Birmingham City

Birmingham City v SAFC: Bruce out, Villa down, says our Bluenose

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Since Steve Bruce writes to us so often, he must be a regular reader and have seen the odd bit of praise and support as well as the brickbats. This one, though, is not for him: John Baker*, who runs a USA-based photographic tours company, is a Birmingham City fan with his own unflattering analysis of our manager, once theirs. He also reckons SuperKev will score against us on Saturday, but allows for the possibility of Sunderland getting three in reply …


A few weeks ago, this fixture would have had a different look, you warding off relegation worries, us looking towards Europe. What now: a home banker?

I’d like to think so, but it depends on which McLeish and Bruce team shows up on the day. Brum appear to have pulled away from their post League Cup doldrums, while Sunderland, although free-falling right now, have managed some results without the valuable services of one Darren Bent, I wish you’d have kept him as the Villa would have been all but relegated without him by now!

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SuperKev menace looms as Soapbox sees Sunderland win at last

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Now we know it: Kevin Phillips will be starting on Saturday* intent on heaping more woe on Steve Bruce and Sunderland supporters: “You look at the teams we have got left at home – Sunderland, Wolves and Fulham – and it’s no disrespect to those teams but they are games we feel we can win.” Pete Sixsmith, though, has broken our collective duck: he’s actually witnessed a win, and over money-coming-out-of-our-ears Manchester City at that. You know what’s coming next …

A Sunderland win at last! I was hoping to use that header after Saturday’s trip to St. Andrews, but the Reserves beat me to it with a well deserved 2-0 win over Manchester City at Eppleton/Hetton last night.

Goals from Craig Lynch in the first half and Ryan Noble after the break, sealed the points in the last game of the regular season and possibly the last game to be played under the current reserve set up.

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Cup wishlist: Man United, Man City out. Arsenal or Reading’s trophy

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Bob Stokoe statue, Stadium of Light, SunderlandImage: Mrs Logic

Salut! Sunderland has absolutely nothing against the city of Manchester. We hold no grudges against Stoke or Bolton.

But choices have to be made. Sunderland’s humiliating exit at the earliest possible stage of the FA Cup means we have been able to pick our runners at will in subsequent rounds.

So to do our bit to restore interest in the ailing old competition, colours will now be nailed to the FA Cup mast.

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Should the Lee Bowyer question replace the Eduardo question?

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leebowyer

Fans with highly developed abilities to read lips and interpret body language detected attempts by Lee Bowyer to influence decisions by the referee, Anthony Taylor, in Saturday’s match against Birmingham City.

In particular, Bowyer – old pic courtesy of “Michael Kjaer”‘s Flickr pages – stands accused of trying to persuade Taylor to reduce us to nine men by sending off Kieran Richardson.

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Soapbox: stupid, stupid, stupid

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soapbox


Immediately before 3pm, Anthony Taylor and Lee Cattermole shook hands, both proud to be performing new roles for the first time: one as a Premier referee, the other as captain of Sunderland AFC. The amity lasted less than three-quarters of an hour. Was Lee the victim of an overzealous debutant, or clattering Cattermole? This, ladies and gentlemen is how Pete Sixsmith saw things …

Thanks to Colin for the kind words in his introduction to Sixer’s Sevens. I’m not sure that my analysis is always first rate as I have more mood swings than a nightclub full of hormonal females over the course of a season. Brilliant one week, hopeless the next – but it is Sunderland we are talking about……

However it doesn’t take the perceptions of a Hugh McIlvanney , a David Lacey or a Frank Johnson to work out that the combination of a rookie ref and Lee Cattermole was liable to end in tears. And it did as our captain was given his marching orders just before half time for two offences that barely deserved a yellow card in common sense terms, but which did in refereeing by the book terms.

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SAFC (1) 2 Birmingham City (0) 2: normal service resumes

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darren bent

Two up early in the second half, but with only 10 men, Sunderland were forced onto the back foot and had to make do with a point after Birmingham fought their way back …

Normal service is Darren Bent getting on the scoresheet.

Unfortunately, it is also Sunderland players falling foul of the referee, to the extent that Lee Cattermole was sent off for his second yellow a few minutes before half time.

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HT: Sunderland (1) Birmingham City (0)

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Result: SAFC 2 Birmingham 2 …

THIS REPORT HAS NOW BEEN SUPERSEDED BY
SAFC 2 Birmignham City 2: normal service resumes

A second goal early in the second half – Stephen Carr into his own net (not his day, since he committed the foul that produced the dodgy penalty) – gave 10-man Sunderland a cushion, which was just as well since we allowed Birmingham to sneak one back with 13 minutes to go, and then a late equaliser …

Darren Bent scores from a penalty that replays suggest wasn’t (edge of box), Birmingham defender lucky to escape a red all the same.

Lee Cattermole then sent off before half time for what Nick Barnes and Gary Bennett, on BBC Radio Newcastle, thought were two exceedingly soft yellows – though in fairness the BBC site’s main Saturday Live coverage was a lot less sympathetic, implying that he’d offended not twice but three times.

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