EFL League One

Bristol Rovers Who are You?: ‘only one team in Bristol, isn’t there?’

by
Doug Shields before Rovers 0-4 Doncaster. ‘The only time I smiled on Saturday.’ Click on the photo to see all Who are You?s this season

The curse of Who are You? A frantic call from Doug tells M Salut the manager has left today ‘by mutual consent’

Monsieur Salut writes: Doug Shields* is a friend of a friend, my Leeds-supporting, Bristol-based former colleague Richard Savill. He came up with some splendid gallows humour to describe the plight of his beloved Rovers and his life as a fan. He expects a severe beating when he visits the SoL – a common Rovers view that gives me very bad vibes – but looks forward to the delights by night of a certain other city where, he’s been told, ‘all the lads look like Jimmy Nail and all the girls have been on Geordie Shore’ …

Read more

Sixer’s Accrington Stanley Sevens: abandoned at 1-1

by
Jake: ‘that wasn’t in the script’

No, Pete Sixsmith is not reporting from either of the  towns of Stanley in County Durham. Nor is he reporting from the exceedingly wet town of Accrington as he has been assigned other duties for the duration (call Lapland for further information). But Salut! Sunderland‘s deputy editor Malcolm Dawson and associate editor John McCormick  made it to the Crown Ground or Wham Stadium, according to choice, and even met our much-missed one-word player ratings maestro Rob ‘I ran out of adjectives’ Hutchison and his daughter Olivia over pre-match drinks. They all saw Chris Maguire put the Lads ahead, only for Stanley to equalise and then for the ref to gaze at the skies, see yet another torrential downpour and abandon the game. All to be done again. Meanwhile, for thise following via Barnes and Benno, there was the consolation of news from Gateshead of the man of their match (2-0 up when Monsieur Salut switched off), Luke Molyneux, on loan from SAFC.

Read more

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Ground: Accrington Stanley and the Crown Ground

by
‘Believe in me’

John McCormick writes: all being well I’ll be there. Given the chance, what self respecting football supporter wouldn’t go to see his team play Accrington Stanley. This is history. Proper history.

Forget your Etihads and your Emirates, your millionaires and billionaires, this is what it’s all about.

As Pete Sixsmith makes so eloquently clear

Read more

Accrington Stanley Who are You?: ‘borrow a bigger ground? Would SAFC borrow St James’ Park?’

by
Peter Leatham: ‘we lost a generation of supporters when the club folded in 1962’

Monsieur Salut writes: we are delighted to welcome Peter Leatham*, chairman of the Accrington Stanley Supporters’ Club, to this season’s classic series of Who are You? interviews. We expect other clubs at this level to raise their game when they play us, since we have ‘big club’ stamped on our foreheads. But our League One interviewees are reaching lofty standards, too. I loved Peter’s response to my suggestion that Stanley might have moved this match to a bigger ground than one holding just over 5,000 to accommodate our fans! …

Read more

Accrington Stanley vs SAFC Guess the Score: the club that wouldn’t die

by
‘Believe in me’

Pete Sixsmith, having begun his annual Santa duties, has a special gift to offer: that unwon copy of Managers, the third column of Sunderland books from Tales From the Red and Whites. Read on …

Our headline reflects the proud declaration that sits atop the home page of Accrington Stanley FC’s official website.

And many readers will be familiar with the “who are they?” mantra, as exemplified by this exchange from an old milk advertisement quoted at Wikipedia:

Boy 1 (wearing Liverpool top): “Milk! Urghh!”
Boy 2:(also wearing Liverpool top) “It’s what Ian Rush drinks.”
Boy 1: “Ian Rush?”
Boy 2: “Yeah. And he said if I didn’t drink lots of milk, when I grow up, I’ll only be good enough to play for Accrington Stanley.”
Boy 1: “Accrington Stanley, who are they?”
Boy 2: “Exactly.”

Read more

League One referees: ‘they don’t all know what they’re doing’

by
Ken Gambles: let’s hear it for – and against – the men with the whistles

Monsieur Salut writes: ‘you’re not fit to referee’, ‘you don’t know what you’re doing’, ‘the referee’s a w*****’. How often have we heard and/or joined in such chants? I even recall my brother piping up once in the Sunderland away end and he’s a qualified ref (albeit in rugby). It hardly seems to matter that even the most incompetent match officials tend to make fewer mistakes than players; a blatantly wrong penalty, sending-off or offside decision can feel a lot more cruel than a missed sitter or goalkeeping howler.

Yet Ken Gambles, in common with many SAFC supporters coming to terms with life in the third tier, has been appalled at the low standards and rank inconsistency of match officials. He suggests a regular Salut! Sunderland vote to rate each of the refs we encounter as the season continues. While we work out how and whether such an exercise could work, let Ken set the scene with some highly positive comments about the man in charge of our games, Andy Madley …

Read more