Soapbox: Revenge is Sweet as Wigan Crushed

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  Pete Sixsmith has solved his computer problem (don’t ask) and gives the view from    behind the goal. He survived a falling TV aerial, an overturned lorry on the A66 and the closure of the M62 to report on yet another enjoyable day for the Lads. Fortified by Double Chocolate Stout in The Anvil and pie and chips next to Wallgate Station, here is his account from the deepest, darkest North West

If, as Harold Wilson said, “A week is a long time in politics” then the six weeks that have elapsed between our two encounters with The People’s Republic of Wigan, seems like an eternity.

There we were at The Stadium of Light, playing like a team of clowns against The Latics. Players like O’Shea, Colback and Bendtner looked as if they would be better off looking for employment with Billy Smart than playing football.

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Sixer’s Sevens: Wigan Athletic 1 SAFC 4. O’Neill marches on

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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.

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Sixer’s Sevens at half time: Wigan Athletic 0 SAFC 1

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This post has been superseded by “Sixer’s Sevens; Wigan 1 SAFC 4. O’Neill marches on”. Click anywhere on this paragraph – but only on a full view of the posting.

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.

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The Man City Soapbox: beating the big boys

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Better late than never, Pete Sixsmith weighs in with his thoughts on a momentous day …

The East Stand went mad. The West Stand, containing new season card holders Mr and Mrs Horan, went mad. The Directors’ Box must have gone mad. One man went so mad that he attempted to French kiss Ji Dong Wan.

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The Wigan v Sunderland ‘Who are You?’: the Premier’s Chumbawamba team

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After the excitement and exhilaration of beating the title favourites, a different kind of game altogether awaits Sunderland tomorrow night. Wigan away comes close on the heels of Wigan at home, which finally did for Steve Bruce in the sense that whatever was in the Sunderland owner’s mind by then, he could hardly have fired him if he’d led us to a 5-0 victory.

Rob Speakman*, a moderator at the Latics site This Northern Soul and a man with a Reg Vardy Sunderland top, is one of those unforgiving Wigan supporters who take pleasure in Bruce’s downfall …

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Fear to ecstasy, hung jury on Bendtner, shame on Citeh fans

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It is the sports editor’s nightmare: you send your best reporter to a contender for match of the season.

It turns out to be an astonishing day packed with drama and emotion. You prepare to clear the front page for his lucid prose. And then he lamely cries off, citing “what looks like a serious computer problem”.

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