This is where Pete Sixsmith records his instant verdict, in seven words, on each Sunderland game. The result went to script but PDC can take heart from a performance that was far better than most this year. Two wicked deflections cost us; we can but hope that the decent display fires the team for the coming tasks, starting at Newcastle United. This is a quick, emergency and no-frills posting of Sevens and Bob Chapman is the supersub in Sixer’s absence from the game
This is where Pete Sixsmith records his instant verdict, in seven words, on each Sunderland game. Forget a traumatic week for SAFC. Forget the relegation scrap we’re still enmeshed in. A ruby anniversary has turned Pete’s head and we’re back to this weekend in 1973, when 55,000 packed into Hillsborough to see the Hughes/Hallom double act beat off mighty Arsenal on our way, well, on our way you know where …
The place: Hillsborough. The time: towards 5pm on April 7 1973. Sunderland, unfancied and in Division Two doldrums, have reached Wembley. John McCormick was there to witness this further step towards glory and now continues our 40th anniversary series …
The new podcast: Listen here: https://soundcloud.com/wise-men-say
An agenda is written every week prior to the recording of the Salut! Sunderland podcast, writes Stephen Goldsmith. It’s not a rigid structure, just something to keep the podcast on track and make it sound like it has some sort of direction to it.
There have been a few problems in acquiring the desired guests since the podcast’s launch around five weeks ago.
Considering the infancy of the project, having former players, football journalists and fanzine editors get involved makes it all feel worthwhile. We set the standards high in that aspect and are happy with the early results; next season could see things elevated even further given the chance.
I have had fun all week with the disparate band of people in various lands who post comments to the club-by-club part of the ESPN website – http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/sunderland/id/1359?cc=5739.
Paolo Di Canio takes Sunderland to Stamford Bridge on Sunday for a routine outing against the side that has just turfed Man Utd out of the FA Cup and has top four written all over it. Or will the fear of PDC make them all play as they did at Southampton? A baptism of fire for Di Canio, maybe, but no members of his squad will be under any illusions about how passionate to win he will expect them to be once kickoff comes. Del Oldfied* is a London cabbie and Chelsea nut. He thinks PDC’s appointment is risky but already thought we had “enough quality`” to stay up. That said, Del also expects us to face a confident bunch of Blues …
Matthew Kemp* is a Hammer with Salut! Sunderland connections, having written here about his team’s promotion and then answered questions in our ‘Who are You?’ series. Here, he gives a West Ham fan’s honest view of the Paolo Di Canio experience we – and, even more, the players – are about to undergo (he did make one passing reference to that word but we have deleted it in response to popular request) …
Every cloud … you know the rest. One silver lining is the return from self-imposed exile of Jeremy Robson. To the immense relief of many, Salut! Sunderland imagines, here is an almost exclusively back-to-basics assessment of past failings and the hefty challenges facing Paolo Di Canio. Next, we’ll be getting medals or brownie points in the post from SAFC’s corporate machine for nobly sticking – or reverting – to football …
The Blackcats forum has, as ever, responded to a controversial matter – now which one could we be talking about? – with a varied but always thoughtful set of views from Sunderland supporters scattered around the word, from Wearside to Down Under. Many of the contributions could be be reproduced here and add to the debate but one fan and occasional Salut! Sunderland writer, Mick Goulding, specifically gave consent for his to appear. No one who feels the topic has been done to death needs to read on but I hope readers of this site, all of whom surely want the club to succeed or at least survive come what may, will not fall into the easy, lazy trap of suggesting the row has ‘all been got up by the press’. If there were no genuine issue involved, hundreds or even thousands of non-press people would not have insisted on having their say one way or the other …
This statement* from Sunderland AFC is clearly intended for general consumption so Salut! Sunderland is happy to reproduce it. No further comment save to note that the media “and other individuals” can hardly be blamed if Paolo Di Canio has called himself a fascist in the past. Blaming the media for everything is easy, unthinking and in this case wrong …