Monsieur Salut writes: had I been able to make it – up for me, from London – for Chris Coleman’s first game in charge, I would have met up with not only Peter Sixsmith but Rob Hutchison and his daughter Olivia, all three familiar figures around these parts. My apologies for absence reached the Hutchisons as they – also heading north from exile – drove towards Birmingham.
At one down, as the second half started, Rob thought there was so little between the sides that Sunderland could go on and win if only they could first equalise. Cue a second Villa goal.
Here, then, is one of those Hutch specialities, Rob’s one-word man-by-man verdict (he described the whole experience as ‘drab, drab, drab; oh, it was so drab’ and will one day explain why Gibson was ‘crablike’) …
Sixer’s Substitute’s Soapbox: a wet weekend in Accrington
Malcolm Dawson writes…….there was a gathering of the clans in Accrington on Saturday. A veritable Salut! Sunderland fest before kick …