Sixer’s Sentiments: Pete meets a Sunderland legend – again!

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After swapping the chalk face for a school reunion just off Junction 13 of the M1, Pete Sixsmith battled the floods and took in a Northern League game which gave him the opportunity to renew acquaintances with one of his boyhood (and adulthood) heroes. Frankly, after the amount of rain that hit the North East, cutting off the village of West Auckland, carrying off cars in the city of Durham and washing away the foundations of a whole apartment block in the suburbs of Newcastle, it was amazing that any games took place at all. The rain that fell over the previous two days certainly rivalled that which had caused the Reading game’s cancellation. We must hope there’ll be no repeat on Saturday and we can witness a first league victory since March.

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Goldy’s Logic: Is Cattermole to Sunderland what Vieira was to Arsenal?

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Catts by Jake

When Patrick Vieira smashed his elbow into Darren Williams in the opening game of the season in August 2000, it was an act of aggression we had come to expect from the fiery Frenchman. The subsequent red card that followed was to be his fifth in four seasons, yet amazingly, fast forward two days to a match at Anfield and Graham Poll ensured that statistic would rise to six in four seasons. There appeared to be nowhere to go for Vieira from there. Well there was, to pastures new and away from the Premier League. Two sendings off in three days takes some doing.

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The Robson Report: Gardner as Mr Bean. And guess the Wigan score

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YCFC vs SAFCImage: vagueonthehow

We hear often enough of football’s darker side, perhaps not enough on the good works many players willingly perform (honest: the juxtaposition of Catts and Gardner is purely accidental!). Jeremy Robson plants a fully deserved pat on the back of Craig Gardner and could probably persuade the kids of Biddick Junior, Washington to make the back quite sore. Oh, and no prize this week but have a go anyway at guessing the SAFC v Wigan score in Comments below …

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Sunderland v Wigan Athletic Who are You?: ‘every good show needs villains’

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Jake wants to know ...


No, Ned Brown*, younger member of the father-son partnership behind the Wigan Athletic fan site Los Three Amigos, is not talking about Lee Cattermole. Nor is he referring to Steve Bruce. As a lifelong Wigan supporter and also near-lifelong exile, he has respect for what both did for his club. You’ll need to read on to have the headline explained. Sunderland supporters, as buoyed by a decent League Cup win as the Latics were by theirs, are desperately hoping for a Premier League victory at last – and certainly not for a replica of the game last season that sent the guillotine blade slicing through the air towards Bruce’s neck. Ned predicts our fifth draw …

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