Moyes on the boys: playing the sub(s) against Shrewsbury

Jake: 'in the hat'
Jake: ‘in the hat’

John McCormick (subbing for M Salut) writes:

That Patrick was captain should tell you all you need to know about the team we put out tonight. Still, we won, with what was by all accounts an excellent goal, and head off to Shepherds Bush in the next round.

If you do want to know more, however, then look no further. We’ve spared no expense in bringing you the letter penned not by  by our manager but by his assistant and sent by courier to M Salut (and maybe one or two others) straight after the match.

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Sixer Says: Shrews may be no easy prey for Black Cats

Malcolm Dawson writes….we’ve already a great preview of tomorrow’s League Cup from Shrewsbury fan Carl Jones (read it here). How much we should read into the result, whatever it is, is a moot point, as is how much time David Moyes is allocating to the preparations with the transfer window nearing closure. Now Pete Sixsmith finds time in between his forays into non league football and his trip to Salisbury, prior to our clash with Southampton, to bring us a Sunderland perspective on the match. He may or may not have time to file a report for us on Thursday but rest assured he will be there.

Sixer Says....
Sixer Says….
BRING ON THE SHREWS.

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Just before we abandon hope, it’s Shrewsbury in the league cup. Guess the score

Jake: "
Jake:’I’m not having any of this Shrowsbury nonesense!’

So we had two correct predictions for SAFC v Boro, both from Middlesbrough fans (Smoggie and the WAY interviewee Thomas Keen). There was no prize mug for this match – they may be a bit sparse this season – so they must be feeling a little like those who pick the same lottery numbers every week but forget to buy a ticket the Saturday they come up.

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Moyes on the Boys: it’s going to take time

Jake flags our new columnist
Jake flags our new columnist

John McCormick writes. Pete’s sevens were pessimistic but I thought we did OK in the second half and will be fine once we sort out our defence, midfield and attack.

What does our manager think, however? Well, to let you know, here’s a look at the letter he sent to M Salut, and maybe one or two others, immediately after the game:

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Sixer’s Sevens: Middlesbrough look useful – we look like strugglers

Sevens (640 pixels wide)

John McCormick writes: Pete neglected to send me a post-game text so I had to wait until Colin forwarded it. The e-mail he sent contained three possibilities. At half-time it was “Any early season optimism has disappeared already”, then came the seven words which fit the headline.

And last but not least, came seven words that might predict the future:

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Un peu d’oeuf sur le visage as U23s drop point v Chelsea

Malcolm Dawson writes….the pre-match talk yesterday as Pete Sixsmith and I made our way to the Eppleton Colliery Welfare Ground was just who was Lynden Gooch’s dad? As we listened to TMS and bemoaned the fact that England was sliding inexorably to defeat, we decided that it couldn’t have been the moustachioed former Essex and England batsman. “Never mind what it says on Wikipedia we would have heard about it” we agreed.

We also agreed that following on from a decent Premier League debut Gooch would not figure for the Under 23s in the revamped competition that raises the upper age limit from that of previous seasons. Would there be run outs for Gomez, Bridcutt and Mavrias in an attempt to up their fitness levels while the club tries to off load them? Well no as it turned out and unless they are moved on soon the club could easily find itself with a Valentin Roberge situation times three, on its hands.

It was a decent enough game with two soft goals which left both defences with a little egg on their respective faces. Too much perhaps because as the French would say “one egg is un oeuf.” I’ll get me coat and leave Pete to bring you up to speed.

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Caribbean delight: find a young winner of the Salut! Sunderland mug

Jake flags our new columnist
Jake flags our new columnist

Anyone who was paying attention will have noticed that the winning title among those suggested by readers for David Moyes’s post-game e-mails, which Salut! Sunderland will get round every matchday or soon afterwards to posting, was “Moyes on the Boys”.

So the author the phrase qualifies for the promised mug …

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Salut! Sunderland welcomes Paddy McNair and Donald Love from Manchester United

Salut! Sunderland is delighted to extend a warm welcome to Paddy McNair and Donald Love, our latest new recruits, whose much-touted transfers were finally announced by SAFC today.

None of the usual “undisclosed fee” nonsense; the club itself is happy to state the price – £5.5m to Manchester United for the pair, and you can bet your bottom dollar, pound or euro that the cost of the more experienced McNair took up the lion’s share of that total.

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