The report card: (2) passing the Mensah test

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mensah


Jeremy Robson may be in Canadian exile but he keeps fellow subscribers to the estimable Blackcats forum entertained with his trenchant thoughts on everything from the possible shelf-installing skills of Daryl Murphy to the competing merits of obscure rock bands. For his contribution to our series of end-of-season reviews, Jeremy chose to conduct a time and motion study on John Mensah since his arrival on loan from Lyon. His conclusions are illuminating …

Highs and lows. Peaks and troughs. The agony and the ecstasy. Great triumphs and complete humiliations.

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Darren Bent: dynamite news from Capello

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Sunderland’s welcome signing of Cristian Riveros, on a free transfer from the Mexican club Cruz Azul, may have deepened our fondness for Paraguay. We like to think, having voted already for Paulo da Silva and their red and white stripes, that we’re their official British site for the World Cup (though we’re not).


But let’s hear it tonight for Darren Bent, included in Fabio Capello’s provisional squad for South Africa.

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Chelsea, Portsmouth and the FA Cup’s blue magic

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chelski1

Top versus bottom. The super-rich and the paupers. Worlds apart, the Two Blues of this weekend’s FA Cup Final, Chelsea and Portsmouth, will surely produce a game that remains true to form and shows that the faded old competition isn’t really a great leveller after all. Colin Randall gets Salut! Sunderland’s Wembley build-up underway but return on Thursday and Friday for the fans’ views …

pompey

The Two Blues, if you grew up in the County Durham of which Sunderland was part, were Bishop Auckland.

They were the kings of amateur football and there was a time, when they had the ultimate showman goalkeeper in Harry Sharratt and such stalwarts as Bob Hardisty and Derek Lewin, that it seemed they were hardly ever away from Wembley.

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Soapbox: how not to keep Wolves from the door

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soapbox

What are we to make of Sunderland? How long ago does that barnstorming 3-1 win over Spurs seem now? Lee Mason, referee at both games, was so incensed at how bad we’d become again that he decided to send off all our players, and failed in this mission only because time ran out. Pete Sixsmith laments the bitter let-down of our final game …

So, that’s another season over. Seems only a short while ago that Salut! Sunderland‘s esteemed editor and proprietor and his faithful sidekick were running down from Durham station to pick up a Football Echo and enjoy a cup of frothy coffee and a pie in the original Bimbis after clinching promotion against Charlton Athletic.

The end of this season saw Proprietor and Faithful Sidekick together again, this time in the sanitised atmosphere of an over policed, over stewarded and distinctly overpriced Molineux.

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Wolves 2 Sunderland 1: mighty club, petty-minded city

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w3

Some went in fancy dress to see out the season in carefree style. Many – Colin Randall among them – wished they’d chosen a disguise of gold tops with “sportingbet” emblazoned across the chest. At least the match result wasn’t as bad as the first headline (2-0) – clunky fingers meet dodgy rail wifi to delay the correction – suggested …

Last game of the season. Two clubs already safe (though our second-half display was to resemble that of a team doomed since February). No obvious history of animosity. A changeable day but with bursts of warm sunshine. A drink and maybe some food before the match?

Maybe. But, if you were a Sunderland supporter in Wolverhampton city centre today, only if you were very lucky.

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Sixer’s Sevens: the short, sharp match verdict

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sixer7

Sixer’s Sevens is Pete Sixsmith‘s pithy summing up of each Sunderland game. Sixer does not mince his words; his seven-word verdict has not always made for pretty reading. Let’s hope for a run of upbeat Sevens inspired by Steve Bruce’s much strengthened squad. The verdict is posted as soon as possible, but be tolerant of any delay. An asterisk denotes a “holding” preview/verdict pending arrival of Sixer’s own or one from a supersub (Colin Randall or Malcolm Dawson). …


Since the mini-run started …

May 9 2010 Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 (1) Sunderland (1) 1 Deeply disappointing finale lacking quality and determination

May 2 2010 Sunderland (0) 0 v Manchester United (1) 1 Good performance bodes well for next season

Apr 24 2010 Hull City (0) 0 Sunderland (1) 1 Good to win away but a horrible game

Apr 17 2010 Sunderland (2) 2 Burnley (0) 1Comfortable win but edgy at the end

Apr 10 2010 West Ham 1 (0) Sunderland 0 (0) Yet another disappointing away performance. Deserved nothing

Apr 3 2010 Sunderland (2)3 Tottenham Hotspur (0) 1Absolutely tremendous game and a great win

Mar 28 2010 Liverpool (2) 3 Sunderland (0) 0 Well beaten by a far better side

Mar 24 2010 Aston Villa (1) 1 Sunderland (1) 1 Excellent performance from a well balanced side*

Mar 20 2010 Sunderland (2) 3 Birmingham City (0) 1 Magnificent Gordon’s heroics ensure three vital points

Mar 14 2010 Sunderland (1) 1 Man City (0) 1 Very frustrating: this performance deserved a win

Mar 9 2010 Sunderland 4 (1) Bolton 0 (0) Comfortable in the end – what a relief

Feb 28 2010 Sunderland (0) 0 Fulham (0) 0 Well, at least we got a point


Before the mini-run …

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Sunderland: the season Observed

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obs


Colin Randall writes: several times this season, The Observer has asked Salut! Sunderland to report from a fan’s viewpoint on Sunderland games. Almost without fail, that has seen the name of Pete Sixsmith added to the paper’s distinguished parade of writers (he kindly left the task of reporting on Chelsea 7 Sunderland 2 to me – thanks, Pete). Soon, Salut! Sunderland will begin a series of end-of-season reports. Today, The Obs runs its own fans’ review of how it has been for supporters of each Premier club. This is Pete’s contribution (before any tweaks or cuts by Observer folk) …

Overall mark out of 10

7. The new regime got off to a good start, had a major hiccup in the middle and finished reasonably well. The fact that our season was finished in March is some sort of progress and Steve Bruce has a base to build on for next season. We have been dependent on Bent for his goals and Gordon for his saves but we seem to have a strong spine running through the team. The owner has been quiet and supportive; long may it remain so. We have a great opportunity to build on this – the best chance since the early years of the century when a lack of serious investment held us back. I don’t see that happening this time.

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