FA Cup - SAFC Blog

Hull City vs SAFC ‘Who are You?’: Raich Carter junior’s divided loyalties

March 9, 2014March 5, 2014 by Colin Randall

“Not a bad wedding present for Mrs Carter.” That was how the Queen Mother, then Queen Consort, put it when she handed the FA Cup to Sunderland’s captain Raich Carter in 1937, a few days after his wedding. One of the finest players of his time, Raich had scored the second goal in our 3-1 win over PNE. Raich died in 1994. His son, Raich Carter junior*, a product of his second marriage, to Pat (he also had two daughters, one from his first marriage), is a warmly welcome guest in the ‘Who are You?’ series. Not a Salut! Sunderland mistake; Raich is an avid … Hull City fan. That’s easily explained and I’ll leave it to him to do so as he answers our question ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup quarterfinal ..

Sixer’s Soapbox: Southampton and game number 4; not many there

February 19, 2014February 16, 2014 by Colin Randall

Pete Sixsmith’s on his way down south (to Hull, anyway) to watch some Rugby League. Let’s hope the weather stays …

Poyetry in Motion: The boss is thinking as we stop Southampton marching

February 15, 2014February 15, 2014 by Colin Randall

John McCormick writes With M Salut away it has been left to Malcolm and myself to look after things over the weekend. This was one of the games I was thinking of coming up for but events down here a few days ago meant the trip was a non-starter, and that was before the weather. Nevertheless, I thought this was an attractive fixture so I was surprised at the low crowd. Low by our standards, that is. I get the impression it won’t be bad overall in comparison with some other games this weekend, especially when things like storms, the cost of travel to Manchester for a no-show, our impending Wembley visit etc. are factored in.
Enough of that, the team did enough to keep the 16,000 happy. But what of Gus? how does he feel? Here, in his own words to M Salut, he tells us:

Sunderland v Southampton Guess the Score: unwanted distraction or more glory?

February 13, 2014February 13, 2014 by Colin Randall

In the piece I have just written for ESPN, and which now appears at the Sunderland pages, I began by …

‘Sunderland v Southampton Who are You?: 1,000km round trips ‘like scaling Everest’

February 13, 2014 by Colin Randall

Pete Sixsmith’s phone and mine have compatibility issues. He sends goal texts and his Sixer’s Sevens match verdicts and nothing appears. I try to make sure he’s not stranded on on the Pennines by road closures and howling gales on the futile trip towards Man City and he sees nothing on his phone. Then a seven-worder arrived all the same: ‘No football but lots of Hydes bitter’. Since it’s a Manchester-brewed ale, we can safely assume the Durham branch coach made it before the match was postponed and that its occupants then celebrated avoidance of the defeat every pundit confidently predicted.

And so to Southampton in the FA Cup 5th round. Nick Gregory* runs Southampton away travel and transports Saints fans on their journeys around the country (though the long hauls to Wearside or Tyneside – likened by Nick to climbing Everest – are offset by several annual sprints to London0. He had to fit these answers into a hectic week that involved the game at Hull, which explains the terse answers. It’s more of a quickfire Q+A than the customary long read …

Poyetry in Motion after edging past Kidderminster Harriers: ‘best part was winning’

January 25, 2014 by Colin Randall

Jake captures the Bard, with thanks to Owen Lennox

Not emphatic, not memorable but we’re through. Let the boss speak for himself in his post-match e-mail to M Salut and a millon others …

SAFC v Kidderminster Harriers ‘Who are You?’: knowing away fans by name

April 29, 2014January 24, 2014 by Colin Randall

This may be a special treat for our star writer, Sixer, and our deputy editor, Malcolm Dawson. The first question put to our Kidderminster Harriers interviewee explains why. The euphoria of Old Trafford gives way, on Saturday, to the more modest experience of a home game against Kidderminster Harriers. Scott Jones* is the matchday announcer at the Harriers’ ground, Aggborough. He’s also a home-and-away ever-present. I cannot imagine a better candidate …

Sunderland vs Kidderminster Harriers Guess the Score: let’s have some fun

January 23, 2014 by Colin Randall

Jake regrets there will be no prize for this one

I’d love to see Gus Poyet put out a winning team but I’d love even more for that winning team to be drawn heavily from players not always involved in Premier action.

Sixer’s Sevens: Sunderland 3 Carlisle Utd 1 – no slipping up today

January 6, 2014January 5, 2014 by Colin Randall

Pete Sixsmith - or *supersub - does it in seven words — Pete Sixsmith – or *supersub – does it in seven words

With one potential bananaskin avoided we find there’s another one to come. Was today’s game as comfortable as the Radio Newcastle commentary suggested and how did our debutants do? Pete Sixsmith is the man to tell us. Here’s his immediate post-match, seven-word verdict on a day when one North-East team kept the region’s cup hopes alive.

Sixer’s Sunderland-free Travels: West Auckland comeback peeves the Pitmen of Hednesford

October 14, 2013 by Colin Randall

With the deepest of apologies to Mr Poyet, Mr O’Shea, Mr Johnson et al, Pete Sixsmith snatched with glee at a weekend without the need to fret about how badly Sunderland would perform. And off he went in search of some non-league inspiration, eventually finding it once the half-time break was over and the card-happy referee had calmed down ..

Another international weekend, another chance for a break from the travails of the Stadium of Light. The longer this season goes on, the more I welcome the internationals. There’s another one due in November as well.