The update is that if Heathrow can see its way clear to letting Monsieur Salut’s plane take off, holidays in Sri Lanka beckon. Salut! Sunderland‘s deputy editor, Malcolm Dawson, has already reached exotic parts, Lytham St Annes, and is there for a few days.
The Wigan Athletic fan site This Northern Soul (co-founder B Ramsdale, a lay visiting preacher in this parish) wanted to chat to a Sunderland supporter ahead of WAFC v SAFC this Saturday. It opted to look beyond the culture and eloquence of Salut! Sunderland. No hard feelings here; the man Bernard and his mates found was one Mark Wilson, a Mackem on manoeuvres in Berlin. Here is the resulting conversation, preceded by This Northern Soul’s introduction …
Here is news of a talking point at ESPN resulting from today’s reports that Sunderland have tabled a bid for Swansea’s Danny Graham.
There is a sort of Piers Morgan effect out there – light-hearted chatter about petitions to stop him, Graham that is, coming back to the North East because he’s a Mag and has made disaparaging comments about Sunderland. But also a spot of white-hot hatred.
Bernard Ramsdale, a founder of the Wigan Athletic fan site This Northern Soul has been a friend to this site for a few years, so much so that one of two Wigan fans raised doubts the ensuing “love-in”. He remains a great, albeit electronic pal whose contributions to these pages have been outstanding. After a rest from “Who are You?” duties, Bernard is back. That friendship does not extend to playing to the gallery – Bernard simply speaks his mind – but he has, shall we say, interesting thoughts on the relegation battle …
Ruby Tuesday. Had Sunderland won last night, that 40th anniversary cup run would still have been on – if only until the visit of Everton that won’t now be needed. An abysmal display against Bolton Wanderers, watched by a paltry crowd of 17,500 including our own, occasionally rejoicing but less occasionally suffering Pete Sixsmith, must have had poor old Bob Stokoe spinning in his grave. Another year, at least to wait for anything resembling the 1973 adventures. Pete’s considered judgement: awful, awful, awful – why do we bother? …
Martin O’Neill could have put it an awful lot more strongly. Instead, in his post-match e-mail to Monsieur Salut, he chooses a mild form of rebuke for his players after an embarrassing capitulation to Bolton Wanderers – whose fans, mocked for their no-show at the Reebok, can also chortle at the size of the Stadium of Light attendance, just 17,500 – and rues a “bitterly disappointing” and meek end to those fanciful 40th anniversary dreams …
Did we allow ourselves to be carried away by a good display against woeful opposition? Or was this just a dreadful day at the office of the kind most people in regular employment have suffered? Either way, Bolton Wanderers – a team with reason to be more concerned about the league – came, saw the limited threat mustered against them and conquered. Pete Sixsmith, as is usually the case, weas there to bear the pain on behalf of those unable to make it and this is where you find the latest of his seven-word matchday verdicts …
Robert Hurst, from the Bolton Wanderers fan site Burnden Aces, answered our questions. But first we answered his: …
The FA, we are told, has been “letting it be known” that John Brooks, an unlikely hero of the modern game of football, has been removed from FA Cup duties tonight and Premier League action at the weekend because of “the pressure of media interest in him”.
Is it or is it not a punishment? It sounds like one, however dressed up in weasel words.
Deputy editor Malcolm Dawson writes: M Salut in his journalistic drive to attract more and more readers to the site deliberately provoked fans of that fine old club Bolton Wanderers by suggesting that they were a spent force, undeserving of success. (His views not mine!) But still he managed to get another response to his request for the views of our FA Cup opponents. Of course it’s freezing cold here in County Durham and with the threat of a few inches of snow overnight there’s no guarantee the game will go ahead, which will no doubt bring smiles to our Canadian readers and fans of the Green Bay Packers who have been known to dig snow holes to avoid hypothermia during the playoffs. Robert Hurst, from the Burnden Aces fan site, took up the challenge and answered the questions set by Colin Randall.