Malcolm Dawson writes….on the day that Storm Desmond hit the North East of England, those who braved the long journey …
John McCormick writes: Like M Salut, I’m a fan of Arsene Wenger. Like M Salut, I’m a fan of Pete Sixsmith, now a published author. So it’s no surprise to me that Pete was requested to contribute to the Arsenal website Gunners Town, who supplied co-editor Dave Seager for this weeks “who are you”, prior to our game at the Emirates,
Malcolm Dawson writes…….Lars Knutsen might sound as if he was brought up on gravadlax and smorgasbord but with his East …
A few managers ago, perhaps even as far back as last year, I got quite good at guessing the team. Maybe, you might think, it was because there were few good players to pick then. However, that’s not necessarily the case.
Dave Seager* is the man behind the popular Arsenal fan site Gunners Town, a column for Shoot and a biography of the Hebburn-born Highbury hero, Geordie Armstrong, a star of the 1971 double-winning team. He kindly agreed to sit in the Who are You? chair and tells us we deserve so much better than we’ve had to put up with over the years. Mind, he thinks the same about Arsenal and feels it’s high time Wenger stepped aside gracefully (Monsieur Salut, of course, remains firmly in the Arsène fan club – if only we’d had to endure his brand of failure) …
Watching snatches of Norwich v Arsenal on Sunday, I formed the clear impression that Duncan Watmore – and Steven Fletcher and/or Jermain Defoe – could cause a few scares for the Gunners’ rather dodgy defence. Not Bayern-style problems but enough to make the visit to the Emirates this Saturday less of a worry than it might be.
Which Arsenal and which Sunderland turn up will, of course, be the key.
What are the best and worst SAFC shirts you can remember? Below, our occasional contributor John Penman takes you on a colourful tour of his own history of owning them whether good, bad or plain ugly.
BUT FIRST A COMPETITION – WHICH EXPLAINS WHY COMMENTS ARE DISABLED FOR THIS POST:
Salut! Sunderland and Classic Football Shirts combine to offer all SAFC fans around the world – in other words, no Guess the Score-type restrictions on overseas delivery addresses AND no one is ineligible to enter – the chance of winning a £50 voucher to spend, choosing from the huge Classic Football Shirts collection of original football kits from around the world.
‘Whether new products with the tags still on, rare player issue items or pre-owned classic shirts from the past, our site has something for any football fan,’ says CFS’s Danny Taylor, who describes working with a stock of 300,000 tops as like being a museum curator.
‘It couldn’t be simpler to enter all you have to do is answer the question: who is Sunderland’s all-time top goal scorer?’.
Enter the competition by sending your reply to marketing@classicfootballshirts.co.uk before the closing date of midnight on December 18 . No answers or comments below – the winner will be selected at random from all correct entries received. There is no special consolation prize for answering: ‘It’s either Jozy Altidore or Danny Graham.’
Every entrant will receive a £5 voucher towards purchases at Classic Football Shirts
And now over to John Penman for a look at the Sunderland replica kit he has known and loved …
John McCormick writes: Pete Sixsmith is about to go out, may even have already gone out, to do his Christmas duty on the Polar Express. When he gets back, he’ll no doubt sit down with his rosy cheeks, slippers, pipe and his ho, ho, ho to see what comments our readers have left on his report. Will they agree with this summary of a game against a team with away form, one that’s tough to beat and with the kind of defence we’d like to emulate? Or will they say something different? For my part the word I’d use is encouraging. But did that sending off lead me to a false sense of optimism? Let’s see what Pete thinks
John McCormick writes: Ed posted on facebook that he was dressed for winter before he headed off for his normal …
Rob Hutchison is quick off the mark with his one-word verdicts and marks out of 10 after the 2-0 win over Stoke City. Duncan Watmore’s his playing star but Big Sam collects an extra point for his tactical nous (Monsieur Salut agreed with Gary Bennett’s verdict: PVA was the man of the match).
Hutch says (referring to the Shawcross dismissal): ‘Never a red, but he should have gone in the first half so there can be no complaints can there? The great escape may have come early this season, one never knows.’