Manchester City

Head says Citeh, heart says Wigan

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John McCormick: on a mild and bitter day
John McCormick: on a mild and bitter day

It’s a Friday evening during the football season , but here in the Northwest, from where two teams will shortly compete for the most famous knockout trophy in the world, things now seem very muted. What’s it like in the Northeast, where two teams have a really serious weekend coming up?

It’s an FA cup final weekend but not a proper one. How can it be? The league hasn’t finished. There will be Premiership games on the Sunday. The final itself kicks off at 5.15 on Saturday, to suit God knows who, presumably not the thousands of fans who will struggle to get back to Greater Manchester. Money, money, money, it’s a rich man’s world and bugger the poor supporters, as ABBA could have written.

Of course, it’s not just the timing of the final and the continuance of the Premier league. The Press and TV in the Northwest this week has been full of one manager’s resignation and another’s appointment, not long after covering a Merseyside derby which included a legendary player’s almost last appearance. It’s only now that the TV down here has turned to Wigan and Man City, and it feels quite exhausted in doing so, as if football has been done to death, which maybe it has.

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Sixer’s Soapbox: Roker erupts as Hughes and Halom rip Manchester City apart

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Sixer by Jake
Sixer by Jake

We missed out on Reading and Notts County for the simple reason that the idea didn’t dawn until the 40th anniversaries of those games from the 1973 FA Cup run had passed. So we began this series at Maine Road and will continue it until May 5, the date of the Stokoe-Porterfield-Montgomery (and everyone else) glory in the final.

Pete Sixsmith was at both games against Man City. He was a student in those days and has had thousands of students of his own (ok, pupils) to contend with since.

We’ve already had a Sixer’s Sevens and a Sixer’s Soapbox from the first game, which ended 2-2. Malcolm Allison was still convinced after City’s lucky escape that his side would romp through to the 6th round. Many older Sunderland fans regard what actually happened – an emphatic SAFC win – as the best they’ve seen in all their years of unconditional (-ish) love.

And this Soapbox from the replay is written as seen through the young man’s eyes …

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Sixer’s Sevens: SAFC 3 Manchester City 1 – best match seen at Roker Park?

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Jake gives Sixer star billing
Jake gives Sixer star billing

This is where Pete Sixsmith records his instant verdict, in seven words, on each Sunderland game. That, in this 40th anniversary year, includes the latter stages of the FA Cup run that ended woith triumph over Leeds United at Wembley. Pete can do so from the privileged position of being old mature enough to have attended every game in the run with the exception of the away replay at Reading. Look out later today – Update: in fact look now at this link https://safc.blog/2013/02/sixers-soapbox-roker-erupts-as-hughes-and-halom-rip-manchester-city-apart/ – for his Soapbox report of the game, which really was a cracker …

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Sunderland 2 Everton 2: under 21s, our new giant included, surrender lead

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Pete on his travels
Pete on his travels

Pete Sixsmith has a big night ahead. He’ll be at Roker Park tomorrow for the FA Cup fifth round replay against Manchester City. That, at any rate, is the dream, one that goes back to 1973. Come back to see his report of one of the best games seen at the old ground. For now, he reports on a promising debut by Kader Mangane in a game that was nearly good enough to allow the crowd to forget the glacial conditions …


Three hundred and sixty hardy souls can now lay claim to the fact the we have seen Kader Mangane play. He turned out for the development squad in what turned into an entertaining clash with Everton at Eppleton last night. As usual, we came unstuck against the Toffees, losing a two goal lead to end up with a point.

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Sixer’s Sevens: Manchester City 2 Sunderland 2. Fifth round glory 40 years on

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Jake gives Sixer star billing
Jake gives Sixer star billing

This is where Pete Sixsmith records his instant verdict, in seven words, on each Sunderland game. Today’s is a rather special edition of the Sevens since it recalls a match played eight days short of 40 years ago on Sunderland’s march to Wembley and glory. Salut! Sunderland will have plenty to say about the anniversary but first let’s hear from Sixer, who was there in 1973 just as he was at the replay (3-1 to the Lads after Malcolm Allison had bragged ‘Sunderland have no chance – we’ll murder them’) and the rest of the run to the winning final against then-mighty Leeds United – and at the SoL in 2013 when MoN’s team tumbled headlong out of the cup in a replay against none-too-mighty Bolton Wanderers. And he’ll be back on these pages soon with a Soapbox from Maine Road, the occasion remembered as vividly as if it did indeed happen today …

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Arsenal, Manchester City and the linesman who spoke for most of us

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Jake brightens up the site again
Jake brightens up the site again

The FA, we are told, has been “letting it be known” that John Brooks, an unlikely hero of the modern game of football, has been removed from FA Cup duties tonight and Premier League action at the weekend because of “the pressure of media interest in him”.

Is it or is it not a punishment? It sounds like one, however dressed up in weasel words.

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Martin’s Musings from SAFC 1 Manchester City 0: everyone played their part

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Malcolm Dawson writes….

It was one of those games where I chewed my finger ends for the last half an hour or so. I couldn’t tell from my seat if Johnson’s shot had gone in and it was only as the South Stand roared we could be certain in the NW corner. At 1-0 up the tactic seems to be to defend deeper and deeper and City have the talent to break down any defence in front of goal. That said we had chances to put the game to bed but with Joe Hart coming forward for the injury time corners and Lescott brought on as an attacking option I feared the worst. But the Lads held on and oh how we celebrated. Then as the score came in from Old Trafford we celebrated some more.

Jake's imagination

For the second game in a row Martin O’Neill in his post-match e-mail to M Salut can praise the whole team and the home support.

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Sixer’s Sevens: SAFC 1 Manchester City 0. For days like these

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After his rare Saturday off – he gave Southampton a miss – Pete Sixsmith chose a great comeback day, seeing Adam Johnson’s winner help Sunderland to a third successive home win over Man City – and a mightily useful third win in four games. It was indeed the sort of game and therefore the sort of day for which we, as Sunderland supporters, live. Don’t worry if City moan about overwhelming pressure and results against the run of play; the winning of football games is about scoring goals and, where neecssary, defending well. Come back to the site for much more on this sensational result including Sixer’s full assessment in a day or so …

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Manchester City Who are You?: ‘loved Niall, don’t really miss rubbish times’

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Jake asks the question

SALUT! SUNDERLAND WISHES ALL CONTRIBUTORS AND READERS, WHOEVER THEY SUPPORT, A FABULOUS CHRISTMAS

Doug Higgingbottom is a one of those people we should salute as mainstays of the game of football. He has always supported Manchester City, not just now with desert gold to make success probable but back when they descended into the third tier. He watches the Under 18s, the Under 21s, the first team in training and shares his thoughts with fellow supporters on a City forum*. His answers to Salut! Sunderland‘s questions ahead of the Boxing Day match between our club and his were a delight to read …

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