It wasn’t clever. It wasn’t funny. And while its impact was some way short of the unrest provoked in Muslim countries by the Prophet Mohammed cartoons, it was – as it was meant to be – insulting. Sense of humour breakdown or justified indignation? Nic Wiseman, co-creator and co-editor of the long-gone SAFC fanzine It’s The Hope I Can’t Stand (ITHICS), describes the resulting furore and says his magazine would never have run an anti-Mag version of the offending cartoon …
Pete Sixsmith is beginning to feel spoilt. A couple of nights after seeing the Lads waltz to victory at the home of football’s current laughing stock, he was at the Stadium of Light for a visit from the Newcastle Development Squad to play ours. The winning habit was not broken …
Pete Sixsmith reflects on a highly satisfactory weekend and what it means for Sunderland’s games to come ….
Forty eight hours after that momentous lunchtime at The Sports Direct. I was still buzzing.
They say good things come in threes. Like all Sunderland fans, especially those who are inevitably there, home or away, …
Who can blame us? We’ll all be dining out on this for the rest of the season, with double helpings if Gus Poyet’s revival continues …Monsieur Salut is on strong, strictly no-alcohol anti-biotics which could hardly have been more badly timed.
The Fall of the Geordie Nation, once again was witnessed by Pete Sixsmith up in the SJP gods amongst the delirious Sunderland support. Today not one but two sevens as we revel in the euphoria. Three wins in a row for Sunderland in the Wear-Tyne-Wear derbies and each one of them throughly deserved. A magnificent team performance brought goals by Fabio Borino from a cast-iron penalty after Bardo was brought down, Adam Johnson sweeping in after the excellent Jack Colback’s shot was pushed into his path by Tim Krul and finally Colback himself with a classy finish from Borini’s perfect pass. Jozy Altidore – who otherwise had a first-class game – ought to have bagged one, too, but was dispossessed by Krul as he tried to round him. And Johnson deserved a second for a delicious run and shot but hit the post with Krul beaten. But the winning display went far beyond the clinical finishing; Wes Brown, John O’Shea, Marcos Alonso and Phil Bardsley were rock-like in front of the capable Vito Mannone, whilst Ki and new boy Liam Bridcutt did their bits in midfield …
Feb 1 2014 Newcastle United (0) Sunderland (2) 3 #1 Wonderful performance from Mannone through to Borini #2 A bad night for Tyneside’s equine population
I may have used that headline before. I hope the last bit – “not 5-1” – is not only right …
As time crept on, I feared I had left it too late to find a warm, witty or wise Newcastle fan for the pre-derby ‘Who are You?’. Then Pete Sixsmith came up with Brian Neil*, a Gateshead-born, Bishop-by-adoption lad with a fondness for exclamation marks and mild profanity. Brian is an ideal interviewee: bags to say for himself and lots of strong views on things Toon to like and dislike (he very unhappy about the Pardew/Kinnear axis), as befits a season ticket holder who has attended every derby since 1981. He roundly – and rightly – rebukes Monsieur Salut for misuse of the word ‘great’ and is otherwise a very good read despite everything …
A couple of weeks ago, after travel restrictions on the Tyne-Wear derby were lifted, I made a comment that rather than seeking to punish bona fide supporters who wanted to support their team the police should apply to close all pubs within a three-mile radius of the ground. My point was that the element which caused bother after the last Newcastle game had spent the afternoon drinking and had then gone out looking for trouble. By targeting pubs rather than fans the police would address the issue at its roots and although some innocent landlords would lose out those who had broken the law by serving drink to already-drunken fans would get their just desserts
John McCormick writes. I must have been at this game but I can’t remember anything about it. Maybe the disappointment …