SAFC

Bruce in? The case against

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A week ago, we were hard on those spouting doom and gloom on the strength of an iffy pre-season and a disappointing opening game. But then, after a dismal showing at West Brom (and there is no other sensible way of looking at it), a check on the games to come revealed us to be in a potential pickle. Ask today and we would not replace Steve Bruce. But there are those, eyeing a newly available chap with impeccable credentials from Villa Park, who would disagree. Let Mike Allcock*, a Sunderland fan now living in America, address the point made by Andy Nichol, a fellow subscriber to the Blackcats list: “Well if I was Ellis Short, I’d be inviting O’Neill to dinner over the next few weeks. Just in case, of course.” Salut! Sunderland awaits the opposing view …

Dinner with Martin would be a positive step.

Yes it’s early days for this season, but midterms time for Bruce. He’s made some good decisions as well as some poor ones; he’s far and away better than some of the sh*** we got used to in the late 80s/early 90s and compared with other Sunderland managers in recent years he has a pretty good record. I don’t think Steve Bruce is failing as a manager of SAFC.

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Soapbox: Newcastle, West Brom and a wretched weekend

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No one can accuse Salut! Sunderland of descending into mindless tribalism, though they probably will. We lauded, however grudgingly, Chris Hughton’s impressive achievement of last season, rising above the awfulness of the Ashton Factor to turn Newcastle United into runaway lower league champions. This, however, is taking the mick: Andy Carroll and Joey Barton transformed from gruesome thugs into cuddly heroes on a par with Jackie Milburn. Well, maybe not. But Pete Sixsmith‘s text read “Misery complete: Mags win 6-0. Villa resign from Premier in shame.” His original West Brom headline – New tricks desperately needed – stood no chance, no matter how clever. But that’s what Pete’s typically engaging dispatch from the West Midlands is all about …

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No bright side to look on: Bruce knows the score

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Salut! Sunderland whinged the other day about the fans who were already, after the surrender of a two-goal lead in the opening game (and, in some case, even before the season started), raising doubts about the quality of our squad.

It hardly excuses us that we at least had the decency to wait until after the second game.

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Soapbox: Premier football – having a laugh

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Apologies if you tried to visit the site earlier only to hit a brick wall formed by all the Sunderland fans who, we are told, are the fattest in the Premier. All beyond our control, I’m afraid. Still, Pete Sixsmith is always worth waiting for (though things are still in a state of chaos behind the scenes at Salut! Sunderland towers so this is a bit of an emergency posting)
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One week in, is it just me, or is the nation distinctly underwhelmed by the first week of the new Premier League season? Our game was hardly one to set the pulses racing with excitement – phrases like “positives outweigh negatives” suggest that there are sufficient of the latter to cause problems.

Then, look at the crowds. Ours was a poor 38,000, only marginally better than the crowd we had five years ago for the game with Charlton when we had a strike force of Jonathan Stead and Andy Gray, Steven Caldwell and Gary Breen in defence and Calamity Kelvin in goal and ended up accumulating 15 points.

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West Bromwich Albion v SAFC: beware Dorrans, Brucey

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Requests from Salut! Sunderland to a couple of Baggie fansites met with a stony silence – shame on you lads! – but one high profile WBA supporter’s response has been good as gold. In the first part – click here – of the BBC tennis commentator David Law‘s* fascinating story of his support for Sunderland’s next opponents, we heard of his success in converting John McEnroe and Goran Ivanisevic to the Albion cause. Now David moves on to Midlands rivalries and West Brom greats …

Salut! Sunderland: how much do you personally enter into or identify with Baggie/Villa or Baggie/Wolves rivalry?

The Villa rivalry was always the big one for me growing up, but then they became too good for us it seemed a bit futile to hate them, which is when Wolves became the big rivalry. Obviously I want us to stuff them every time we play them (and I’d love to finally beat Villa again for the first time in a quarter of a century), but when they are not playing against us I will be supporting Wolves, Blues and Villa because I’m from the area. I’ve lived overseas a lot and I hate it when people assume I’m from London just because I’m British. I’m from the Midlands, and proud of it.

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West Brom v Sunderland: John McEnroe cannot be serious

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Brought forward by popular demand: this week’s Who Are You? … or maybe just brought forward by the unpopularity of my obsession with French football.
So: Sunderland travel to the Hawthorns on Saturday in the hope that John McEnroe will be left as fuming by the result as we trust he was by West Brom’s 6-0 thrashing at Chelsea. Salut! Sunderland is delighted to welcome David Law*, the BBC tennis commentator and confirmed Baggie who explains how he made Albion fans of McEnroe and, especially, Goran Ivanisevic …

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Cheer up Andy Reid

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Transfer speculation is generally a pain. Agents, players and management spread or plant the most ridiculous tosh, because they have an agenda to serve. And some lazy journalists, I am sure, lap it up and also willingly come up with their own names and scenarios, based on pure invention or the flimsiest of information, to throw into the ring.

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Should the Lee Bowyer question replace the Eduardo question?

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Fans with highly developed abilities to read lips and interpret body language detected attempts by Lee Bowyer to influence decisions by the referee, Anthony Taylor, in Saturday’s match against Birmingham City.

In particular, Bowyer – old pic courtesy of “Michael Kjaer”‘s Flickr pages – stands accused of trying to persuade Taylor to reduce us to nine men by sending off Kieran Richardson.

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Soapbox: stupid, stupid, stupid

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Immediately before 3pm, Anthony Taylor and Lee Cattermole shook hands, both proud to be performing new roles for the first time: one as a Premier referee, the other as captain of Sunderland AFC. The amity lasted less than three-quarters of an hour. Was Lee the victim of an overzealous debutant, or clattering Cattermole? This, ladies and gentlemen is how Pete Sixsmith saw things …

Thanks to Colin for the kind words in his introduction to Sixer’s Sevens. I’m not sure that my analysis is always first rate as I have more mood swings than a nightclub full of hormonal females over the course of a season. Brilliant one week, hopeless the next – but it is Sunderland we are talking about……

However it doesn’t take the perceptions of a Hugh McIlvanney , a David Lacey or a Frank Johnson to work out that the combination of a rookie ref and Lee Cattermole was liable to end in tears. And it did as our captain was given his marching orders just before half time for two offences that barely deserved a yellow card in common sense terms, but which did in refereeing by the book terms.

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