Sunderland v Fulham: a star is born

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luke

That’s cheating – the headline – because the star of SAFC is whoever, young or old, wins us three points at home to Fulham tomorrow. But Luke Harvey is a new star of Salut! Sunderland. He’s a poor deluded soul on two counts: he supports Sunderland (condemning him to a life of disappointment) and is a journalism student (no money in it unless he becomes Piers Morgan). No matter, he’s agreed to write for us to ease the burden on Pete Sixsmith and the ageing editor. This is Luke’s first offering (he may even add a photo later) …

Fulham bring me a lot of fond memories, not particularly as a Sunderland fan – but as a football fan in general.

They seem to embody everything I believe a football team should be about, a hard working and talented group who are lead by an experienced manager capable of masterminding a victory over any team.

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SAFC v Fulham: points to make

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Fulham fans- who can see what one of their own makes of our clash on Sunday at this link – have every reason to be celebrating last night’s admirable display in the Europa League. We naturally hope they will be less pleased with life after the start of Sunderland’s make-or-break phase of the season …

Villa’s cup run means we now have four homes games in which to turn our season round – or sink..

Fulham, Bolton, Man City and Birmingham: each should be winnable, two of them – the first two – should be bankable.

But we are Sunderland fans. We know the score. What tally would satisfy you, and what would plunge you into deep gloom?

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Polls apart: Graham’s short memory

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Poll Is a …
Image: wonker


Not really a piece in praise of Premier refs. Not really a go at Graham Poll. Just a plea for some even-handedness in our approach – and even the approach of refs who have become pundits – to their decision-making, at least until the next bad one goes against us…

On TalkSport today, Graham Poll talked about recent refereeing decisions.

Of the four really bad and unpunished, or inadequately punished, fouls committed in the Premier League last weekend, he singled out Lorik Cana’s challenge on Eboue, in the first half of Arsenal v Sunderland, as having been easily the worst.

Gooners have been active at Salut! Sunderland since the match, claiming that whatever the rights and wrongs of Cesc Fabregas staying on the field after what they agree was a challenge deserving his second yellow (the dissent concerns his first booking), Cana’s tackle was a shocker and should have earned him a straight red from Steve Bennett.

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Who are you? We’re Fulham

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tizzard

On May 4 2006, Sunderland beat Fulham 2-1 in the last home game of the season, with Kevin Ball as caretaker manager. We were already doomed and all that was at stake was avoidance of the added humiliation of becoming the first team in English league history to fail to win a single tie at home all season. We do not have to go back quite as far now as we did then for the last Premier win (home or away): it was, of course, Nov 21 when we beat Arsenal and thought ourselves in clover.
Is Sunday to be our day? James Alexander Tizzard*, our undercover, non-Lily Allen Fulham fan discovered at the Cottage Corner fansite, thinks we will have to wait a little longer for our next victory. We should wish his team well tonight at Shakhtar Donetsk in the Europa League – and hope they’re too knackered to muster much of a challenge on Sunday …

Salut! Sunderland: As a Sunderland fan, I was embarrassed by our first half performance at Craven Cottage, and I know you all felt it was a 3-0 win dressed up as 1-0. Were you surprised at how bad we were?

At the start of the season, Sunderland looked like a side capable of pushing for Europe. The past two seasons you had dominated the games at our place so it was particularly suprising to witness such a poor first half display.

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Forget Arsenal, forget Nov 21 – Feb 20: concentrate on Fulham

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lily2


In the coming days, we’ll be hearing from a Fulham supporter – two, if Lily Allen’s publicity people pass Salut! Sunderland‘s questions on to her.
But for Sunderland supporters, it’s time to come to the aid of the club. Our fans deserve better than they’ve had to endure this season – and for most preceding seasons – but they also have a part to play in kickstarting the revival, says a (temporarily) mellowing Colin Randall …


Right. The defeat at Arsenal, hardly unexpected, is behind us. The terrible run of defeats and draws since we beat the Gunners in November is in the past, too. We’ve had our say, expressed our bitter disappointment and raised legitimate questions about the club, its management and its direction.

