Moyes on the Boys at Manchester City: ‘we have a game plan (honest)’

Jake flags our new columnist
Jake flags our new columnist

John McCormick writes: What with the Olympics and a defunct dishwasher, not to mention our Hazel calling round (her dad was at Wigan v Blackburn) I forgot to look out for an e-mail from our new(est) manager. But having watched the match more or less live I’m glad Ed, Pete and the others I tried couldn’t get me a ticket. I’d have hated to have been there at the end.

Were there good things to take from a galling defeat? The aforementioned newest manager appears to think so, as you may glean from the e-mail he sent to M Sault immediately after the match, and please forgive his grammar:

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Manchester City v SAFC: ‘you’re my hero Niall so stop knocking MCFC’

Mak:
Mak, right, with the City-supporting former boxing champ Ricky Hatton at Wembley last season:

For our first Who are You? interview of the season, we turned to a Manchester City fanatic, Makahil ‘Mak’ Nuur, creator of the MCFC 1894 Twitter pages and, coming soon, podcast. His responses to our questions include a welcome prediction that David Moyes will do well for us – and a plea to Niall Quinn to be less mean to City on the telly …

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Manchester City v Sunderland Guess the Score: can we ruin Pep’s debut?

 Our designer Jake's on the ball for the big kickoff
Our designer Jake’s on the ball for the big kickoff

Another opening day looms and, by the skin of our teeth, Sunderland kick off a 10th successive season in the Premier League.

The new manager’s post-match e-mails will be given the title of Moyes on the Boys, a clear winner in the recent poll and suggested by a reader signing himself as JEL.

Will it be the Boys minus King Kone? As I write, it is looking grim but inconclusive. I tweeted that SAFC supporters had a right to expect our new manager to be fighting tooth and nail to keep him but if this Northern Echo report is to be believed, that may not be the case.

If we do lose perhaps the best centre back seen in Sunderland colours since Dave Watson, it will be a huge setback and the so far elusive inward business had better be good (though we must hope Moyes has found a gem in Papy Djilobodji).

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The ‘Who are You?’ Awards frontrunners: West Brom, Tottenham … and Exeter

Jake: 'with thanks to all opposing fans who participate'
Jake: ‘with thanks to all opposing fans who participate’

It is that time of year. Salut! Sunderland is preparing to make its annual HAWAY awards, honouring the best of our “Who are You?” interviewees among opposing supporters. The interviews ahead of each match often reach the highest standards (the answers, I mean with due modesty, not the questions) and we are delighted to offer awards to the best as voted by our panel of judges.

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Incontinent? Not us

Peter Lynn, with something for the weekend
Peter Lynn, with something for the weekend

Pete Lynn, AKA Wrinkly Pete, has just popped us an e-mail. Brief and to the point, with a title that might be inspired bysomeone else’s season going down the pan, here it is in its entirity:

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Pep Guardiola, Louis van Gaal. These Manchester Men matter, if only a little

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Buy from the Salut! Amazon link at http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00NVFNIS2/salusund-21


Monsieur Salut writes:
It is not often that Salut! Sunderland‘s parent (or should that be geriatric?) site Salut draws more hits.

It got close today because of the magic words in the headline (world-renowned managers of football clubs that have become global brands).

There wasn’t much chance of injecting a link to Sunderland in the Pep Guardiola profile I wrote for The National (decent, joined-up writing paper published in Abu Dhabi), though I considered mentioning his conversation with Boro’s Spanish manager Aitor Karaoke about life in England – though what would he know, being in Middlesbrough?.

But here it is, just in case anyone cares. My profile of Louis van Gaal, when he was appointed manager of Manchester United, still attracts loads of visitors to francesalut.com. Today, I expressed the hope that Pep is a little more mature in his dealings with the press because fabulously rewarded men and women in very public roles simply have to learn the law of rough and smooth …

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The Canadian Mackem: a Sunderland diary starts with ‘timewasting’ Manchester City

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Martin, back in his spiritual home

Many readers will recall Martin Bates‘s welcome contributions in words and pictures from Toronto when the pre-season tour reached Canada. From pure Wearside stock, Martin is Sunderland daft and anyone befriending him on Facebook will have sensed his great excitement at starting a trip back home, picking up tickets for the Man City, Liverpool and Man Utd games and soaking up the atmosphere and beer of the city where his roots are found. This, we hope, is the first of at least two slices of his back-to-Sunderland diary …

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Sixer’s Soapbox. Deserved more against a Manchester City reduced to MUFC playacting

Jake: 'more of this and we've a chance ...'
Jake: ‘more of this and we’ve a chance …’

Monsieur Salut writes: I was wrong. Pete Sixsmith‘s internet woes are over so he was up and about at the crack of dawn to reflect on the 1-0 defeat at home to Man City. I’m busy writing a profile of City’s manager-in-waiting – being contenders for four major trophies being seen as a clear sign of failure in that part of the NW Midlands – so apologies to Sixer for the delay in posting …

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Hutch’s Patch: Kirchhoff magnificent in defeat to Manchester City

Rob Hutchison:  one-word verdicts
Rob Hutchison: one-word verdicts

There may be no Soapbox report of the Manchester City match. Pete Sixsmith’s internet has been playing up and Salut! Sunderland‘s deputy editor, Malcolm Dawson, is sorting out car problems. Malcolm was encouraged by what he saw but feels there is too much to do in the remainong 14 games to ward off the threat of relegation.

Meanwhile Rob Hutchison, our master of the one-word, one-score ratings, is purring in defeat. ‘Best performance of the season with no cigar,’ he says. ‘New signings look just the part. With that XI we’ll be fine wherever we are next season’ …

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