Connor Wickham

Sixer’s Substitute’s Soapbox: Udinese like a Sunday morning

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Malcolm Dawson writes……Following his most recent visits to the O3 Arena, Peter Sixsmith has developed a liking for watching a team in red and white stripes at St James’ Park, so when the Football League fixtures were announced he got Pardew, his faithful manservant, to organise a suite at the Exeter Travelodge and a ticket to see The Grecians play Pompey in what to many of us, is still the old Fourth Division. It was all sorted before SAFC announced their final pre-season arrangements and Pete will be at The Hawthorns next week to bring his unique insight into the first game of the campaign proper, but it fell to me to make the ten minute trip to Heritage Park, home of the “Two Blues”, for the final warm up match…..

Malcolm Dawson climbs up on the soapbox at Bishop
Malcolm Dawson climbs up on the soapbox at Bishop Auckland

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Sixer’s Manchester United Soapbox: waiting a lifetime for a win at Old Trafford

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Malcolm Dawson writes….as I left Heritage Park on Friday night, having witnessed Bishop Auckland’s 4-0 trouncing of Wembley bound local rivals West Auckland, Pete Sixsmith said to me: “We could well be safe this time tomorrow if results go our way.” “We can but dream,” I thought, fully expecting Wednesday to be the evening when we could be certain of survival, but I repeated the sage’s words to another group of Sunderland fans who were discussing the significance of the past fortnight on the walk to the car park. I was hopeful that Poyet would have the team organised, that the upsurge of confidence that has come from who knows where since the Tottenham game and the resurgent Wickham could get us a point. But all three? We’d seen what the new manager effect had done to Norwich and Old Trafford is a ground where success has been notable by its absence since the days of Sir Matt Busby’s team of Stepney, Charlton, Stiles, Best and Crerand. For our ace reporter yesterday was one of those performances which reminds him why he sits through so much dross. Sixer looks back on a day to remember, the like of which he hadn’t seen since high jumpers were still using the straddle technique and a change of government in an independent Eastern European country led to Russian interference.
NEWsoapbox(Without Score)

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Bravo Connor, Premier player of the month, and time for hands to go up

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Jake captures the man who's given us hope
Jake captures the man who’s given us hope


How many Sunderland fans, from home-and-away diehards to exiled Mackems and assorted fansite/fanzine writers, can keep a straight face when claiming never to have criticised Connor Wickham?

I’ve done it, others at Salut! Sunderland have done it, the Blackcats email forum has at times been awash with criticism.

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Sixer’s Sevens: SAFC 4 Cardiff City 0. Acclaim a job done in style

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Pete Sixsmith: seven words, no more, no less
Pete Sixsmith: seven words, no more, no less

Monsieur Salut writes: we fretted all week, tried all means of bolstering our own confidence, worried as usual about Sunderland’s habit of shooting self in foot – but kept believing. With good reason. An emphatic win lifts the Lads out of the bottom three, an achievement considered all but impossible less than two weeks ago. Pete Sixsmith said beforehand ‘most important game since the last most important game. Ah, well, here goes’. He was a happy man afterwards as we shall hear more of in due course. There is work still to be done but this was a great start to the last lap …

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Salut! Sunderland Podcast: what’s gone wrong with Ji Dong Won?

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On time again, says Jake
On time again, says Jake

One of the most encouraging things about the live podcast last week was seeing many journo and editor types in the audience, writes Stephen Goldsmith. This was particularly pleasing as it meant I could remind them face to face about their assurances of featuring on the podcast.

 

James Hunter from the Evening Chronicle was one the recipients of this direct method and popped in to the studios to discuss all things SAFC. Being the Sunderland correspondent in a Newcastle paper, it was a change in environment for James, here he could witness Sunderland fans moaning instead of Newcastle fans goading over airports or housing estates that aren’t even in the same county. Gareth Barker and I were also joined by Craig Clark from over at Roker Report who sparked off a massive Phil Bardsley debate at the live pod last week. If he hadn’t have asked somebody else would have in all fairness.

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Bolton 0 SAFC 2: not getting carried away, but hailing Wickham

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Ian Porter offered this instant analysis at the Blackcats list soon after the final whistle at the Reebok – an impressive blend of realism and approval …

We totally dominated the second half, but didn’t really make out possession and domination hurt too much.

Mignolet kept us in the game with a good save, but wasn’t really bothered much apart from that.

Defensively, I thought all the back four looked solid. Richardson’s had his critics, myself included, but he played well today.

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