But that’s it. We now enter a spell of games at the Stadium of Light – four home ties with just one scheduled trip, a match at Aston Villa that their probable FA Cup progress tonight would put off – in which a combination of ability, commitment and – yes- luck would give our season a decent lift off.

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Gloom descends over the post-Arsenal dinner party

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niall


Arsenal fans** will probably not care a hoot, but this part of Salut! Sunderland hopes they have a championship to toast at the end of the season. As for us, the next few games, mostly at home, will define our season, admits Steve Bruce. In how many recent years have we heard a similar refrain? Is it time for Sunderland AFC – and perhaps especially Niall Quinn – to realise the extent to which our collective patience is being tested? …

Whatever they are not, Sunderland fans are realists.

No one looked at the arrival of Ellis Short as owner, or Steve Bruce as manager, and thought: “That’s it. A top four place is there for the taking. This season.”

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Soapbox: Bennett the bottler (ask any Arsenal or SAFC fan)

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soapbox


Steve Bennett, not Salut! Sunderland‘s favourite referee by a long shot (even when we get his name right – see comments), so comprehensively annoys opposing sets of fans that he probably feels he must be getting something right. While Gooners bleat that he allowed our ruffians to hack away at their cultured elite, Sunderland supporters point to his failure to dismiss Fabregas for as clear a second yellow offence as could be imagined. Pete Sixsmith intensifies the war of words …

That’s the weekend games over, and incredibly, we have only dropped one place in the Race To Get Out Of The Premier League And Into the Championship Table. This is clearly not good enough, and Bruce must ensure that we lose the next four games so that we can join the Doncasters, Bristol Citys and Watfords of the footballing world.

If the world were turned upside down, that would be a distinct possibility. There appears to be a lemming like rush to get out of the top league as all the bottom eight teams bar one, lost – and that was West Ham, who beat Hull City, a fellow struggler.

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Arsenal-Sunderland Observed

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The Observer again asked Salut! Sunderland to sum up the game and Pete Sixsmith was ready and able to build on his seven-word Sixer’s Sevens verdict (“Seen worse, but the slide goes on”).

Let’s start, though, with a Gunner’s view:


Louise Cowburn, Observer reader:

It was quite a good match especially after the other night, but it was a bit frustrating as usual. 2-0 was a fair enough scoreline but we had so many chances we should have put away more, although Sunderland just defended and defended. Eboué was absolutely fantastic and the crowd was behind him all the way; he looked a great player. Walcott was really classy but I wish he could finish, while Bendtner got a goal, which was great, but you sense the crowd expect more from him. He doesn’t seem to have the pace or the magic to play up front for us. Fabianski’s name got a big cheer when it was read out which was great.

The fan’s player ratings Almunia 7; Eboué 9 (Denílson 89 n/a), Vermaelen 8, Silvestre 7, Clichy 6; Ramsey 7, Song 7, Fábregas 8; Walcott 8 (Sagna 78 n/a); Bendtner 7, Nasri 8 (Rosicky 72 n/a)

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Arsenal 2 Sunderland 0: no disgrace, but no punch

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Yet another defeat dumps Sunderland in deep trouble. We now face a steep uphill battle to regain respectability in mid-table while further lapses at home could send us down. But we were not disgraced at the Emirates – and might even, with a spot of good fortune, have stolen a point …

First of all, let us acknowledge that Arsenal were head and shoulders above the limited team Steve Bruce was able to field.

Throughout the game, the Gunners’ slick, fast football combined with our suicidal surrender of possession to ensure wave upon wave of assaults on our goal. Craig Gordon had as good a game as I’ve seen him play since his epic, pre-Sunderland display for Scotland in Paris. That is just as well as we would otherwise have lost by a greater margin.

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Last word before Arsenal: put egg on our faces, Lads

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eggSo it has been Arsenal and Arsene Wenger’s week: wall-to-wall coverage at Salut! Sunderland of the build-up to today’s game at the Emirates – plus our Alsacien friend’s intemperate attack on the Porto match referee, Martin “hand of Thierry” Hannsson. Incompetent or dishonest, said Wenger, before prudently settling for “not competent” (an insult that should still lead to punishment).

We would love him to be left feeling the same at 5pm about today’s match referee, laying into him for the decision that brought Sunderland three points.

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