SAFC v Notts County Soapbox: Meadow Lane by Hillman Imp


Some more glorious reminiscences from Pete Sixsmith, who also offers timely reassurance to anyone who took him seriously when he wondered aloud about which match to watch tomorrow …

To those who thought I was deserting the Stadium of Light for Dean Street, I say thank you for convincing me that my destiny and duty lay at Sunderland rather than Shildon. I shall be in my normal seat on Saturday watching the current crop of Lads take on the current crop of Magpies.

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SAFC v Notts County: Roker Roar gave Magpie hero headache

We’ll have plenty to say about the other Mags, but they can wait until next week. For now, the only Magpies that matter are Notts County. In the first of two memorable editions of our Who are You? series – see Alex Rae’s interview by clicking hereSalut! Sunderland is honoured to welcome Les Bradd*, a great figure from the history of professional football’s oldest club. He agreed like a shot to answer our questions ahead of the FA Cup Third Round tie on Saturday and recalls a career in which he became County’s record scorer – one of the goals a cup winner against Sunderland – and suffered an odd side effect of playing at Roker Park …

You are the top scorer in County’s history: 125 goals in 398 appearance in a career spanning 11 years. Tell us what the club means to you.

I made the move to Notts County from Rotherham United in 1967 at the age of 19 and was one of a young group of players that manager Billy Gray was getting together to achieve promotion. Billy did not stay at the Club long enough and was replaced in 1969 by Jimmy Sirrel who went on to take the club from the 4th to the 2nd division in four years. The 1970s were a special time in my football career at Notts County with the success that we achieved not only in the League but also against teams of higher status than ourselves in various cup runs that we had. Many of those team mates remain great friends to this day and regularly meet and remember the good times that we had when attending Former Players Functions.

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