Let Rob Hutchison explain for himself how he came to see us and the Mags on successive nights …
A tale of two cities, Sunderland and Newcastle, on league cup duty
QPR Who are You?: SAFC fans ‘don’t age well, but Joey does’
Kieran Robinson – check him out at kieranrobinson.com – was recommended to us as a QPR candidate for ‘Who are You?’ by Steve Colwell, a great friend this site who is not only a Rangers fanatic but at least twice an occupant of this little hot seat. He reports on the Old Bill’s heavy-handed (sorry Met Police: the phrase slips effortlessly off the keyboard) denial of pre-match pint opportunities, the premature ageing of Sunderland supporters and the leadership qualities of Joey Barton …
Sixer’s Midweek Meander: Birmingham 0 Sunderland 3
John McCormick writes: The gods of football are conspiring against me at the moment and I’m finding it hard to even plan for a game. Not so Pete Sixsmith, who has managed to fit in home, away, friendly, non-league, rugby league, cricket league and probably Sunday league into a season that’s hardly started.
That’s not enough, however, so last night he made the trip to Birmingham for the League Cup and saw us negotiate what could have been a tricky encounter:
QPR vs SAFC ‘Guess the Score’: no beer, no prize
Can two sets of supporters, from good, decent football clubs, be trusted to share the same licensed premises with a couple of coppers on hand to nip any nonsense in the bud?
The answer from the Met is No. So make sure to get your pre-match pints in Kings Cross or elsewhere. Shepherds Bush may prove a desert. One or two publicans may welcome you but don’t bet on it.
Pure Poyetry from Birmingham: ‘I knew goals were coming’. Stoke next
Gus Poyet accepts Sunderland made a poor start but is delighted that the goals finally came. Stoke at home in the next round sounds winnable, too. Here’s the boss’s post-match e-mail …
Sixer’s Sevens: Birmingham City 0 Sunderland 3. We always win 3-0, Lee
Pete Sixsmith was wondering on his way to Birmingham whether he ought to question his own sanity. Awful ground, long midweek trek, the usual complaints. But we filled our section while the Bluenoses stayed away (as, of course, did Mackems during last season’s league cup run). The first half sounded dreadful enough listening to Benno and Barnes – ‘thanks heaven for the half time whistle’ said Barnes – so we can only guess what is was like to be at St Andrew’s. The second half surprised Sixer, Benno and Barnes by producing a three-goal canter. But great to hear our supporters chanting ‘we always win three nil’ at Lee Clark …
Sunderland 1 Manchester United 1: player ratings, with Buckley a whisker ahead of Catts
Keir Bradwell was late but not as late as the editor suspected. Just in time for it to appear before the Birmingham City game, his player-by-player assessment of Sunderland’s home debut landed. Here, then, are one young fan’s marks out of 10. Try to remember, this is a subjective exercise. You are not required to agree with all or even any of them …
Oulala: a fantasy football game with a Salut! Sunderland mini-league
Monsieur Salut offers thanks to Russell Cane, who is involved in promoting the fantasy football game with the enticing Gallic name of Oulala …
Visit the Oulala home page at: http://www.oulala.com/* And register to play at https://www.oulala.com/en/register
* See the Salut! Sunderland mini-league, created for us by Oulala at https://www.oulala.com/en/circle/salut-sunderland and hook up to that* See our featured winner Azerty’s story at http://www.oulala.com/en/community/blog/item/words-from-a-winner-14, She supports Borussia Mönchengladbach because she likes unpronounceable names
NB: The deadline for entries to this week’s game is 6.30pm on Friday
I am not sure how many Salut! Sunderland will have the time to devote to this, but it seems a spot of fun – with prizes that sound better than our unwanted coffee mugs – so let Russell explain how it works:
Birmingham vs SAFC ‘Guess the Score’: Lee Clark, SMB and another Wembley dream
It seems only five minutes, but is more than five months, since we were all putting a thumping at Arsenal behind us and watching a spirited first half at Wembley in which Fabio Borini scored one cracker, from Adam Johnson’s marvellous long ball, and ought to have had another. Citeh then produced two even better goals and, as we pressed for an equaliser, an entirely undeserved third on the break to kill us off.
Is St Andrew’s the start of another quest for glory? And if so, can it be achieved or at least competed for without the distraction of a desperate battle against relegation.
Birmingham City vs SAFC ‘Who are You?’: return of their Kevin Ball
So we move on from Man Utd in the league to begin a new league cup campaign. Last season is still fresh in most minds. The bid to go just one better starts at Birmingham City. They have their own Kevin Ball,* as we have seen on these pages before. Others copied; we had him first and it’s a pleasure to welcome him back after an absence caused by his team’s failure to stay in the Premier League. Kevin, a Bluenose from down there in the south-west of England, runs the Birmingham fan site Joy and Sorrows and seems a bloke you’d enjoy a pint or four with …