As soon as Pete Sixsmith and the trusty Mazda returned from Luton he was under the bonnet, checking the oil, putting air in the tyres and refilling the tank. For there was no time to rest, no time to reflect on the gardens, gnomes and conservatories of Old Oak Road. The Under 23s were playing on Monday and Pete needed to be there.
And now he’s here:
Monsieur Salut writes: at around this time last season, Dave Briggs* gave us some great responses as a Sheffield Wednesday supporter before Sunderland’s trip to Hillsborough for a Championship game. He also got the result spot-on, saying we’d be ahead at the interval but they’d equalise and the match would end 1-1. Now the Owls are the fancied higher-league opposition – sorry, Eric, but technically the case – we went back to see how he was getting on. Dave would ‘like to think’ there’ll be a comfortable victory for his side, but accepts that team changes mean it could probably go either way. On the other hand, he fancies Sunderland’s promotion chances but is more pessimistic about the Owls’ Championship season, not least because of the impact of FFP transfer restrictions …
It is a fact of life as we find it, says Monsieur Salut. Sunderland start the Carabao Cup tie (league cup to you and me) against the Owls on Thursday night as lower-league underdogs.
While we all hope that situation will last for only one season – unless, contrary to the expectations of many of their own fans – Sheff Wed reach the Premier League, we have to regard them as, for now, the bigger team if hardly the bigger club.
Supporters are often divided on the merits of a good league cup run. The paltry attendances in early rounds bear witness to a fair degree of apathy.
My view is a simple one: I want Sunderland to win every game they play. It doesn’t happen, but that’s how I approach each match. So I’m rooting for a good, confidence-boosting result that takes us through to the next round.
Following a lot of public criticism of one of our players by followers of The Black Cats, Malcolm Dawson appeals …
Three references to the approach some Sunderland supporters adopt towards their club caught the eye yesterday and today, says Monsieur Salut.
First, as most readers will have seen, several important points were made in Pete Sixsmith’s typically measured and intelligent report on the 1-1 draw at Luton Town.
It’s a great read in its entirety but this passage leapt from the page:
Some in the crowd and on the message boards, criticise Maja for not being strong enough, which is a bit like criticising an apple for not tasting like an orange. He is not a physical player (yet) but he is very good at getting himself between the ball and an opponent and won a number of free kicks because of this. Some of our supporters need to realise that he is young and is still learning. Two good goals in two hard games is a pretty decent record.
John McCormick writes: I woke up this morning feeling fine and decided that, as Pete Sixsmith had introduced a musical theme with Roy Harper, I should continue it. I hope the title and my opening make him and our other Pete (the Wrinkly one) happy together, not to mention our readers. Which begs two questions*,
“Is happiness sweeping this club of ours, or is it too soon to know?”
We do know things can only get better and it looks like it’s getting better all the time, although there will be those who say it’s early days and there’s nothing to get hung about.
Pete Sixsmith’s report, which I think can be summarised as Good Day, Sunshine, says more or less the same, only he does it better, which is no surprise as nobody does it better.
Rob Hutchison is a home and away regular and manages to encapsulate each of our players’ performances in the briefest …
John McCormick writes: I read or heard something from some commentator a few days ago that their Sunderland game will be every other League One club’s cup final. From the little snippets that came my way I think that was the case today. A sell-out crowd, home and away, the home team coming back from behind and trying for the winner, the away team hanging on and seeking the winner for their own part. Did Sunderland survive a baptism of fire or did they throw a couple of points away? My view is it’s a point gained, given that half our squad is out.
Pete Sixsmith will be able to give a better view as he was there, despite a snarl up on the M1. We’ll have to wait for his return, so I’d advise you to look in tomorrow. As a taster, however, here’s the seven word text he sent immediately on the final whistle:
We could have done with another striker in, and few obvious suspects out, and can only hope loan deals are in the pipeline for such movement.
For now, Salut! Sunderland welcomes the 12th signing off the summer, Max Power on loan from Wigan until January with a view to sealing a permanent transfer in the new year.
The hot spell appears to be coming to its end in the North-West. It’s cloudy, the temperature has dropped and there’s rain forecast for the weekend. Nevertheless, we’ll persist with Pete Sixsmith’s summer photo for now, especially as a lot of dark clouds moved away from the Stadium of light on Saturday.
We’re not the only place to have experienced a shift; dark clouds have also moved away from a certain town in the County of Bedfordshire. If you think we have had problems you should spend some time talking to Luton fans, something I’m sure Pete will have done on his previous visits:
