a few years before that and originally appeared in Wear Down South, the newsletter of the London and SE branch of SAFCSA, after he chatted to Denise about her SAFC affiliation.
Got a problem? Look no further than the West stand, high above the dug-out. That’s where DENISE ROBERTSON, agony aunt and prolific novelist, sits. She tells of her devotion to city and club.
Sunderland cannot save themselves with one game, as we did when West Bromwich Albion visited the Stadium of Light on May 7 2014. But that was the last-but-one mat ch of the season. We’d done the hard work under Gus Poyet, beating Man United and Chelsea at their own places and walloping Cardiff at home. We sent Norwich down by beating Albion 2-0.
This, ahead of another home game to WBA that is nevertheless of immense importance and could well influence our fate, is how Pete Sixsmith recorded that fabulous night. His Soapboxes are always great reads; they are not always happy ones. This, for those who do not stray here often enough to know, is how Sixer does happiness. Let it inspire Vito, DeAndre, PvA, Younes, JoS, Lamine, Jan, Wahbi, Jeremain,Jack, Seb, Fabio, Dame, Jermain – already too many, so whoever turns out – to do what is necessary on Saturday. Now, over to Pete, version 2014 …
Malcolm Dawson writes: when I was young virtually the only domestic football televised live was the FA Cup final. Like most football daft youngsters I would sit engrossed in pre-match build up from about 11.00 in the morning until the game finished. I remember many of those games to this day and one abiding memory was Jeff Astle’s winner for West Brom over Everton,(watch final highlights here) completing the feat of scoring in every round. (West Brom’s 68 Cup run)
Later in life I spent over 30 years living in North West Leicestershire where I came across Jeff a couple of times on the cricket field, where he proved to be a likeable bloke with the competitive attitude you would expect from a former professional sportsman. Following on from her excellent West Brom “Who Are You” Jeff’s daughter Dawn explains the poignant consequences of her father’s sporting career, both for himself and his family. She explains the heartache and the dignified way in which she, her family and friends and the wider football community have come together to highlight an issue that has been sadly overlooked. You can find out more about the Jeff Astle Foundation here and CTE (the injury that afflicted Jeff in later life here).
There have been many occasions when we have said “no slip-ups this time, Lads”, “get it right”, “it’s a must-win” and other variants of “it’s time to play”. This time, we can roll up all those nervous words of encouragement into one cliche and, wherever we all find ourselves in the world at 3pm, GMT+1, on Saturday, blow the ball into the net at one end while sucking it out of harm’s way at the other.
Another international weekend, another look at the bottom of the table. And, yes, we’re still there. In fact, looking at the numbers, it looks very much as if we’ll be there until the bitter end.
On the second name in the headline, Pete Sixsmith is rightly brief and disapproving. To the first, he devotes many more words, of tribute this time, to a man who personified all that can be good about football. Ordinarily, reflections on the death of Cruyff from cancer at just 68 and the six-year jail sentence handed out to Johnson would not occupy the same space. Only coincidence dictates otherwise – and, after striking just the right tone on both, Pete also has some salutary words for Chris Sutton, who spoke this week of how wretched life must be as a Sunderland supporter …
Jake: the key to our survival, but can he please complete the big games?
Sunderland’s predicament is the stuff of shredded nerves. Sam Allardyce talks of needing perhaps four wins and a draw from eight games and many of us doubt we are capable of producing anything like such a haul.
This, as we approach yet another weekend without “our” football, is how the bottom half + one of the Premier League looks:
