Salut! Reflections: Rose’s desire to leave Spurs, Sessegnon’s form questioned

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Stephen Goldsmith writes: Recent discussions between Monsieur Salut and myself concluded that this feature could be a functional way of giving contributors a topical voice. I say discussion, Monsieur may suggest it was more a one-sided pitch akin to Tony Soprano’s boys popping round for a chat. Monday in itself provided plenty of material for debate but I held back to try and maybe do a summary at the week’s end. Since then, it has been reported that James McFadden is training with the club and I’m going to ignore suggestions from Mr O’Neill that he plans to move Craig Gardner back into midfield, in the hope that it was my imagination that I read it in the first place.

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The Lars Word: surviving Suarez, a Sunderland fan’s soft spot for Liverpool

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Lars Knutsen: drawn by two shades of red


Despite a curious but brief boyhood flirtation with Peterborough United, Monsieur Salut does not really approve of “second teams”. But he can think of Sunderland supporters who would share Lars Knutsen‘s declaration of more than grudging respect and admiration for Liverpool – plus a few who would profess to loathe them …

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French Fancies: Ste-eee-d cannot stop impressing for OL

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Steed MalbranqueImage: addick-tedKevin

Just the quickest of French Fancies to alert Salut! Sunderland readers – not including Jeremy Robson, who professes to stop caring about players once they leave SAFC – to another excellent showing by our old favourite Steed Malbranque, taking full advantage of the new lease of footballing life extended by his first club, l’Olympique Lyonnais.

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Sixer’s Sevens: SAFC 1 Liverpool 1 – ultimately happy to share the spoils

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Pete Sixsmith’s welcome return to Sixer’s Sevens, and Sunderland’s welcome return to playing at home as well as away in the Premier, saw Steve Fletcher offer another response to those who questioned his fee. His goal came from Sunderland’s first decent passing move of the first half, though our play then became brighter until Liverpool gradually regained an upper hand and deservedly equalised after a spell of excellent play on the right by 17-year-old Raheem Sterling created an opening that Suarez buried. Bramble was probably unlucky rather than bumbling in providing the final pass …

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Salut’s Week: Hillsborough reflections, the McClean tweet and preparing for Liverpool

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Jake captures the theme

Much space at Salut! Sunderland has been devoted this week to articles that I am proud to have published on this site but wish had never been written. Naturally, I refer to the impassioned, decent and – yes – angry pieces written by individual Sunderland supporters with voices worth hearing on the Hillsborough disaster and this week’s shamefully late official exoneration of the Liverpool fans who were cynically blamed for its occurrence.

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