The Newcastle Who are You?: ‘9-1, but we only had nine men!’

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Jake poses the question


While we were vying with Middlesbrough in the FA Cup, this article appeared at Salut! Sunderland: “Beat Boro, overhaul Newcastle but cling to regional common ground.” I invited a prominent NUFC blogger to respond and his reply, which I hope reflected pressure of work and nothing else, was “not really”. Our Newcastle United “Who are You?” volunteer, Peter “Exiled Geordie” Mann*, a sports writer and football historian whose many interests include writing for the Toon Talk fanzine, knows all about the nuances of North-eastern loyalties and was willing to discuss them. He wasn’t at the glorious 1908 game mentioned in the headline but has no doubt what went wrong for the Mags …

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Tyne-Wear derby: when Niall, Shearer and Sorensen broke Newcastle hearts

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Derby day winner: can Fraizer Campbell emulate his 2000 achievement?

This piece brought precious little good fortune in October 2010, when Sunderland came a distinctly poor second in last season’s Tyne-Wear derby. But since we’re often accused of harking back more than a century to the 9-1 game, let’s remember our most recent win at St James’ Park. Ouch: it’s now 11 years … just a little fun, reproduced for the larger audience Salut! Sunderland has these days …

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1: Sunderland 2: Newcastle United 3: Middlesbrough – could we live with that?

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That was not quite how David Athey* had the running order. David is Monsieur Salut’s cousin and a lifelong Newcastle supporter. He’s all for passionate rivalry but the pipe dream suggested in the headline (once re-arranged to suit his tastes) reflects a deeper view, that the North East looks a little sad when those passions descend into pure hatred …

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Tyne-Wear derby: Sunderland fan commemorates Newcastle player who caught his eye

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West Brom is beginning to be no more than a bad memory. Not entirely true, of course, but it is time to start thinking ahead to Sunday – early in any ordinary week, but derby week (even if Newcastle United v Sunderland takes place, strictly speaking, next week) is never ordinary. John McCormick is a staunch Sunderland supporter. But it was a Mag who made the earliest impression on him – as John recalls more than half a century later, 45 years to the day after the player in question met a tragic death just a few days before an earlier Wear-Tyne encounter played on the 4th of March …

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Soapbox from West Bromwich Albion: when experience triumphs over hope

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Sixer by Jake

Pete Sixsmith cannot rewrite Saturday’s result. He cannot make it seem as if we were a little unlucky. There were no Sunderland performances of the sort that won The Artist five Oscars. In fact, Pete struggles to find anything remotely positive to say. Just sit back and try to enjoy what follows for what it is, as fine a piece of writing as you will find in any of today’s sports pages …

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Sixer’s Sevens: WBA 4 Sunderland 0. Ecstasy to embarrassment

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This is where Pete Sixsmith captures the glory and shame, hope and despair, excitement and ennui of the Sunderland matchday experience. When, rarely, Pete is absent or delayed, a supersub does it for him and the seven-word verdict is preceded by an asterisk. Pete’s full analysis of the game will usually appear within a day or two.

We like giving West Brom two start. Pete said as the second went in that we were not at that stage “in with a shout”, and the fact is we were fortunate not to be further behind at half time. That state of affairs lasted no time once we began the second half – brightly enough, with two forwards, Campbell and Bendtner on (there’s a novelty) – and gave away a cheap third goal. “Not a great afternoon,” Pete texted wearily.

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Salut!’s week: cup fever, Niall’s farewell, map to Newcastle, McClean/Campbell glory

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This has been a week of great happiness – beating Arsenal to reach the FA Cup quarterfinals, welcoming Fraizer Campbell’s inclusion in the England squad and James McClean’s Irish call-up – and much sadness, Niall Quinn’s decision to end his links with SAFC. Oh, one more happy bit: Salut! Sunderland reached ninth, its highest ever position, in the Soccerlinks hit list (though we may have fallen by the time you click on that link) …

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