Keir’s ratings: Burnley and Fulham – who’s good? Who’s best?

Jake: 'Keir has made a real effort this term to get his work in on time'
Jake: ‘Keir has made a real effort this term to get his work in on time’

 

John McCormick writes: In the 1960s, when most of the Salut team had just graduated from short pants, about 80,000 people a year got 5 or more O levels, an achievement which was guaranteed to impress not only Grandma but also employers. Now almost 80,000 people are awarded First Class Honours every year. By the time young Keir Bradwell reaches graduation age he’ll likely need a couple of PhDs to get a job, so it’s no surprise he occasionally needs to prioritise commitments.

However, he hasn’t forgotten us. He sent his Burnley ratings a couple of days ago with a message that it might be worthwhile holding them until after Fulham and doing a double post.  I originally decided to jump the gun but now I’m able to give you his ratings for both games:

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Pure Poyetry: Fulham 1 Sunderland 3: Gus getting the fans back onside

Jake captures the Bard, with thanks to Owen Lennox
Jake captures the Bard, with thanks to Owen Lennox

John McCormick  writes: I didn’t expect the lineup that started this game and for the second time this season one of the manager’s initial XI was injured in the warm up. A bench which was supposed to have only six ended up with only five and the manager’s choice was limited. But those who made it got the job done. There are those who feel the F.A. Cup is no longer a priority but Gus has stated that he loves this competition. Bradford next. Get through that and we are one game from Wembley but is Gus counting any chickens? Tonight he is upbeat in his post match e-mail to M Salut and maybe to some others and pointedly credits the fans and recognises what they wish to see.

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Wembley beckons distantly; will anyone bother to go?

John McCormick:
John McCormick: glass half full; cup – half empty

As the new year got under way I began speculatively looking at ticket prices. I didn’t get as far as train timetables before a virus crept up on me and knocked me sideways. Today, I went out for the first time in over a week. I’m back now, obviously, and feeling the better for it, but any lingering thoughts of Burnley, or even Southport-Gateshead are gone.

If I lived in the North East I’d be going to the Burnley game, and I’d have been there against Leeds and Fulham, but that’s  easy  for me to spout. To paraphrase the late Mandy Rice-Davies, I would say that wouldn’t I.

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Fulham Who are You?: ‘SAFC fans deserve better than constant relegation scraps’

Jake has ways of making them talk
Jake has ways of making them talk

As a decent FA Cup run beckons for someone, we welcome back Russ Goldman*, a USA-based Fulham diehard adjusting to life without Premier League football and therefore without access to live televised games. Like SAFC, Fulham offer radio coverage – Barnes and Benno are a class act for us – but Russ admits it’s not the same (he should try wrestling with stop-start streams, which make Barnes and Benno an emphatically better option). He sees Sunderland advancing to the 5th round but not without a fight ….

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