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Pete Sixsmith offers a sincere if qualified and somewhat whimsical joyeux anniversaire to Arsène Wenger – to whom Monsieur Salut does warm, much more wholeheartedly – without forgetting that another, younger manager recently celebrated his own birthday …
Jeremy Robson is more than disillusioned with Sunderland just now. Just settled in Scotland after returning from Canadian exile, he will be ‘roaring at the telly’ on Sunday but says ’40 odd years of failure punctuated by lesser degrees of failure and no success at all has taken its toll’. That said, he had no worries about reposting these old thoughts about Wear-Tyne rivalry.
It first appeared in February 2009, and was introduced by Monsieur Salut as a as classic piece of Jeremy ‘wit, wisdom and bluster’ … but a couple of comments posted in recent days seemed to suggest it was time for a re-run, to be followed by a quite different analysis from a Newcastle supporter …
Paul McMillan* has lots going from him. He’s a smashing lad – Monsieur Salut and he once worked together in Abu Dhabi – and comes from Washington. His wife Georgia, though an Aussie, supports Sunderland and once told on these pages the story, a mixture of joy, tragedy and love, of how she and Paul got together. We even covered the wedding, at a distance. But Paul is a Mag, black and white through and through. He returns to Salut! Sunderland for the first time in almost seven years for a look at Sunday’s derby, at the respective woes of both clubs and the prospects for Sunderland survival under Big Sam …
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So Salut! Sunderland‘s buildup preparations for the Wear-Tyne derby are just about done. Ticket is sorted, travel plans have been made. Look at the home page – www.salutsunderland.com – and you’ll find a prize Guess the Score and updated look at the interview with a Mag that won last season’s HAWAY top prize. At least one new Who are You? interview will run between now and the weekend. We must all therefore be raring to go. We cannot wait. The excitement has got to us. Yes but only up to a point. Pete Sixsmith has seen dozens of Wear-Tyne and Tyne-Wear derbies and just wants it over with. Then again, as our Newcastle-supporting HAWAY winner Nick Donaldson said last season (it was repeated here the other day: ‘Nearly 30 years away [from the North East] now and all I have ever witnessed is mild interest bordering on couldn’t-give-a-tossment. It’s only a big deal in the North East, but that doesn’t diminish it. It’s our derby, not theirs. – See more at: https://safc.blog/2015/10/safc-vs-newcastle-united-2-the-mag-who-loves-mackems/#sthash.OTVhh9Z0.dpuf …
Cometh the hour, cometh the number. That number is six, Newcastle United’s tally in the demolition of Norwich City (after some shaky moments) on Sunday and also – if only Sunderland can bring the Mags crashing back to earth – how many times we would then have beaten them on the trot.
Once again, Bob Chapman stepped into Pete Sixsmith’s boots for the visit to WBA. And once again he provides an incisive assessment of what he witnessed, with an interesting having-it-both-way assessment of the one big controversy of the game …
Here is a Salut Sunderland quiz question. This report is the fourth in a sequence of firsts so what is it? For a clue the previous three were Swansea, Chelsea and West Ham.
West Bromwich Albion has the honour of possessing the highest league ground in England. I would have thought the likes of Burnley, Oldham and Bradford would be higher, but at 552 feet the Hawthorns is the highest.
It is fair to say this was and remains one of the finest ‘Who are You?’ interviews Salut! Sunderland has produced in its eight-and-a-bit years of existence. There have been many contenders for that honour but Nick Donaldson‘s answers seemed right on every level. He romped to victory in last season’s HAWAY awards for the best Q+A of 2014-2015.
So as part of our buildup to SAFC vs NUFC, the Wear-Tyne derby, here it is again. Much of what Nick had to say is relevant now, but he was invited to update his thoughts after the 6-2 win over Norwich and that is how we start …
Bob Chapman’s report from West Brom has not arrived yet but it seems important to get our Wear-Tyne derby coverage started as soon as possible.
We’ve been promised at least one “Who are You?” interview and, since it’s only Monday, there’s no need – yet – to panic.
It is possible to believe Costel Pantilimon needs to be much more assertive in the goalmouth, and to deal much more safely with crosses and long-range shots, but also acknowledge – however belatedly – that the West Bromwich Albion goal on Saturday was indeed the result of a foul. Or even two fouls.
‘Excellent first half, fragile after conceding,’ says Rob Hutchison on our efforts at the Hawthorns. ‘Defoe something for Sam to build on though.’ He wasn’t impressed by Trigger McClean’s antics …