May 5 1973 - SAFC Blog

The Leeds United Who are You?: ‘top six for us and SAFC’

August 17, 2017August 17, 2017 by Colin Randall

Kevin Ayscough with a miniature Leeds fan, his grandson Charlie

You’ll need to scroll down now if you want to know Kevin Ayscough‘s* link to Salut! Sunderland and why he thinks a certain Sunderland fan ought really be supporting Leeds.

Kevin is a down-to-earth United supporter who sees no point in harking back to his club’s glory days, though he says he still cannot work out how we made his trip home to Leeds such a miserable one on May 5 1973. He rates Simon Grayson highly and, even before this week’s results put us 6th and Leeds 7th, saw both clubs finishing in the top six – a re-run of 1963-64 would suit him and most of us, even if we’d want the positions reversed ….

Sunderland vs Leeds: 41 years have flown by

January 3, 2015 by Colin Randall

As the FA Cup 3rd round looms, and just for the memories, here are some jottings that have cropped up here in the eight years since Salut! Sunderland was created …

Forty-one years on from our great triumph at Wembley, 77 years after we had last done it and a shorter time, though still too long, since the FA Cup seemed to stop mattering to most, a 3rd round tie would not merit undue attention.

The FA Cup Who are You?: (2) ‘proud of that dirty Leeds tag’

January 2, 2015January 2, 2015 by Colin Randall

Julian Young is a good friend. The cross he bears is that of being a Leeds United supporter. Not surprisingly, as his club went into steep decline, he put some distance between him and them. For some years, he has been in Paris. It works; as M Salut remembers from his own time there, it can be tough trying to catch live football outside the Premier. But he still cares, and readily agreed to offer his thoughts ahead of the Sunderland vs Leeds cup tie …

SAFC vs Leeds United Guess the Score: 1973 revisited, a few rounds early

January 4, 2015January 2, 2015 by Colin Randall

Jake: 'a repeat of '73 might do, Lads' — Jake: ‘a repeat of ’73 might do, Lads’

No one correctly guessed 3-2 as the score from the Etihad so the latest edition of Guess the Score is a rollover, with two mugs as the prize. READ ON …

Over the years, and perhaps with relatively little else to shout about, Salut! Sunderland has published plenty about the great day in history – social history, too, not just footballing detail – that was May 5 1973.

Many readers are old enough and were lucky enough to be there. Others, Monsiuer Salut among them, have hard-luck stories of broken promises or disappointment in the hunt for tickets. But however we ended up watching the momentous events of that afternoon in north-west London, it was an occasion to be remembered forever.

FA Cup ‘Who are You?’: (1) part of Sunderland Family, supporting Leeds

January 2, 2015January 2, 2015 by Colin Randall

For the first of two Sunderland vs Leeds United ‘Who are You?’ interviews,, we turn to Susan Gutteridge*, who has …

Sunderland’s 1973 victory parade: mistaking Sobs’s trainer for Porterfield’s golden boot

May 8, 2013 by Colin Randall

See all Salut! Sunderland’s articles recalling May 5 1973 and the run that took SAFC to FA Cup glory: https://safc.blog/category/fa-cup/may-5-1973/ …

Sunderland, Leeds and Wembley 1973: a Frenchman in search of the Roker Roar

May 9, 2013May 8, 2013 by Colin Randall

The latest edition of French Fancies is special and timely, a must for any Sunderland supporter who happens to be studying – or knows a little of – the language of Molière.

Entrez, s’il vous plaît, our new friend Kevin Quigagne, who is French but has been in England for 21 years, lives in the North East and follows the Lads with some enthusiasm when not demonstrating a soft spot for Sheffield Wednesday.

Credit: therokerend.com* — Credit: therokerend.com

Sunderland and Wembley 1973: not just about us. Leeds fans remember

May 7, 2013May 7, 2013 by Colin Randall

The Leeds fan, “yorxman”, who posted his silly Yah Boo comment to one of our FA Cup Final 40th anniversary pieces, did at least have a point in implying we were sad to have to go back so long for anything to celebrate.

Members of the London and SE branch of the Sunderland AFC Supporters’ Association voted a few years ago to change the name of the newsletter from 5573 for that very reason. Ian Todd has pointed out elsewhere that it was not just younger members who disapproved of such a distant reference point as May 5 1973 (I voted to keep the name but cannot quarrel too much with the opposing view – and the replacement, Wear Down South, is a great alternative).

But our yorxsman’s sneers are not wholly representative of Leeds United supporters. That day was theirs too, or at any rate it was meant to be theirs, so it seemed a good idea to invite them to share their own memories. This is what a quick posting at the Leeds Fans Online site produced – and I am grateful to all those who contributed:

Sixer’s Sevens: FA Cup Final 1973 (8): SAFC 1 Leeds United 0 turns world upside down

May 5, 2013 by Colin Randall

Jake poin Sixer to the wall — Jake captures Sixer’s wall of strength

Each matchday, Pete Sixsmith – or a supersub in his absence – summarises the outcome and/or performance with a seven-word verdict, invariably followed by his considered Soapboax report. Today, May 5, though not literally, he’s been up to London to see the … Team of All The Talents, Bob Stokoe’s valiant men in red and white stripes who defied logic and hierarchical wisdom to beat all-conquering Leeds United to the FA Cup. Savour the moment as, on another May 5 four decades ago, Pete did …

Sunderland, Leeds and Wembley 1973 (9): Sixer’s Soapbox on a day of glory

May 5, 2013 by Colin Randall

Pete Sixsmith***** was there. Monsieur Salut was not, having been repeatedly promised a ticket by a drunken colleague whose work gave him close contact with Wembley. The promises continued right up to May 4 but the ticket did not materialise.. A fabulous day all the same, even if you had to watch it in an upstairs company flat in Uxbridge (upstairs of said colleague who was nowhere to be found) before heading off to sink pints with the Co Durham lads who always ended SAFC awaydays at the Wealdstone ex-Service club. Pete describes the day, as I could describe that night, as if writing for this site on May 6 1973 …