With thanks to Dave Hillam at the Blackcats forum, here is the full list of questions put on BBC Celebrity Mastermind to Steve Cram in his specialist subject: Sunderland AFC in the 1970s.

* 1 Which of Sunderland’s managers during the 70s won an FA Cup
Winners medal with local rivals Newcastle in 1955?

* 2 Who moved from Rotherham to Sunderland in December 1970 for
£100,000, becoming the club’s first six-figure signing?

* 3 In the 1975-76 season, Sunderland dropped only two points at home,
with draws against clubs from which city?

* 4 What was the nickname of Billy Hughes’s older brother John, who
suffered a career-ending injury three minutes into his debut for the
club in 1973?

* 5 Who were Sunderland’s opponents in an FA Cup 5th Round Replay in
Febuary 1973, which was voted the greatest game ever seen at Roker
Park when the ground closed in 1997?

* 6 What was the real Christian name of Ian Porterfield, scorer of the
only goal in the 73 FA Cup Final?

* 7 Sunderland played Lazio and which other team when they took part in
the inaugural Anglo-Italian Cup in May 1970?

* 8 Whom did Bob Stokoe nickname “The Little General”?

* 9 Whose point-blank header did Jimmy Montgomery parry in the first part
of his celebrated double save in the 1973 FA Cup Final?

* 10 What change to Sunderland’s home strip did Bob Stokoe make shortly
after becoming the club’s manager?

* 11 Which club knocked Sunderland out of the 3rd Round of the FA Cup
in January 1974, beating them 1-0 after a replay?

* 12 Who had two spells as Sunderland’s caretaker-manager, the first in
1972, and again in the 1978-79 season?

* 13 What was the nationality of Claudio Marangoni, whom Ken Knighton
signed in December 1979 for over £300,000?

* 14 Which young outfield player made his debut for the club in
September 71, aged 16 years and 103 days?

* 15 In which competition did the former Newcastle stalwart Bobby
Moncur make his Sunderland debut against Newcastle in August 1974?

Read more

These Rovers have no cause to be mildly cross, let alone Wild. Their seasonal good fortune, the last dollop of it our expense, leaves us with a mountain to climb: somehow clawing three wins out of the next three home games. So says Pete Sixsmith

Blackburn Rovers must have had a deal with Old Saint Nick because they got a lot of presents this year.

A nice one at Manchester City with an offside goal and then six beauties courtesy of two sides that may well be heading back precisely where they’ve just come from.

It is fairly evident that Derby are already on their way down and pose a serious threat to our 15 points of a couple of years ago. How disappointing, though, to lose another record after we worked so hard to break our own 19-point disaster of 2002-03, and especially as Reading passed our 105 Championship points a couple of years ago.

Sadly, there is a chance (a very, very good one) that we can have another crack at getting our Championship points title back in 2008-09. That must have been evident to the 4,000 loyal fans who travelled across the Pennines to back the Lads at a cold and quiet Ewood Park.

Read more

Another interesting facet of Christmas is looking through the TV film listings to see which ones apply to SAFC. Of course, The Great Escape made its customary appearance and here’s hoping we can celebrate our very own in May.

With regard to Anthony Stokes (rumoured to be interesting Derby and Wolves) I looked for John Goodman’s film, Arachnophobia but no sign of it, while there was one for Joey Barton as James Cagney’s 50 Years in Sing Sing cropped up. Grant Leadbitter may have enjoyed Local Hero while our own Pete Postlethwaite look alike Danny Higginbotham might have got a thrill from Brassed Off. Here’s hoping that we aren’t at the end of the season.

But the real highlight was an outing for Sergio Leone’s epic western The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. When it came out in the late 60s it was an iconic film and I remember queuing outside the old ABC in Holmeside to see it. Apart from Morricone’s fabulous score, the title has been a gift for writers ever since and never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I hereby take advantage of it.

Read more

Salut! Sunderland‘s lines of communication were about as effective yesterday as a back four reading Whitehead-McShane-Higginbotham-Collins, about as a sharp as a Sunderland front two. Where, we were reduced to wondering until the real Sixer’s Seven could finally be posted, do we go from this mauling? Pete Sixsmith answers the bleak Christmas question

Over my many years on this planet I’ve had a fair few Christmas’s that have been spoiled.

There was the year when the Hornby Dublo train refused to work leading to tantrums and tears at 7am (and I was only 36 at the time). Or the time my father was given a turkey by a musician pal of his and we woke up to the smell of a rotten, putrid bird stinking the kitchen out.

A good Christmas dinner of sausages, bacon and veg ensued for us, and cold shoulder for my dad from my mother.

As I’ve got older I have become rather sanguine about the Christmas festivities. I admire Scrooge and his refusal to give into the rampant commercialism that clogged up a Victorian Christmas – all those oranges and home made dolls just make people soft – but I do enjoy a restful 25th. with friends and then look forward to a couple of games on Boxing Day.

Read more

At least we’ve an easy one next
Picture:IkaShaZReeN

Pete Sixsmith sees no reason to offer Christmas cheer to Steve Rubery, the linesman whose seasonal gift to Reading was a winning goal. But he doesn’t blame crazy decisions by match officals for our deeper woes.

So this time it’s a linesman who deals us a killer blow. It is worrying to see a human being with the eyes of a hawk that has super-duper 20/20 vision wasting his time on the Premier League line.

Surely with eyes this good he should be looking for nuclear weapons in Iran or wandering the countryside finding misplaced sewing implements in farmers’ winter fodder storage heaps.

But again, the inefficiency of the officials does not disguise the fact that we turned in another disappointing performance. We play without conviction and without the feeling that we can actually take hold of a game and dictate it.

Read more

It was half time at Elm Park, in the deeply miserable Sunderland end of the tatty old Reading ground, when Barry Emmerson turned to me.

“Flaming two nil down to this lot,” he said, though flaming was not the adjective he chose. “What do you want to happen next? We come back in the second half and get a lucky draw, but know we’re utter crap? Or we get hammered 4-0 so Reidy and the board know they’ve got to get their fingers out?”

There was no comeback. Barry’s obvious preference was the precise outcome. On the day, the one tiny consolation was that Kevin Phillips, coming back from injury, was sent on as a sub and at least peppered the Reading goal with shots. You could see, even on that bleak day to be a Sunderland fan, that he might have what it takes.

It was also a bleak day to be Peter Reid (pictured courtesy of A Love Supreme) or anyone else travelling on the Sunderland team coach. SuperKev was among the players who who would never forget the hostile send-off they got from fans who had spent good money only to be cheated by the club they adored.

Brian McNally wrote in the Sunday Mirror:

Sunderland, meantime, suffered a stunning 4-0 setback away to struggling Reading. The Elm Park side were not even at full strength – yet they could have won by more, and that sparked angry scenes among Sunderland’s travelling army of loyal fans. Chants of “Reid out” led to the manager fleeing the ground via a side exit. Earlier an angry Reid laid into his players. “They short-changed us,” he said. “Our fans deserve better.”

Read more

Steve Bennett, it is fair to assume, is not a name to be found on Roy Keane’s late Christmas card list. But, says Pete Sixsmith, do not run away with the idea that we actually deserved to win

Can anyone else pass?
Picture: Peadar O’Sullivan

The referee, in the end, cost us two points. But that situation has been well dealt with in Colin’s excellent piece and the subsequent comments.

So, let’s deal with the football because shocking referees should not distract us from the fact that we did well to get a point from a game against a <a href=”http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/F8940649?thread=4890323
“>moderate Premier League side who are going through a sticky patch.

Read more