John McCormick writes: we have a manager and the transfer window’s open. A new chapter in the SAFC story is about to begin. But we also have history, some good, some not so and we would do well to remember it. So here, with the hope that the players running up alps in Austria will find it when they when they plug themselves into their alternative worlds, is some of that history, courtesy of Pete Sixsmith.
John McCormick writes: Wrinkly Pete often illuminates his posts with reference to old songs which, given most of our readers can remember us winning a trophy, still resonate. He missed one, though, but I spotted it and stuck it in the title.
Read on and you’ll find it somewhere in his prose. So this week’s quiz is:
What’s the title, and can you identify any singers/groups and the years in which they recorded versions?
No prizes, but there are at least four to find, and all from different years, if my memory serves me well. And if you think I’m looking back to keep my mind from pondering what lies ahead, maybe I am, not that Wrinkly Pete agrees.
John McCormick writes: For a while it looked like we might get something. We shaped up as a football team, with Borini and Januzaj being positive, and even Billy Jones getting close, and we showed fight.
Then they scored, and scored a second, and it became once again close, but no cigars.
And by the end of the game, really, it was not even close. What can you expect when City could bring on a player of the calibre of Kevin de Bruyne with fifteen minutes to go?
Yet, despite the gap, our manager found things to praise (somewhat ungrammatically) in his post-match message, and this time I agree with him.
It’s been a few years since I’ve done a timely review of Deloitte’s “Money League”, which usually comes out in January or February (it was January this year).
But when there’s a battle to be fought there’s not much room, time or inclination to give some thought to a little piece of meaningless self-publicity, which is what the Deloitte Money League is, entertaining though it may be.
I’m getting a bit tired of the title (and Monsieur Salut should apologise to any reader lured here by thoughts it was a poll on religion; the word inexplicably replaced relegation in the headline when published and still appeared some time later at the newsnow.co.uk site) .
But just because we have some decent players, led by one of the Premier League’s most experienced managers and backed by a tremendous crowd, we can’t assume we’re safe.
Our record is not good. We’ve been one of the survivors for too many seasons and we can’t take anything for granted. Even now there will be some fans somewhere rubbing their hands as they look at the fixtures and thinking ‘Sunderland, that’s an easy three points’.
John McCormick writes…When I saw the lineup, without Kaboul and Cattermole, I thought, “that’s it, we’re f*****”. Then I saw Don Vito instead of long Pants and thought, “What’s going on?” And then I saw Danny Graham and seven words drifted across my brain – “Graham not Defoe? Sam’s having a laugh.” But the first half was no laughing matter.
John McCormick asks: Do you remember, at least three managers back, so it must be years and years (or perhaps 18 months) ago, when I did an end of season piece about the songs that made the season. Now Peter Lynn, aka Wrinkly Pete, has picked up the theme with his own version of Desert Island discs. In keeping with the programme he has picked eight songs that have special meaning for him, and maybe for other supporters.
Were you there? Did you sing? Or do you have other songs that bring back memories? In his e-mail to the boss Pete suggested others might give us their favourites. Why not give it a go?
Now, over to Pete:
Malcolm Dawson writes …….I watched this on the telly. Usually I shy away from talking about individual players’ performances when …
For the last couple of years I’ve reported on our progress towards the Deloitte Money Football League. I had just about started an update in February when other things took priority – we had a double to celebrate, then a cup final, and then we started digging what we thought was a grave, only it turned out to be a tunnel. I finished my piece around the start of the World Cup, when there was a lot going on and then went off on holiday. Now here we are, in the transfer window with friendlies underway and next season’s fixtures around the corner, and I’m hoping our esteemed editor can find space between Pete’s reports and Borini’s never-ending saga.
Well despite only picking up a point from our last two games, the performances were encouraging, writes Stephen Goldsmith. I …