Soapbox: a changing Premier amid the Liverpool/Man Utd shambles


Change, says Pete Sixsmith with what he terms “apologies to the late, great Sam Cooke”, is gonna come. Dylan had similar thoughts (“
Come gather round people …”). Pete’s belief is that the obscene spectacle of Liverpool FC’s disintegration, and the unsavoury air over Old Trafford, may be symptoms of a malaise that will lead to an overdue Premier League revolution …

Is it just me, or do I detect a change coming in the Premier League this year? Are we seeing the end of the Big Four period of domination? Are some of the middle ranking clubs ready to take over the mantle of European contenders from the perpetual participants?

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Manchester United Soapbox: good point, missed opportunity

Pete Sixsmith saw a very good performance, a good point won – again – against top opposition and ended up feeling just a hint of disappointment …

At 5.20pm, as I came out of the East Stand beaming at the excellent performance I had just witnessed, I heard the bloke in front of me say: “If we had put the subs on a bit earlier, we could have beaten that lot.”

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HT: Sunderland 0 Manchester United 0. Bursts of promise


This report has been superseded by SAFC 0 Man Utd 0: two dropped points

Our ingenious ruse, attempting to destabilise Manchester United by bursting a pipe in the away dressing room, nearly paid off .. but after the plumbing-delayed start, we couldn’t quite turn first-half supremacy into a lead …

All I have to go on is the BBC Radio Newcastle radio commentary via the offical SAFC club site. I cannot bring myself to watch an internet stream that I know is many seconds or even, in one case today, minutes behind the action.

But the commentary from Nick Barnes and Gary Bennett is good, if partisan (pro-SAFC despite the name of the station).

And there does not seem to be the slightest doubt that Sunderland deserved to go in at half-time with a lead of at least one goal.

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SAFC v Manchester United: questions from the Stretford End

 

Lots of raw nerves were touched with reaction to our Republik of Mancunia interview yesterday, with Manchester United fans displaying a mixture of indignation and bewilderment at both sites, and loads of thumbs-down here, leaving Salut! Sunderland to ooze all the wisdom and fair play it could muster. Now the boot is on the other foot: the Stretford End Arising blog – click here to see it – lobbed some questions our way. Here goes …


Stretford End Arising: In recent years games between Sunderland and Manchester United have been tight affairs with only a single goal separating the two teams. What are your views on Saturday’s fixture? How are Sunderland likely to line up?

Salut! Sunderland: We did better at your place than ours last season. At Old Trafford, although you finished strongly, it took Richardson’s folly and a wicked deflection to save a point for you. At Sunderland, we huffed and puffed but United always looked safe on 1-0 and capable of stepping up a gear. Saturday is our third major test in a row; you’ll be on a high after Valencia and it is going to be tough. I suspect Bruce will stick with Mignolet in goal despite Gordon being fit again; defence depends on the injury list but our chances of getting a result would rise if Mensah were available Up front, I wonder whether the ineligibility of Welbeck will tempt Bruce to start with both Bent and Gyan, but suspect he’ll flood the midfield. Our key players could be Mensah if fit, Jordan Henderson (a Man Utd fan, I was distressed to learn recently) and Steed Malbranque in midfield and, of course, Bent. And Cattermole’s ability to stay on the pitch.

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Sunderland v Manchester United: the Republik of Mancunia speaks

Abject apologies yet again to the growing number of people I hear about, from Canada to the North East, who cannot currently visit Salut! Sunderland – and may therefore not even see this apology – or can gain access only intermittently. Arrangements are in hand to shoot the techies.

For those who are still with us, here is our second “Who Are You?” preview from Old Trafford ahead of tomorrow’s game at the Stadium of Light. We turned to our old friend and sparring partner Scott the Red, who runs the mighty Republik of Mancunia fan site. Scott you may recall, was horrified by the incident in which Phil Bardsley was judged to have dived in hope of a sneaking a penalty equaliser in last season’s game. My initial thought was that Bardsley had simply fallen clumsily. Whatever the truth, he was booked for cheating and slagged off unmercifully at RoM for being a Salford lad who ought to have known better when United were still just about in contention for the title. Scott talks more fondly of other Sunderland folk with United links …

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Manchester United: the gods – and divers – of Old Trafford

 

Who are You? That’s the question we ask before each Sunderland game. Paul Eccleston*, our first visitor this season from the ranks of Manchester United followers, is that rarity: an unblinkered football fan. His lifelong support for the club does not stop him recognising Nani as a diver who has effortlessly inherited Ronaldo’s crown. Leaving aside that aspect of their play, how do such men compare with top Red Devils of the past? Paul, whose self-description – “Fleet Street journeyman” – does scant justice to an exemplary career as reporter and news editor, reflects on the flawed giants of Old Trafford …

To read part two of this week’s edition of “Who Are You?”, click on The Republik of Mancunia speaks

Salut! Sunderland (question posed before last night’s United win in Valencia): Let’s start below the belt: are Manchester United already out of the title race and has Sir Alex, great a manager as he’s been, gone past his use-by date?

I think it will have crossed the mind of most United fans that we have to start thinking about life after SAF. We’ve already had some very dodgy draws against teams we should have beaten – Fulham and Everton in the Premiership and Rangers in the Champions League. Does this have anything to do with our failure to make any headline signings for the second successive season? Does SAF genuinely see no value in the market or is he being denied funds by the Glazers? Another failure in the Champions League and finishing behind a rampant Chelsea in the Premiership this season will inevitably lead to claims that Ferguson is past his sell by date – but how many times has he confounded the critics before?

I suspect that he has already decided when he will go – possibly at the end of next season – and has already played an active role in deciding who his successor will be – probably Jose Mourinho who by then will have completed two seasons at Real and is really the only manager with the track record and the arrogance to think he can take over from Ferguson.

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Pinned down by Manchester United

keano2Image: DraXus


Who would you choose for Sunderland from the Manchester United squad? Which game against United do you remember most, for good or ill? See how your answers would have differed from mine …

The Republik of Mancunia is a United website run by Scott the Red, with whom Salut! Sunderland had friendly relations last season barring a minor fall-out over Chris – (Phil, you idiot: Chris was Makin – ed)Bardsley’s dive, as judged by the ref, or fall, as I saw it.

Scott thought it all the worse because Bardsley’s a Salford lad and knew how much winning potentially to meant to his boyhood and former professional club. I said that was the sort of tosh we come out with in drink: a dive’s a dive, reprehensible irrespective of the individual or circumstances.

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