Malcolm Dawson writes….although primarily a site dedicated to SAFC and its supporters, Salut! Sunderland is also not averse to publishing …
Sunderland vs Liverpool. This has not been a happy fixture in most of SAFC’s seasons in the Premiership and Premier League.
From head-to-head stats at Liverpool Online, I calculate that in 13 top-flight meetings since the FA Cup final of 1992, which they won 2-0 of course, Sunderland have won three, two have been drawn and Liverpool have claimed all three points eight times.
Even at half time, Pete Sixsmith felt Sunderland had been OK, no more … he had seen little to inspire him. Gus Poyet, Lee Congerton and Ellis Short should take heed of how Sixer, a loyal fan for half a century, felt at the end: ‘real rubbish in the second half and they could have won it. It is pushing me ever closer to the end of my tether. All they have to do is pass the ball to a red and white shirt – surely not beyond most of them. Fifty years of relegation struggles. We could well lose this one’ …
John McCormick writes: Some days, you think “I wish I’d been there”. I don’t think that fits today, judging by the Radio Newcastle commentary which I listened to and the personal letter from the manager to M Salut, which I recently read:
If Pete Sixmsith, present on May 5 1973 and present on Jan 4 2015, doubted he would experience the same level of excitement, his pessimism was well-founded. Roles are reversed these days; it is not that Sunderland are as mighty as Leeds undoubtedly were back then, but we are almost a full division ahead. And yet the only side that looked liked scoring in the second half was Leeds. Just as well Patrick van Aanholt had returned from injury with a fine first-half attacking display rewarded with the excellent strike that won the game (on 33 minutes, two later than it took Ian Porterfield in 1973). Sixer’s considered report can be expect to dwell at length on the failings shown subsequently, with Leeds unlucky not to gain at least a replay ..
Jan 4 2015 FA Cup 3rd Round: SAFC (1) 1 Leeds United (0) 0 Scraped through after a shocking second half
John McCormick writes: Lars Knutsen, who has been gracing these pages a lot longer than me, has made a resolution to post more on this site. That can only be good, as you can see from his reflections on the year we’ve had and the transfer window that opened a few hours ago:
Almost too late to be publishable, Keir Bradwell comes up with his man-by-man SAFC assessment of the New Year’s Day defeat at the Etihad. His intention was to combine that game and the Leeds FA Cup tie in a double header. But he was not at the cup match and there were no streams or TV coverage, hence what he terms ‘some phenomenally late ratings for Manchester City 3 – 2 Sunderland’ …
As the FA Cup 3rd round looms, and just for the memories, here are some jottings that have cropped up here in the eight years since Salut! Sunderland was created …
Forty-one years on from our great triumph at Wembley, 77 years after we had last done it and a shorter time, though still too long, since the FA Cup seemed to stop mattering to most, a 3rd round tie would not merit undue attention.
Julian Young is a good friend. The cross he bears is that of being a Leeds United supporter. Not surprisingly, as his club went into steep decline, he put some distance between him and them. For some years, he has been in Paris. It works; as M Salut remembers from his own time there, it can be tough trying to catch live football outside the Premier. But he still cares, and readily agreed to offer his thoughts ahead of the Sunderland vs Leeds cup tie …
No one correctly guessed 3-2 as the score from the Etihad so the latest edition of Guess the Score is a rollover, with two mugs as the prize. READ ON …
Over the years, and perhaps with relatively little else to shout about, Salut! Sunderland has published plenty about the great day in history – social history, too, not just footballing detail – that was May 5 1973.
Many readers are old enough and were lucky enough to be there. Others, Monsiuer Salut among them, have hard-luck stories of broken promises or disappointment in the hunt for tickets. But however we ended up watching the momentous events of that afternoon in north-west London, it was an occasion to be remembered forever.