Monsieur Salut writes: whatever is to blame – school work, family obligations, a games console – Keir Bradwell has been …
There seems consensus that Sunderland showed vast improvement at West Ham – they could hardly have been worse than a week before – but that the crowd saw two fairly poor teams, neither truly deserving to lose or, for that matter, win. Bob Chapman‘s ascent of Sixer’s Soapbox was a little more painful than usual – read on for medical news – as was his hobbling tour of east London landmarks beforehand. But he left the Boleyn head intact and predisposition to optimism unshaken …
We’ve just passed the equinox and Rob Hutchison sees signs of new life as spring officially arrives. We weren’t totally …
Malcolm Dawson writes the new manager effect almost got us a result but not quite. I have a feeling the …
Another game without a goal for Sunderland but a draw seemed likely for Dick Advocaat in his first game in charge until legs became weary, minds wandered and Sakho buried the ball with minutes to go. It had been a decent performance up to then. Defoe had wasted a wonderful chance much earlier, the team had battled well. No Sixer’s Seven tonight – what you see is the excellent Bob Chapman’s emergency offering – but the team showed the sort of spirit, albeit in slightly undeserved defeat, that might get Pete Sixsmith back on the road for one or two of the remaining away games …
Malcolm Dawson is of pre-Premiership pre-Sky vintage. He remembers a time when teams like Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Derby …
The air of collective pessimism that descended on Sunderland supporters last weekend may have been shifted a little by Dick Advocaat’s appointment but has hardly gone away. He will pick up a hefty bonus if he keeps us up but must inject life and desire into players who have let us and themselves down all season. It remains a tall order. When you get to the ‘who’s going down?’ question in this interview with Gordon Thrower, deputy editor of the West Ham fan site kumb.com (as in Knees up Mother Brown), you get his drift from the reply: ‘Leicester, QPR, er, hmmmmmm’. And we can hardly blame him (he was writing after Villa but before Poyet’s dismissal and his thoughts on that, and Advocaat’s appointment, came as a follow-up). Welcome back, Gordon – we just hope we’re still around to seek out a Hammers fan for this exercise next season …
A new era, even if turns out to be a mini-era, dawns. It is fitting that the first Guess the Score with Dick Advocaat in charge of the team should be a rollover, offering two mugs from which to drink your generous servings of what Wikipedia calls “Advocaat or Advocaatenborrel, a traditional Dutch alcoholic beverage made from eggs, sugar and brandy”.
Dick Advocaat and Monsieur Salut are of a similar vintage, though he (DA) is fractionally older.
Even the pedigree bears superficial comparison:
* title-winning manager with top club and international experience, “currently unemployed” yesterday, managing Sunderland today in Dick’s case
* former chief reporter, executive news editor and Paris bureau chief of top broadsheet, “currently exploring other opportunities” yesterday, running Salut! Sunderland (yesterday and today) in M Salut’s case
But that tells only part of the story for at least one of them. We can safely assume Dick’s done OK.
And since we have a little in common, let’s see if we can get along …
The latest crisis at SAFC had Peter Lynn rummaging through all those vinyl discs in his loft again. He dipped his hand into the box of discarded LPs, EPs and singles and out came Shirley Bassey. Let him take up the story; let us hope Dick Advocaat has the Goldfinger touch and that the title of a long-forgotten promotional single Bassey made for the London tourist board, There’s No Place Like London, can be extended on Saturday night to read ‘There’s No Place Like London to Start the Revival’ …