Enthused by that thumping of Newcastle United in the “secret seven-in-a-row derby”?
Well, we all will be if Duncan Watmore, Fletch and Rodwell were to grab as many goals against Man City on Tuesday night. We could even ship five crackers from the Citeh elite and still win.
Just for fun, if following incessant SAFC relegation battles can truly be considered fun, have a go at guessing Saturday’s score.
As Sunderland begin 2016 with Costel Pantilimon off to Watford and Danny Graham bound for Blackburn, there may be chances for Big Sam’s new men to shine in this massive home game.
Bournemouth will probably feel a lot more relaxed than us. They have more points, less weight of expectation on their shoulders and some decent players.
Out of sequence as Pete Sixsmith has not yet been able to file his report from Swansea, but let’s crack …
Salut! Sunderland is in an irrational hurry to reach that third millionth hit. It will happen sooner or later but posting Guess the Score early in the week will hasten progress towards the milestone. Don’t forget there’s another competition, arising from our little statistical celebration, and that carries a prize worth £50 at https://safc.blog/2016/01/a-mighty-thank-you-as-salut-sunderland-reaches-three-million/. Now guess the score in Saturday’s FA Cup third round game at the Emirates …
That slice of hopeful humanity known as Sunderland supporters will once again demonstrate monumental patience on Wednesday and troop through the Stadium of Light turnstiles to see what the Lads can muster versus Liverpool.
Perhaps some of us are too hard on them. They are professionals, broadly doing their jobs to the best of their abilities, individually and collectively.
SALUT! SUNDERLAND wishes all readers, contributors, sponsors and advertisers a merry Christmas and a happy, healthy New Year. Thank you for your support …
It is difficult to raise enough enthusiasm for something so trite as Guess the Score in a game most of us expect to lose and perhaps lose heavily.
But let’s try to keep the faith. There’s not much more Hope to be Unable to Stand and we’re all feeling pretty gloomy about our prospects, five points away from a position of safety already and a gap that seems certain to grow.
Knowing Sunderland supporters as we do, the easiest guesswork in this week’s competition would be to predict the answer to the question in the headline.
Decades of disappointment have made most of us professional gloom merchants. So Chelsea’s latest defeat, 2-1 at refreshingly table-topping Leicester, damages our prospects for Saturday at the Bridge rather than improves them.
Now is the time for Sunderland to get both parts of the package right: play well and win rather settling for gallant loser status.
After all the praise heaped on the team for a performance that deserved so much better than a 3-1 defeat, Ian Todd, a name synonymous with the London branch of the SAFC Supporters’ Association, brought us down to earth a little with this tweet …
@salutsunderland High heads are all very well but we lost as we surely will at Chelsea and Man. City. #2ndbottom
— Ian Todd (@IanTodd17) December 7, 2015
Watching snatches of Norwich v Arsenal on Sunday, I formed the clear impression that Duncan Watmore – and Steven Fletcher and/or Jermain Defoe – could cause a few scares for the Gunners’ rather dodgy defence. Not Bayern-style problems but enough to make the visit to the Emirates this Saturday less of a worry than it might be.
Which Arsenal and which Sunderland turn up will, of course, be the key.
Bravo to Sam and the Lads for a very committed display at Palace, with more decent football than the “ugly but effective” comments would have you believe. Three precious points won, the fans at Selhurst Park for once rewarded for singing their hearts out … but can we keep it going?
This, after all, is Sunderland – as the saying goes.