Salut!’s week: Bolton couldn’t, but we’ve made a cup final


Mrs Logic

There must 50 ways to leave the reader in no doubt it has not been a good week. We’ve probably used them all. But let us all bounce back, get behind the Lads – again – and see how we feel at 5pm. In the meantime, here is another of our nervous backward glances at the stories you may have missed …

It can be tough keeping a promise to be upbeat. But there was one item that stood out a mile as an example of positive thinking. Click on the sub-heading to read each item, starting with a Pete Sixsmith special …

* It’s official: we’re safe

How better to put into practice our promise to reserve the back end of the week, pre-match, for positive not negative thoughts? Pete wanted the “we’re safe” line you see above as the headline to his piece about playing with the BBC Premier table predictor. Call me a pedant but it just didn’t seem very official to me, even if Pete found it hard to come up with permutations would send us down.

* Reasons to be cheerful: the fans’ awards

It was refreshing to have something positive to say concerning Sunderland AFC, and on a plate.

What a pleasure to hear that supporters had made Phil Bardsley their choice as Player of the Season. Simon Mignolet won the youth player award and we now await word from the club as to the official – though, in reality, no more important – honours, as determined in the poll conducted at safc.com

* Reserves head for cup final …

Tapping this out on the 38th anniversary of May 5 1973 and all that, it struck me that it was also a treat to be able to say that Sunerland are already guaranteed a cup final slot next season. OK, the Totesport final does not have quite the same ring to it as the Champions’ League fo FA Cup finals. It’s still a damn site more than the senior squad managed this season (stop that relapse into negativism now, M Salut!). Anyway, SAFC Reserves 5 PNE Reserves 3 was what won the place in the final, which has had to be put back because of a fixtures jam until after the summer. Maybe one or more of the scorers – Ryan Noble, Billy Knott will feature today at the Reebok.

* The Bolton “Who are You?”

Another grand read from an opposing supporter. Howard Page plays in a band – The Menu – and served up some tasty dishes by way of responses to the usual batch of questions. He predicts a game with goals today, thinks Bolton will finish a remarkable seventh and, in charitable vein, puts us as high as 11th.

That is not all, of course. But if you want more, you will just have to navigate the site and find it. Normal service will resume soon …

Monsieur Salut

Next Post