Martin O’Neill

Sixer’s Soapbox: Sunderland are the new QPR – quite poor really!

by

Peter Sixsmith has been watching Sunderland since the days of Cec Irwin and Ambrose Fogarty. In that time he has witnessed some dross and he now adds Tuesday’s visit of the Premier League’s bottom side to that collection. Much of the pre match speculation was about the effect Harry Redknapp would have on the game but in truth QPR could have had Louise Redknapp in the technical area and the outcome would probably have been the same – such was the dearth of attacking options provided by Martin O’Neill’s boys. As a contributor to Total Sport said earlier this evening: “The Samaritans were outside the ground handing out leaflets after this one.” We’ll let Sixer talk it through.

Jake turns Sixer's smile upside down

Read more

Martin’s Musings: small talk on SAFC’s failure to beat QPR

by

Don’t worry, we’ll win 3-1. That was one pre-match thought. In the event, they – QPR – won 0-0. Awful result for Sunderland and Martin O’Neill‘s e-mail looks shorter than usual. There’s no elaborate attempt to present it in any better light. Just the customary assertion that another “big game” looms. Oh dear …

Read more

Sunderland v QPR: can O’Neill block the ‘Arry effect? Guess the score

by
Buy One, Win One, says Jake


Almost forgot. It is a big game tonight, says Martin O’Neill, at the same time denying those tweeted claims that he had offered his resignation after the West Brom defeat.

Sadly, when you’ve won only twice and it’s almost December, every match is big. In the short time left before the match gets under way, here’s your opportunity to say how will this one end up.

If you cannot wait to win one … click here for the Martin O’Neill ‘Team of all Talents’ mug: £9.50, post-free for UK buyers, from the Salut! Sunderland Shop

Read more

Martin’s Musings from SAFC 2 WBA 4: ‘unlucky Simon Mignolet’

by
Back to the drawing board?

There were those of us who thought we may have turned a corner at Craven Cottage, but today that corner only took us into a cul de sac. To me – Malcolm Dawson – it seemed as if nothing much had changed from previous home games and the first half was another dose of “Groundhog Day”. The midfield was static, the team lacked purpose going sideways rather than forwards and it was only after we were two – nil behind that we showed any attacking threat. Was it a penalty? I’ll watch the replays tonight but it was certainly a needless one (M Salut, watching on TV, saw in Liam Ridgewell an accomplished diver at work). Those around me were less than happy but the manager remains upbeat.

Read more

Martin’s Musings from Fulham: ‘a great ball from Johnson’

by
Back to the drawing board?

Martin O’Neill needed a win and got one. Monsieur Salut hes written elsewhere – click here for the ESPN piece – that even when Simon Mignolet was making his saves, 4-1 somehow seemed more likely than 3-3. The boss’s post-match e-mail picks out the Adam Johnson pass for Fletch’s opener. In my humble view, AJ was immense in the second half after an anonymous start…

Read more

Ten games in: Man City, Arsenal visited but Man Utd and Chelsea to come

by
John McCormick: working on the data

Now this is not John McCormick at his most upbeat – not, at any rate, at the start of his review of the season so far. He’s been comparing and contrasting statistics again and what he comes up with would scare the living daylights out of most Sunderland supporters – if he hadn’t also identified a great SAFC tradition of making a nonsense, one way or the other, of the early season numbers …

Read more

Martin’s Musings after Everton heartbreak: ‘played brilliantly, will come good’

by
Jake in Spain thinks we're mainly down the drain

Martin O’Neill saw the same match as us and correctly identified a massive improvement in confidence and also some bad luck. How well we played and how unlucky we were are both open to debate. The simple truth is that we should not have allowed a lead to be overturned as it was – and we should have taken more than one of the four clear first-half chances …

Read more

Sixer’s Soapbox: Sunderland v Southampton another damp squib

by

FIREWORKS AT HETTON – BUT NOT ON THE PITCH.

Malcolm Dawson writes: as I jumped into my car early Tuesday evening and the radio fired up to Radio Newcastle’s “Total Sport”, the first voice I heard was that of our own Pete Sixsmith, putting forward his theory to Simon Pryde, John Anderson and Marco Gabbiadini, that perhaps Martin O’Neill is of an age where he should be thinking more of bobsleighing down a grassy hillside in a tin bath and letting loose his ferrets in his neighbour’s coal shed, than working out how to break down Everton’s defence whilst keeping 11 red and white shirted players in their own half of the pitch. Marco was having none of it but Simon was a little more intrigued. Pete also commented on the thoughtful Aston Villa contributions that have flooded into www.salutsunderland.com and gave the site several plugs which probably means M Salut and I will have our work cut out moderating all the abusive posts from our black and white neighbours. But still! You should be able to hear the programme via the BBC i-player local radio links if the following doesn’t work. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00zyfr5 (42 minutes in)


The previous evening, our roving reporter was much too busy visiting the delights of the Eppleton Colliery Welfare ground to see how the younger elements of SAFC fared against the Saints of Southampton.

Pete Sixsmith - media pundit

Read more

O’Neill out? No, but meet the Aston Villa fans questioning that judgement

by
Back to the drawing board?

This time last season, I was half-heartedly arguing against sacking Steve Bruce. I wanted what Ellis Short, the owner, ultimately gave him: until the last game of November to sort out the mess. On Nov 26 2011 we slumped to that awful home defeat to Wigan and he was out. Now, the voices opposed to Martin O’Neill are growing louder.

If I apply a similar approach as with Bruce, MoN needs to have turned things around by the time we finish the QPR home game on Nov 27. I believe he can and will, though the recovery may have to wait until after the looming Everton and Fulham away games and start with the two home ties directly afterwards. More broadly, I am against a kneejerk response to the worrying start to the season …

Read more

Sixer’s Soapbox: Aston Villa good value for the win

by

Malcolm Dawson writes: With £10 tickets available via season card holders, a healthy crowd of over 41,515 turned up for this one. The majority, Pete Sixsmith included, were hopeful of a turnaround in fortunes and took their seats looking forward to an opportunity for the Lads to finally stamp their authority on a game there for the taking. Certainly the Villa fans I spoke to before the match expected to lose and had travelled up more in hope than expectation. An early goal ruled out for offside provided false optimism and it wasn’t long before normal service was resumed. Sixer takes up the story………….

Read more