Manchester City - SAFC Blog

Sunderland vs Manchester City prize Guess the Score: the tension mounts

February 28, 2014 by Colin Randall

Campo Retro's prize — Campo Retro’s prize

We went early with Guess the Score and have already had a good few entries. Check the replies at https://safc.blog/2014/02/sunderland-vs-manchester-city-prize-guess-the-score-its-their-cup-final/ and see which scorelines remain available. I’d prefer you to leave your predictions there but will regard any here as eligible provided they are the first to nominate a particular result. Read on for a lovely story from Hetton and then the details of the competition …

From Nic Wiseman , co-creator of It’s The Hope I Can’t Stand …

The following notice appeared in this week’s newsletter of Hetton Lyons Primary School:

To recognise Sunderland’s achievement in reaching the Carling Cup Final (sic) on Sunday we will be allowing all children to come to school dressed in red and white on Friday. The children who have Sunderland kits may wear them for school. We will have a black and white day when Newcastle have something to celebrate.

From our archives, four years ago today: Wembley Countdown, Colin remembers

January 28, 2018February 27, 2014 by Colin Randall

John McCormick writes: in 2014 M Salut began a series called “Countdown to Wembley”. Although the date stamp above says 27th Feb the piece below was actually something he wrote on 27th January, just four short years ago.

How many managers since? How many trials and tribulations since? But along with the grief we managed a Wembley appearance and six in a row.

So it hasn’t always been bad, and with Chris Coleman on board it’s surely time to remember just what we have done in recent years, to look to the future and to continue to keep the faith …

Countdown to Wembley: Poyet ‘mistaken about our cup and league priorities’

March 28, 2014February 27, 2014 by Colin Randall

Peter Lynn – Wrinkly Pete on his own description – was there in 1973 and will be there again on Sunday. Here, he takes issue with Gus Poyet’s comment that winning a cup seemed more important to Sunderland fans than staying up. Tongue in cheek, Pete also calculates how we might have left Arsenal with a point and urges the team to rise to the occasion as memorably as the class of ’73

Wembley Countdown: in the USA, one in five says Sunderland will win

February 26, 2014 by Colin Randall

Jake: 'any chance of tickets for March 2 and May 17?' — Jake: ‘any chance of tickets for March 2 and May 17?’

According to a straw poll at the US football site Across the Pond – it follows English football, not the quite different American sport – between one in four and one in five readers believes Sunderland will beat Manchester City in the League Cup final.

I put that down to my influence. The percentage was only 18 when I recorded a podcast with Chris Bowerbank and his colleagues which has gone live today.

Manchester City Who are You?: ‘1973 memories make hairs stand on end’

March 2, 2014February 26, 2014 by Colin Randall

Jake: 'do the business, Vito' — Jake: ‘do the business, Vito’

A warm welcome back to these pages to Simon Curtis*, an exile in Portugal who still manages to get to numerous City games. His visit here in late 2012 won second prize in the annual ‘Who are You?’ awards, one judge – Jeremy Robson – hailing ‘the finest Who Are You? article which has ever appeared on the pages of Salut amidst the best series we have ever had the pleasure to read here’. And ahead of the league cup final, Simon offers another hugely entertaining read with great reminiscences of the impact Sunderland had on him in ’73 …

Countdown to Wembley: not daring to dream

February 26, 2014 by Colin Randall

Jake: 'oh Vito Mannone' — Jake: ‘oh Vito Mannone’

Still they keep coming. Eric Sweeney has not written for Salut! Sunderland for some time but, like so many others, has been spurred into action by the heartwarming Wembley run (s), Gus Poyet’s battling leadership and that familiar enemy – hope …

Countdown to Wembley: proud of the noblest of striped shirts

February 25, 2014 by Colin Randall

Guess the League Cup final score – and win a shirt like this: https://safc.blog/2014/02/sunderland-vs-manchester-city-prize-guess-the-score-its-their-cup-final/

Here’s one I made earlier. My little gig at ESPN means that I am writing for a global audience. Many Americans read me because of Jozy Altidore – and get very protective of him – and South Koreans because of Ki. Remember this whenever you wonder why I treat Sunderland as ‘they’ not ‘we’. It’s called house style and I fall in line. All the same, I wrote this piece from the heart and wanted to share it with an audience that means rather more …

Sunderland vs Manchester City: prize Guess the Score. It’s their cup final

February 25, 2014 by Colin Randall

Cup final week, even if technically not, so let’s go early with Guess the Score – and let’s also have a bumper entry …

A Caribbean cruise? No. Tickets for the World Cup Final in Brazil? Not quite.

That’s the bad news. The good is that the League Cup final Guess the Score is not just any old win-a-mug competition, and nor is it one of those prize-free duds.

Countdown to Wembley: merriment, misery and mishaps on Sunderland cup final days

February 24, 2014 by Colin Randall

Jake: 'que sera sera' — Jake: ‘que sera sera’

John Penman and his 10-year-old daughter Hayley are fixtures in the East Stand at home games – home for Sunderland, a longish trip south for them. Hayley is promising to become Salut! Sunderland‘s youngest columnist, younger even than Sixer. She won’t be at Wembley, willing to settle this time for a One Direction concert, but dad will. Here John retraces the steps of ghosts of cup finals past …

Countdown to Wembley: the long and short of Sunderland’s big day out

February 21, 2014 by Colin Randall

Salut! Sunderland offers all readers, contributors and stray visitors the chance to have their say about reaching Wembley again for the first time in 16 years, the first cup final in 22. Kevin Maguire, associate editor of the Daily Mirror, political pundit and a familiar voice on radio and TV, is a lifelong Sunderland fan. To prove that any contributions to this series will be welcome, long or short, he is distinctly economical with his words. They’re heartfelt all the same …