Sunderland’s Championship prospects – and a controversial view of Grabban

Source: SAFC at Facaebook

Salut! Reflections has developed into a corner of Salut! Sunderland for outsiders, not usually supporters of SAFC. The contributions range from blandly stating the obvious to offering interesting or pertinent points about the progress or lack of it of our club. Even after heavy editing, those in the former category struggle to shine.

This is at the higher end, more imaginatively written, up to date and opinionated. Since we are assured the author, William Sundin, is a media production graduate from Sunderland University, there may be a good reason for that. What we certainly hope to be true is that his failure to see the qualities of Lewis Grabban reflects his shortcomings, not the player’s …

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The Lars Word: from Keano to Advocaat – and then Big Sam?

Lars Knutsen
Lars Knutsen

Lars Knutsen has had about as much ‘excitement’ as a Sunderland supporter can take. He wants the S word – stability – along with enhanced Premier status. Here, he looks back with some admiration on Roy Keane’s time at the club and ponders Dick Advocaat and succession. His choice for the Dutchman’s successor, assuming his stay is limited to one season, will divide fans …

Well we have had yet another “exciting” end to the campaign, and obviously all Sunderland fans are delighted that we stayed up, after what has become our usual late run.

Dick Advocaat did well for us, and won the hearts of the fans. Those tears at the Emirates told us that the club had got under his skin. With the right signings and his more attacking tactics we can do a lot better in 2015-16.

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Soapbox: gold to Ipswich, welcome to Wickham


Does this amount to strikebreaking, a scabby edition of Soapbox? Pete Sixsmith is meant to be on strike. Truth is he couldn’t resist upping tools long enough to tell us he likes what he has seen so far in the close season transfer dealings …

Many years of my working life have been spent working with 18-year-olds. Some went on to be doctors and lawyers. One has produced a bestselling novel. Some went into the caring professions – nursing, social work, comforting Newcastle fans. And some hit the depths and became teachers. But I have never taught one with an £8m price tag around his neck or hers.

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Wickham’s ‘£13 million’, Salut! Sunderland’s one million

WSC: sponsors of the Who are You? awards


Nothing official on Connor Wickham, but today’s developments and eyebrow-raising estimates of £!3m as the size of our bid suggest genuine manoeuvres even if the lad still fancies that Anfield bench (read the footnote*), so first let us deal with a smaller number of millions …

If you scroll far enough down the left-hand sidebar, past all the links to other items at Salut! Sunderland or its sister sites, you reach – as I start writing this article – the figure of 995,769. In fact, for reasons unknown to me, you also see 995,770 just above it.

In other words, we are within a few days of hitting the million mark.

Now I am sure there are loads – millions? – of websites that attract a million visitors a minute, if not a trillion hits a second. Even so, it seems a milestone worth crowing about a little.

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Daryl Murphy: good for Celtic, good for us?

We’ve tried hard enough to send him on his way. Daryl Murphy clearly plays no part in Steve Bruce’s thinking when it comes to Sunderland’s future. But whatever the shortcomings of the Scottish Premier League, a move to Celtic for the 27-year-old, 6ft 3in Irishman would confound those who see him as no better than a Championship player …

darylmurphy Photo: Peadar O’Sullivan

If Daryl Murphy’s rumoured move to Celtic happens, the unfashionable, possibly minority view – or, at least, the view of the part of Salut! Sunderland writing this – would be to wish him well and acknowledge the positive aspects of his SAFC legacy.

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