Manchester City - SAFC Blog

Who do you support: what gives you the right?

July 12, 2015July 11, 2015 by Dean Cruddace

Malcolm Dawson writes….Summer Madness is the retrospective spot where we republish articles from days gone by. Well it helps to fill in time whilst we wait for the start of the new season. Pete Sixsmith and I are off to Tow Law this afternoon where the Development squad take on the Lawyers in a pre-season friendly. Chris Waddle of course has played for both clubs but I doubt he’ll be there shouting “pelanty” every time a player goes down in or near the box! A match report will follow.

Meanwhile we go back half a decade to 2010 when M Salut asked the question “What gives you the right to support a team.” I have included the comments which were made at the time. Please feel free to add to those.

M Salut, drawn by Matt, colouring by Jake

Like the look of Chelsea? Gasp in admiration at Man United’s trophy cupboard? Fine, then let’s become a supporter. We can always find out where the place is later. Colin Randall, conscious of his own origins as far due south of Wearside as is possible without falling into the sea, takes a whimsical look at the hoops we should expect to go through before being regarded as genuine supporters of our chosen clubs …

What are the tests a supporter should pass to qualify as a real fan of the team he or she follows, as opposed to a bandwagon jumper?

I have my own set of rules.

Relegation watch: still looking at Watford, Bournemouth and Norwich, with Leicester hanging on

July 4, 2015July 4, 2015 by Colin Randall

John McCormick: getting ready, only a month to go

What a website! On 15th June, in response to my “who went down, who’s going down?” Dave left a comment which included:

“… I think Pearson will, at some point, have a big row with a player or a fan, and the team’s spirit that kept them up will dissipate…”

Two weeks later Leicester City’s website contained the following:

“…it has become clear to the Club that fundamental differences in perspective exist between us. Regrettably, the Club believes that the working relationship between Nigel and the Board is no longer viable…”

The effect on team spirit remains to be seen but as I said at the start, what a website!

A week ago I left you with a poll whose results were suggesting the targets of my dodgy numbers “relegation watch” would be the three promoted clubs and Leicester. Since then another couple of thousand votes have been cast but they didn’t make much difference, despite the turmoil at the Kingpower . Here are last Friday’s and this Friday’s results:

Summer Madness: (1) on Man Utd being urged ‘forget our Man City Poznan’

December 22, 2016July 3, 2015 by Colin Randall

Stephen Goldsmith, fondly remembered from this parish, unwittingly kicks off a series of Summer Madness retrospectives, good reads that deserve another airing.

The choice of Goldy’s article from 2012 was prompted by a tweet from a MUFC fan explaining his jibe about Sunderland being relegated next May. It reflected his lingering anger at the Poznan done by some SAFC fans when they beat us in the final game and thought themselves champions until Man City scored in stoppage time to break their hearts. See the Twitter exchange below (I cannot quite work out how to avoid repeating each tweet before the reply). But first, have another look at Goldy’s amusing piece …

Relegation: it’s still Bournemouth and Watford. Can Leicester and Norwich relax?

June 27, 2015June 26, 2015 by Colin Randall

Strange, isn’t it? I spend Monday evening idly browsing the MLS (aka Major League Soccer) website trying to work out how it (the league, not the website) operates and then along comes David Millward with a piece about a football convention in the USA. I wonder if the fans he mixed with can get their heads around relegation and promotion better than I can handle the subtleties of the MLS.

Keir’s Sunderland Player Ratings: ‘Rodwell my star at Manchester City’

January 5, 2015January 3, 2015 by Colin Randall

Jake: 'at least we gave them a fight' — Jake: ‘at least we gave them a fight’

Almost too late to be publishable, Keir Bradwell comes up with his man-by-man SAFC assessment of the New Year’s Day defeat at the Etihad. His intention was to combine that game and the Leeds FA Cup tie in a double header. But he was not at the cup match and there were no streams or TV coverage, hence what he terms ‘some phenomenally late ratings for Manchester City 3 – 2 Sunderland’ …

Pure Poyetry: Citeh 3 Sunderland 2. On balance…..:

January 2, 2015January 1, 2015 by Colin Randall

Jake captures the Bard, with thanks to Owen Lennox

John McCormick writes. It’s a bank holiday, so no post delivered. Never mind, after the match Gus went out of his way to drop in a hand-written note to M Salut, and possibly some other supporters. This is what it said:

Hutch’s Patch: Alvarez run tops the one-word ratings from Manchester City

January 1, 2015 by Colin Randall

Jake: Rob's a man of few words — Jake: Rob’s a man of few words

Rob Hutchison says: No disgrace, and took the game to Citeh when we had to, but not enough in the tank ultimately. Never going to make or break our season.

Sixer’s Sevens: Manchester City 3 SAFC 2. Good effort, not quite enough

January 1, 2015 by Colin Randall

This is where Pete Sixsmith (when present, as he was at the Etihad) sums up Sunderland games in seven words, prior to his inimitable reasoned matchday reports. Today, he saw SAFC soak up pressure with relative ease until Yaya Toure’s magical strike on 56 minutes. That we came back to 2-2 after conceding another speaks volumes for the resilience of Gus Poyet’s team. That we gave away a winner 90 seconds or so later was bitterly disappointing …

Jake: 'at least we made them work for it' — Jake: ‘at least we made them work for it’

Jan 1 2015 Manchester City (0) 3 SAFC (0) 2 Opened up too easily for the winner

Manchester City v SAFC Who are You?: ‘we have striker problems too!’

December 31, 2014December 30, 2014 by Colin Randall

Everyone is getting in on the Who are You? act. Football’s greatest ‘from the other side’ interview – yes, we would say that – has been conducted by deputy editor Malcolm Dawson and associate editor John McCormick in recent weeks. And now Sixer finds Tony Morehead*, lifelong Man City fan, to preview the New Year’s Day game at the Etihad. Any Salut! Sunderland reader with kith and kin who’d make great candidates should let us know. Meanwhile, let Tony explain the unexpected assertion that City have weaknesses up front …

Manchester City vs SAFC Guess the Score: cricket score or awayday shocker?

January 1, 2015December 29, 2014 by Colin Randall

Jake: 'if Burnley can rattle them ...' — Jake: ‘if Burnley can rattle them …’

No one guessed SAFC 1-3 Hull. Plenty among us saw the potential for a traditional flop immediately following a derby win, but the common Guess the Score practice is to be, or appear, positive.

Drummer was chuffed to win the Aston Villa competition but would probably have gone happily without his prize mug in return for one of Connor Wickham’s shots being a little more, er, hard to save.