Ed was away; he left me his season ticket and thanks to his generosity I watched the lads for free if I don’t count the 8 gallons of petrol, the couple of bottles of wine for Susan (my sister, who put me up) and a couple of pre-match pints for designated driver Paul.
Is there a team in the land in which Jermain Defoe would not score goals? Probably not. Is our extraordinary little striker just not fashionable – or young – enough a footballer to appeal to the Peps, Joses and Antonios and the brands they manage? Maybe. We’re just lucky we have him. And Monsieur Salut’s daughter, Nathalie Randall, who has an irrational love of Liverpool, relegating Sunderland to second place in her affections, wishes he earned his living at Anfield …
I’ve always been a big fan of Jermain Defoe. My dad thinks its only because I fancy him but he’s too short for me..
Tom Latchem with manager Eddie Howe after the 2013 promotion to the Championship
Monsieur Salut writes: by the time we’d counted to three the Bournemouth fans we might approach for this week’s Who are You?, and then added ones we interviewed last season, we probably had the entire home support covered.
But what the Cherries lack in numbers, their team makes up for with football that sometimes ‘sparkles’ and produces results, according to Tom Latchem*, presenter of talkSPORT’s Extra Time, our man in the hot seat. Tom describes himself at Twitter as a ‘journo, republican, electoral reformist and old school raver’ and sounds a bloke you’d enjoy a pint with. A long read that I thoroughly enjoyed …
JP – a string of fine saves each time he plays for SAFC
Even a site that professes relatively little interest – on the part of its main contributors – in international football can stand back and applaud when England call up a player who is not only a Sunderland team member but “one of our own”.
Jordan Pickford therefore carries Salut! Sunderland‘s warmest congratulations into Tuesday’s World Cup qualifying game against Slovenia.
Malcolm Dawson writes…..I nearly didn’t go today. I’ve got a bad back. But my lift arrived early so I struggled into my socks and shoes and did what Lamine Kone didn’t do and trekked along to the Stadium of Light. I’ve moved a row back this season but the faces from last year were all there and we spent the pre-match minutes inevitably talking about how the events of the close season have put us back into a familiar frame of mind for our first home game of the season. Of the starting XI only Don Vito, PvA and Defoe were left from the line up which had put Norwich, Chelsea and Everton to the sword and ensured another season of Premiership struggle. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. We were supposed to be consolidating ourselves as a top half side. Instead we lined up with kids and other clubs’ reserve team cast offs. My GP has ordered a whole set of blood tests, I’m due an X-Ray in the week to see if he can determine the cause of my pain and has threatened me with a prostate examination if nothing is forthcoming from those. (I think he’s a closet Mag!) In the meantime I’ll let Pete Sixsmith describe his own painful experience (and I don’t mean getting through the multiple roadworks on the A690.)
