Charlie Methven exits right. But beware of suggestions he’s a (far) Right Charlie

                      Rallying the troops
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Charlie Methven, the Old Etonian, Oxford-educated “farmer’s lad” who divides opinion on Wearside, has left his role as executive director of SAFC “for family and work-related reasons” though he will retain his minority stake in the club, writes Monsieur Salut.

The news prompted a flurry of social media comment, a little in praise, a lot of bile and some downright nonsense. In the latter category was the suggestion that he had been on the general election campaign trail with Nigel Farage and that the future “political consultancy” work mentioned in his statement below would involve working with the Brexit Party leader.

It will surprise no Salut! Sunderland readers to hear that I regard Farage as a far-right ogre intent on imposing a hard, no-deal Brexit that would devastate Wearside (and the country) and tap into the worst and most snarling, anti-foreigner instincts of society. There, said it.

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ALS, Charlie Methven and ‘a small cabal of so-called supporters’

Drumming up support

Close season means silliness, says Monsieur Salut. Our club is ‘linked’ with players no one at SAFC has actually ever wanted. We pursue targets none of the speculation even mentioned. Fans whinge that June passes without marquee signings. They whinge again when the first acquisitions are frees. But at least none of us would be stupid and petty enough to complain when Alex Morgan uses a tea cup gesture to celebrate the USA beating England in Lyon. Would we?

Meanwhile, in disjointed (but reasonably explained) fashion, A Love Supreme has been interviewing Charlie Methven in his English country garden …

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Do they mean us? A Wall Street look at Sunderland

Attracting the attention of an influential US financial weekly

Monsieur Salut writes: it is a pleasure to come across a New York take on Sunderland that doesn’t just gasp in disbelief at the turkeys-voting-for-Christmas syndrome.

When the Dow Jones financial newspaper Barron’s decided SAFC was worth a look for its Penta section, the task fell to Tom Teodorczuk, who grew up in Virginia but also studied at Durham so knows the patch. It’s an interesting read – and can be seen in its original form at this link – and I will leave the Americanised spellings unchanged. It appeared beneath the peculiarly American headline, ‘The Rebirth of the UK’s Sunderland Soccer Club’ …

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The First Time Ever I Saw Your Ground: Oxford United, Kassam and Manor

Sixer & carer, Pete Horan, yet another Shildon lad

Monsieur Salut writes: one of the joys of editing Salut! Sunderland is the chance it offers to read the gems of Pete Sixsmith even before they appear before the public gaze. Book publishers should be now be forming an orderly or disorderly queue to snap up rights to his magnificent twin series, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Ground, the title inspired by Ewan MacColl’s most successful song (for Ground read Face), and – when writing about home games – The First Time Ever I Saw Your Team.

Sixer modestly dismisses is all as ‘mere ephemera’ but when did mere ephemera last present such a wonderful blend of football writing, travelogue, history, geography and wit?

Today – and doubtless Stewart Donald and Charlie Methven, at heart Oxford fans (though also, at heart, Sunderland fans now) will cast a fascinated eye or four over Sixer’s prose. Today, it is right to take a look at both the Manor Ground and its successor, the Kassam Stadium. Neither fits Pete’s idea, nor mine, of the perfect football ground. But we did both see a fabulous Sunderland goal there back in 1973, when the white-hot excitement of FA Cup glory was still a warm glow …

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Sunderland’s three amigos: ‘working tirelessly’ to reconnect fans and club

Jake: follow the Lads at salutsunderland.com

Monsieur Salut writes: it reads like an open letter and comes from Tom Lynn, a familiar figure at Sunderland games home and away as well as being the man who edited a much-missed fanzine The Wearside Roar. The sentiments are intended for ‘Brian’.

Someone whose e-mail address does appear to belong to a Brian has been writing quite regularly to Salut! Sunderland with relentlessly hostile thoughts on the new regime.

As I have said repeatedly about controversial contributors, people are fully entitled to express strong views at this site provided this is done with decency and within the laws for defamation.

Who or what is Brian? The Salut! Sunderland jury is out, but inclined to convict. A majority suspect a closet Mag. I am still not sur,e though the short correspondence I had with the owner the e-mail address in question did nothing to challenge that majority assumption.

The latest outburst from ‘Brian’ appeared as a comment on the second part of our Charlie Methven interview. The comment dismisses Stewart Donald/Charlie and Jack Ross as the ‘three amigos’ and you can see it in full at this link. Here is Tom’s response ….

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Charlie Methven’s Oxford Who are You?: (2) rebuilding Sunderland from ‘utter shambles’

Charlie and fellow-Oxford fans at that Wembley 2010 playoff final, OUFC winning 3-1 against York City to return to the Football League

Yesterday – check out this link – the first part of Salut! Sunderland‘s Who are You? interview with the Oxford-supporting Sunderland AFC executive officer Charlie Methven* brought us his thoughts on the ‘heart versus heart’ nature of torn-between-two-loves match between the two clubs.

In today’s second and concluding instalment, Charlie compares and contrasts Oxford United and Sunderland, guides us on the Jack Ross project for SAFC and appeals to our fans to show a little more business common sense than is always evident. It’s another great read but don’t expect a scoreline prediction …

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The Charlie Methven ‘Who are You?’: (1) Oxford heart vs Sunderland heart

Charlie in shades, with pals on a jolly trip to see Conference playoff success at Wembley in 2010

Salut! Sunderland wrote at length about SAFC’s executive director Charlie Methven* after he became part of his friend and fellow Oxford United supporter Stewart Donald’s takeover of our club. The vast majority of supporters are probably content with what has happened since. But both have inevitably and understandably divided loyalties as Oxford, having given us a fright at the SoL (it ended 1-1 with Charlie Wyke grabbing the equaliser), welcome SAFC for the return.

Charlie, who also gave a long interview to this site (links in the footnote*), has offered some further thoughts ahead of Saturday’s match, important to both sides for different reasons, important to him (and Donald) for irreconcilably emotional reasons. We shall divide the interview into two parts, the second to appear tomorrow (Thursday).

Read on today and tomorrow to learn more about Charlie’s ‘can’t we both win?’ feelings about the game, his happy times so far on Wearside, thoughts on Jack Ross’s developing squad, plentiful bouquets and a solitary (lightweight) brickbat for Sunderland supporters, his Oxford United passion – but no prediction of either a scoreline or SAFC’s finishing position this season …

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Oxford United vs Sunderland prize Guess the Score. Return of the Donald derby

There IS a prize and you know what it is.

The start of a busy 11-day spell for Sunderland takes Jack Ross’s side to the Kassam Stadium for the second leg of this season’s home-and-away Donald derby.

Our owner’s connections and allegiance to the opponents are well known.

He and Charlie Methven, minority shareholder and executive director, have shown heartening commitment to SAFC since taking over from the absent and disillusioned Ellis Short. But both are fervent OUFC supporters and will remain so to their dying days even though they have – literally – bought into the passion and yearning for success on Wearside.

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Sixer’s Substitute’s Southend Soapbox: Sunderland leave Shrimpers high and dry

Sunderland 3 Southend United 0

Malcolm Dawson writes……don’t be deceived. This was no walk in the park, though we did finish the game as comfortable winners.

More comfortable than the Sunderland supporter who appeared on Friday’s edition of Mastermind, anyway. If you didn’t see it and want to catch up on the i-player I won’t spoil it for you but I managed to get 11 of the specialised questions right to his 12 and beat him on the General Knowledge round, though admittedly I was sat at home with a brew and not in the “chair of doom” with a spotlight and a studio audience focused on me.

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