Monsieur Salut writes: Pete Sixsmith has, as ever, written a wonderful article on Doncaster Rovers for his twin series on the ‘first time ever I saw you team/ground‘. It is sheer class, should appeal to fans of both Donny and SAFC and will appear here tomorrow. For now, we have Darren Burke*, a passionate Doncaster Rovers fan whose enthusiasm and pride shine throughout another fine contribution to Salut! Sunderland‘s Who are You? series …
For this midweek visit to Doncaster Rovers, Salut! Sunderland reverts to a “just for fun” format for the Guess the Score.
The coffers are empty and there’s a backlog of prizes to be ordered for previous winners.
Normal service – ie prize mugs – will be restored once M Salut feels less skint and has honoured outstanding obligations.
I’m busy today, with stuff to do, so I only have time for some quick thoughts. Don’t forget these are from someone who hasn’t been to a game since the season opener. And don’t forget Pete Sixsmith has already done us his usual masterly report, which you’ll find at this link.
John McCormick writes: It’s only 70-80 miles from home to the New Meadow but three trains meant for a time-consuming journey. I left home about 9.30 in the morning and got back about 9.30 that evening. In between I had some long waits, a bus ride, a long walk, some excellent beer in excellent company, a very decent pork pie and a mediocre burger that did not live up to its billing.
And, let’s not forget, a football game that lived up to the cliché of having two halves. Pete Sixsmith takes up the story:
Monsieur Salut writes: this is where Pete Sixsmith offers his customary seven-word verdict on each Sunderland game he attends. He wasn’t impressed by a goal-free first half – ‘poor stuff’ – but found the second half much more enjoyable. It ended with the 2-0 scoreline in our favour that our excellent Shrewsbury Town Who are You? interviewee Glyn Price had predicted. A happy return to Salop for Sixer, in the company of 1,600+ other Sunderland fans including our associate editor John McCormick. And we’re back up to third with a game in hand. There’ll be more from this win to come …
John McCormick writes: I’ve walked past the Gay Meadow ground once or twice and I’ve driven past the New Meadow, though probably before there was a football ground there, but I’ve never been inside either ground and I don’t think I’ve ever seen Shrewsbury play at all.
That’s something I’m hoping to rectify this weekend, which would add another name to my grounds visited list and leave me only a hundred or so behind Pete Sixsmith who, as you might expect, has been to both.
In the first part of a long interview with Glyn Price*, co-presenter of the Shrewsbury Town podcast Salopcast, we heard about what he calls the ‘massive’ community pride in the club and the highs and lows of supporting a lower league side (don’t expect a Salop fan to thank you for a ticket to see the team at Wembley – they always lose there). Now on to Glyn’s thoughts on Sunderland and his scoreline prediction for Saturday…
Monsieur Salut writes: League One is proving a goldmine for Who are You? interviews. Glyn Price* maintains the standards set by several others. He’s the co-presenter of the Shrewsbury Town podcast Salopcast and assists the club’s Supporters’ Parliament. Some great responses await you, but it’s a long interview so has been divided into two. The second instalment – in which Glyn jokes that Jack Ross should be strung up or worse if he fails to win us automatic promotion – will appear tomorrow (and can now be seen here) …
My “how’s it going?” piece went up on Friday, as per usual over the last few international breaks, and elicited few responses, as per usual over the last few seasons. I had expected one or two Coventry ninjas (there can’t be many more than two) to pick up the series and comment but it appears to be beyond them.
Not that it matters. One appreciative reader, Edward, made a comment and that got me thinking, so I did a bit of fiddling with the spreadsheet and here we are.
In some ways this post is similar to Friday’s. However, there is not only an update there’s also a change of emphasis. Sunderland, of course, are the main focus but, for the first time this season, Walsall and Doncaster come into the discussion, which is something they’ve merited for a while, and I’ve also included Accrington, new entrants to the play-off spots
Salut! Sunderland continues its series on branches of the SAFC Supporters’ Association with a look at Nyssan, writes Monsieur Salut. No, I am not referring to that valued provider of mass employment (come back after March 31 for an update on that description) but to the North Yorkshire Sunderland Supporters’ Association, a branch with not just Nyssa but Nyssan on its registration plate. And its bit of the A19 comes after Teesside, off course when travelling south.
Ken Gambles, also a valued provider (in his case of thought-provoking and sometimes rather witty articles for this site, takes up the story of the branch oƒ which he is secretary (You can e-mail Ken by clicking here …