Ellis Short

Calling Defoe, West Ham, SAFC: (1) stay, (2) dream on, 3) keep

by

Sunderland have rejected a £6m bid from West Ham for striker Jermain Defoe, Sky sources understand

Salut! Sunderland pays relatively little heed to rubbishy transfer window speculation.

In the past, much or maybe most turned out to be untrue, no more than the manipulations of clubs and agents or the imaginations of football journos.

But these days, clubs – some clubs, then only sometimes – are more open about their wishes and their dealings. We already know Slaven Bilic fancies bringing Jermain Defoe back to West Ham. We know Crystal Palace, absurdly located in one of the worst places to get to in London, even from London. want him, too.

These are my messages more fully:

Read more

New Year message to Ellis: please don’t cut David Moyes short

by
Jake asks: ‘can Moyes rely on money being available to do what’s needed?’

The jury is probably still out on both David Moyes and Ellis Short. Sunderland’s recent run has given hope but that hope will disintegrate if we do not continue to pick up points, from the higher-placed clubs as well as fellow-strugglers. This is where Ellis Short comes in: is he simply being canny, letting it be known through his chief executive Martin Bain that no money is available for the transfer window, whereas Moyes actually has at least some room for manoeuvre? Or is he really willing to risk a massive cut in the value of the club he wants to sell, hoping Moyes’s threadbare squad can hack it but ready to let it sink into the Championship if it does not? Alex McMahon offers some thoughts on these issues…

Read more

Wrinkly Pete says what we’re thinking: ‘beginning to look a lot like Christmas’

by
Peter Lynn, aka Wrinkly Pete.

John McCormick writes: Wrinkly Pete is quite prescient. I was thinking of doing a relegation review before the end of the week and might still do so, depending on what comes down the Salut chimney in the next few days. I know there’s a “Who are you?” due but there may well be other posts – and you can take that as an invitation to send us something of your own if you wish. Like our esteemed manager we’re always on the lookout for young talent and not above taking on a good old’n.

Which, I suppose, returns me to Wrinkly Pete himself:

Read more

Wise Man Says: the buck stops with Ellis Short

by
Nic Wiseman
Nic Wiseman

It’s a bit like ‘kindly’ but cane/slipper-wielding schoolmaster or parent of days gone by: ‘this is going to hurt me far more than it will hurt you.’ Sometimes, Salut! Sunderland feels obliged to publish items that raise serious and perhaps harsh criticism of the club or individuals within it. Our pages are ALWAYS open to reply from anyone feeling aggrieved at what appears here but we need to exercise care in the first place.

Nic Wiseman is a solid, long-established, thinking member of the SAFC-supporting family. He helped to create the excellent but short-lived fanzine It’s The Hope I Can’t Stand!. Though also critical, Monsieur Salut thinks Ellis Short may be more sinned against than sinning – money has been made available to managers and incompetently spent; it’s enough to make any boss bad-tempered – but Nic is fully entitled to take a sterner view. Here it is …

Read more

It’s official – David Moyes takes the reins

by
Jake gets arty and scary when Moyes was our nemesis. Can he now do to others what he once did to us?
Jake got arty and scary when Moyes was our nemesis. Can he now do to others what he once did to us?

Deputy Editor Malcolm Dawson writes: and the second worst kept secret in English football over the past few weeks at last is confirmed. Ex Everton, Man Utd and Real Sociedad boss David Moyes is quickly installed in the hot seat at the SoL. No doubt we will be doing a more in depth piece at some point but this hastily added offering will at least give you somewhere to post your thoughts as the Lads head to Rotherham.

Read more

Big Sam Poll: amid FA dithering, are Sunderland entitled to closure?

by

[polldaddy poll=9472902]

Apologies for typos that appeared in an earlier version: an unedited draft somehow managed to replace the finished article and this remained in place, with spelling mistakes, until spotted …

No one knows, or no one is saying, when the FA’s three wise men will put us out of our misery, and end the damaging disruption to Sunderland’s pre-season preparations, and announce their decision on England’s new manager.

Perhaps we have no real right to place our own concerns above those of England, much as some of have felt detached from the national team for years.

Read more