Cometh the hour, cometh the number. That number is six, Newcastle United’s tally in the demolition of Norwich City (after some shaky moments) on Sunday and also – if only Sunderland can bring the Mags crashing back to earth – how many times we would then have beaten them on the trot.
It is fair to say this was and remains one of the finest ‘Who are You?’ interviews Salut! Sunderland has produced in its eight-and-a-bit years of existence. There have been many contenders for that honour but Nick Donaldson‘s answers seemed right on every level. He romped to victory in last season’s HAWAY awards for the best Q+A of 2014-2015.
So as part of our buildup to SAFC vs NUFC, the Wear-Tyne derby, here it is again. Much of what Nick had to say is relevant now, but he was invited to update his thoughts after the 6-2 win over Norwich and that is how we start …
Bob Chapman’s report from West Brom has not arrived yet but it seems important to get our Wear-Tyne derby coverage started as soon as possible.
We’ve been promised at least one “Who are You?” interview and, since it’s only Monday, there’s no need – yet – to panic.
Monsieur Salut writes: John McCormick, our wizard with the stats, wrote this update to his series on the developing relegation scrap before Dick Advocaat left. His gut feelings may therefore change according to who is appointed, but I suspect his calculations will not, or at least not yet .. now over to John …
It’s still early days and small numbers of both wins and losses will continue to produce swings in win-loss ratios for some time, but with no game reports to post because of the international break it’s as good a time as any to make another visit to the bottom end of the table.
Those of you who’ve visited this series previously might remember that my last review took place just as the transfer window had closed and, with that, I gave you the opportunity to have another vote in the relegation poll that I’d opened in the close season.
Salut! Sunderland has been banging on for years about diving, the feigning of injury, unprofessional attempts by players to get opponents booked or sent off and other forms of cheating. The issue is raised with every “Who are You?” interviewee and I can think of only one or two who said too much fuss was made of it.
But should we really accept that British players are largely blameless, or that they were until they caught the nasty habits of Johnny Foreigner?
As a Swansea supporter studying at Durham University, Bobby Gardiner* could not have been much better placed for making it to Saturday’s game. But the agreeable life of a student means he still has plenty of holiday left and cannot get up to the North East. But he’s more than satisfied with the Swans’ start to the season (draw at Chelsea, home win vs the Mags), predicts an away win against Sunderland but is the first WAY interviewee of the new season not to predict relegation for us
Bill Taylor came across a nifty new BBC tool allowing fans of all Premier League teams to calculate their clubs’ performance during their lifetimes. Fellow Sunderland supporters – and others – are invited to have a go and report back any interesting findings …
There’s no evidence to support this, but George Santayana, the Spanish/American writer and philosopher, COULD have been at Wembley in 1937 to see Sunderland clobber Preston North End 3-1 in the FA Cup. Santayana was certainly in Europe at the time.
And the saying he’s most famous for could well be applied to the Black Cats and their long-suffering fans: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
For those of us who have trouble remembering what happened last week, let alone a few decades ago, the BBC’s football website has unveiled a magical new tool to jog our memories.
Fresh from his media blitz – video clip for The Guardian, Total Sport on BBC Radio Newcastle –
Pete Sixsmith climbs back upmarket to share with Salut! Sunderland readers the 10 things he’s hoping for in the coming season …
Question: what is it about the appalling suits who run much of football that makes them think they and their clubs are above criticism?
Answer: a mixture of control freakery, arrogance and sheer stupidity
What is it about Arsenal? Some of us like them as a club, certainly by comparison with the rest of the London mob, and a few of us think the world of Arsène Wenger, myopia and all.
But when it comes to talking about us, some Gooners do have a special way with condescension. Forget the relatively recent times when Arsenal’s greatest ambition was for the clean sheet and single-goal win; anyone else doing it these days is “parking the bus”, worse still doing it “proverbially”.
We may make more clear-cut chances than them – Fletcher, twice or three times in the 0-0 draw at the Emirates and they came early in the second half, not late – but if the emphasis was on at least avoiding defeat, because that was utterly crucial to our survival, we must be anti-football and undeserving of sympathy.