House of the Rising Sunderland fan (who also likes Fulham)

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Another slice of Salut! Sunderland nostalgia with apologies to those to whom it is all a bit familiar. Many years ago, when I was writing about Sunderland celebrity supporters for Wear Down South, the branch magazine of the London & Southern England SAFSA, the chance arose to interview Alan Price. I had discovered that despite his later association with Fulham, and what I assumed were the Mag allegiances of the Animals, Alan had grown up a devoted SAFC fan. His reminiscences were repeated here a few years ago but are worth repeating because the Salut! Sunderland audience these days far exceeds the combined readerships of Wear Down South and this site in earlier days …

First published during the bad though not quite disastrous 2001-2002 campaign (the 19-point disaster was a season later)

Good though the Animals were as a Sixties band, I had always assumed they were a bunch of Mags.

“Oh Lord,” comes the thundering response from Alan Price at the very thought. “Please don’t let me be misunderstood.

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Ralph Coates: honouring one of the best players we never had

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Fans at more than one ground gave him a one-minute silence on Tuesday. Now Jeremy Robson, in far-off Canada, pays tribute to a player who came from Durham mining stock and ought really to have played for Sunderland, but instead joined what was then an exodus of talent from the region to follow his trade elsewhere …

The internet provides instant access to information about any subject.

Or at least so it seems. It came as a shock at the start of the Spurs v Newcastle Utd game when there was a tribute to Ralph Coates, the former Burnley, Spurs and Orient winger who had recently departed. I hadn’t heard the sad news of Ralph’s death even though he had passed away on Dec 17, aged 64.

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Soapbox: more reflections on Blackpool, jitters before Blackburn

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The post-Christmas setbacks have left Pete Sixsmith in a gloomy mood. The possible absence of Welbeck and Gyan when we face Blackburn hasn’t lifted his spirits. But surely he is going too far down the road of pessimism to suggest we could find ourselves in trouble …

Two days later and a short viewing on Match of the Day have done little to assuage my disappointment after Tuesday’s result.

The Northern Echo sent Steph Clarke to cover the game. I assume she is a young journalist, finding her way in the world and has been told not to upset the powers that be at Premier League football clubs. She wrote in a positive vein and even gave Gyan and Bent a score of seven each out of 10. Maybe she confused the mark with the number of chances missed by each player. (Not as bad as the Sunderland Echo, Pete; its headline reads “Gary Rowell: How did Sunderland lose against Blackburn?” – ed)

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SAFC v Blackburn: Rovers fan with attitude pulls no punches

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When Sunderland and Blackburn Rovers play, you know that if Vinjay* previews the game you get no name but the certainty of some forthright views. Too forthright, he suggests, for some fellow Rovers fans. Read on for a not-so-fond farewell to Big Sam, relief that the new boss is Steve Kean and not Roy Keane, sideswipes at Alan Shearer and Shay Given and concern that video technology may ruin the game’s talking points …

Salut! Sunderland: You have often bemoaned lack of ambition at Blackburn. Will the new broom sweep away that failure and lead Backburn back to top club status?

As you will recall from my previous Q and As I was not exactly a fan of the previous owners. I’m certainly glad that they have been removed at last. They have been nothing less than an absolute disgrace to Jack Walker and they never got the abuse they deserved. As you may have noticed our new owners have been abused by some of our more ignorant fans. They fully intend to spend more than 5 million despite false reports and will bring new global marketing ideas to the club improving an area that has been neglected and regional minded. Our more parochial fans won’t like the sound of that. Getting rid of the previous owners will always have my gratitude. Looking forward to actually seeing some ambition in January for once.

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Soapbox: Blackpool illuminate the Stadium of Light

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Any hope that meek capitulation at Old Trafford would at least be followed by six home points was swept away in a torrent of missed chances against Blackpool. And, with the exception of Darren Bent’s well-struck free kick against the bar, badly missed chances (“my granddaughter would have saved most of them and she isn’t one yet,” said someone at the Blackcats list). Pete Sixsmith sees our supposedly sleek Mercedes of attacking power cut up by the Skodas of the Premier League …

As the teams were read out before this fiasco, I mentally scratched my head to try to remember something about those who made up our opponents. Taylor-Fletcher – former Huddersfield Town; Campbell – Yeading and Brentford; Vaughan – Crewe and Real Sociedad. None of them names that trip off the tongue. They do now.

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SAFC 0 Blackpool 2: Steve Bruce gives lowdown on a ‘day to forget’

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He sort of says it all …


Dear Colin,

Sometimes in football you have to take a knock like that and I’m scratching my head.

I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed a game like that where we had so many attempts on goal without scoring. It was one of those days – we wouldn’t have scored if we’d have played all night.

But we have to go away, lick our wounds and get on with it. I signed Richard Kingson twice and I signed DJ Campbell too, and they’ve come back to haunt me.

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The Blackpool ‘Who are You?’: more plaudits for Jimmy Armfield

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Just a few words on how yesterday’s interview with Jimmy Armfield ahead of today’s big game at the Stadium of Light got people talking about Blackpool’s exemplary man of football …

It is not often that we get 3,500 visitors in a day. Newcastle going down (us gloating) and the 5-1 drubbing at St James’ Park (much of it them gloating) did it, and so did our famous victory at Stamford Bridge.

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Steve Bruce on naïvety and bouncing back

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Image: Mrs Logic

Salut! Sunderland would much rather readers looked at and commented on Pete Sixsmith’s thoughts from Old Trafford or the Jimmy Armfield interview ahead of SAFC v Blackpool.

But here, for what it is worth, is this week’s edition of the billet doux I get after each game from Steve Bruce. Others may have received something remarkably similar so no pretence here that we’re really on first name terms.

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SAFC v Blackpool – Jimmy Armfield talks to Salut! Sunderland

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Jimmy Armfield*. Placed together in that order, they are two of my favourite words in the English language. There have been better footballers and managers, though he wasn’t bad himself, acclaimed during the 1962 World Cup in Chile as “the best right-back in the world” and later doing good work in charge of Bolton and Leeds. There have been better sports commentators. But he has a depth of knowledge and utterly dependable expressive qualities that most of them must envy. We desperately hope the result from the Stadium of Light tomorrow comes as a bitter disappointment to him – a robust comeback after the also-ran display at Old Trafford is a must – but we salute Jimmy Armfield all the same and offer our warmest best wishes to a wonderful voice of the game who played his entire Football League career for one club: tomorrow’s opponents Blackpool …

Salut! Sunderland: What a fabulous time for Blackpool!

Well, the fabulous time really was Wembley. We thought last season was case of trying to stay in the Championship and then suddenly we had this run at the end of the season and ended up in the playoffs and thought “Blimey! they’ve got there. How did we manage that?” And then won it: how did we ever do that that?

Then we thought “OK it will probably turn round” and we all prayed about the first game at Wigan – and ended up winning 4-0.

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