Two up early in the second half, but with only 10 men, Sunderland were forced onto the back foot and had to make do with a point after Birmingham fought their way back …
Normal service is Darren Bent getting on the scoresheet.
Unfortunately, it is also Sunderland players falling foul of the referee, to the extent that Lee Cattermole was sent off for his second yellow a few minutes before half time.
Result: SAFC 2 Birmingham 2 …
THIS REPORT HAS NOW BEEN SUPERSEDED BY
SAFC 2 Birmignham City 2: normal service resumes
A second goal early in the second half – Stephen Carr into his own net (not his day, since he committed the foul that produced the dodgy penalty) – gave 10-man Sunderland a cushion, which was just as well since we allowed Birmingham to sneak one back with 13 minutes to go, and then a late equaliser …
Darren Bent scores from a penalty that replays suggest wasn’t (edge of box), Birmingham defender lucky to escape a red all the same.
Lee Cattermole then sent off before half time for what Nick Barnes and Gary Bennett, on BBC Radio Newcastle, thought were two exceedingly soft yellows – though in fairness the BBC site’s main Saturday Live coverage was a lot less sympathetic, implying that he’d offended not twice but three times.
Sixer is back. Salut! Sunderland’s inimitable summariser and sage, our chronicler and waffler supreme, sums up every SAFC match – …
Right. That’s the pre-match build-up almost over.
There has been such a bewildering array of signings, departures, rumours and bust-ups that your guess is as good as mine on the likely starting 11 for Sunderland.
We’re off. And who better to kick off the new season of Who Are You? questionnaires than Kevin Ball*? No. Their Kevin Ball, who lives amid the pixies, smugglers and clotted cream of far-off Devon, but is a Bluenose par excellence and runs the superb Joys and Sorrows fan site. Kevin also won a little Salut! Sunderland prize last season for this, the best best response to our notorious Eduardo “would you take it or be ashamed?” diving question: “I’m old fashioned, I can’t abide cheating. I don’t care if it is a Blues player or not. I would be furious.”
Salut! Sunderland The real stuff starts again. Have you forgotten the World Cup already?
Is there a World Cup happening?
So the speculation – now confirmed by the club – is that Kenwyne Jones is on his way out of the Stadium of Light. Good thing, bad thing? We’ve promoted the story back to the top of the site because of the interest it has generated …
Looking back, we can allow ourselves to say what a shame we didn’t accept silly money from Spurs for Kenwyne Jones. The papers said £20m was offered. That may have been an exaggeration but certainly a great deal of money was at stake.
And odd flashes aside, what has he done for us since then?
The season gets ever closer, so the warm-up games begin to matter, whatever managers tell you about them being all about fitness, not results. So far? Narrow wins, mostly, against modest teams and a defeat to classier opponents (Benfica). Today, we were back to the narrow wins and, for the first of two likely reports, Rob Hutchison offers this thorough assessment …
If any Leicester fan wishes to offer a report, contact Colin Randall at the e-mail address to your left and up a bit …
Just back from Leicester; a few thoughts while they are still freshish.
We appeared to start with near to our strongest team with Campbell alongside Bent, and midfield of Ahmed al Muhammadi, Henderson, Catts, and Steed, with Bramble and Turner centre backs and Ferdinand and Richardson full backs. Brucey looks to fancy this line-up although imminent arrivals hopefully of Mensah and Welbeck may change things. (Mignolet was between the sticks).
The first time I looked, Sunderland were winning 4-1 against Hull City in Portugal and Campbell, Fraizer not Sol, had scored all four of our goals in the first 34 minutes. The next time I looked it was 4-2 and not far from the final whistle. And my third glance showed that to be the final score.
When word first came through that Daryl Murphy might be on his way to Celtic, the relief of Sunderland supporters was matched only by the indignation of Celtic fans who berated Salut! Sunderland for daring to suggest the change of landscape could do wonders for the lad’s career.
Still no apologies from here, of course. The piece – found by clicking here, and also including a great clip of The Fields of Athenry, by the band Dance to Tipperary at Celtic Park – and our subsequent comments made our position abundantly clear.
Marcos Angeleri is one of the players who we’ve been led to believe should be interested in the forthcoming Premier League timetable, published today …
The fixture list is out, giving fans the chance to start making the plans they know Murdoch may ruin and sending those earnest football data people out on patrol.