The day began just hoping for three points against Spurs, a tall order but not beyond us. This rant came on as I found yet again that there was a mini-epidemic of spamming and phishing to deal with …
Since we exposed the odious activites of someone or something calling him/itself Andrew A Sailer, the name has been refreshingly absent from the comments left at Salut! Sunderland and other Salut! sites.
In the first two extracts from his book, Sing When You’re Winning, Colin Irwin trod the familiar path of Sunderland’s history: early glory, post-war turbulence and 1973 fairytale (with as much literary licence as the Brothers Grimm). He left us with the anxiety of relegation-haunted fans as kickoff neared in SAFC v Boro in Jan 2006 …
Not that the nail biting lasts for long. Sunderland forget that Emanuel Pogatetz, the big lad strolling into their penalty area when Middlesbrough are awarded a free kick just outside the box, isn’t there to discuss the latest bargains at B&Q and may have evil intent.
Salut! Sunderland has experienced some technical problems today, and this is a repeat of a post that appeared earlier. Our thanks to the many Spurs fans who came here for Part One of this week’s Who Are You? feature. Now for part two, in which we briefly discuss Tottenham greats: Jimmy Greaves, John White, Danny Blanchflower … Jurgen Klinsmann … Chris Waddle, Glenn Hoddle, Gary Lineker … and Thomas Andrew Huddlestone. We won’t suggest that inclusion of the last name might raise eyebrows away from White Hart Lane because he’d only go and break out hearts at the Stadium of Light on Saturday if we did. David Sapsted*, pictured at a Fleet Street “function”, and Bernie Kingsley**, who chairs the Tottenham Supporters’ Trust, don’t agree on everything but can be found purring in harmony on how good Tom Huddlestone is. They also talk about the White Lane Lane “reserves” now earning a crust on Wearside – and the view is dismissive in Bernie’s case – and offer differing verdicts on Steve Bruce (he’s either a “good manager” or a “bottom half manager”) …
Salut! Sunderland: What do you make of the Spurs old boys who are now at the Stadium of Light: Reid, Malbranque, Hutton and, of course, Bent?
Bernie: You’ve forgotten Fraizer Campbell and Marton Fulop. You are welcome to most of them. Malbranque was probably the one we were most disappointed to lose, but with more moves rumoured you are in danger of replacing Portsmouth as our reserve team in the EPL.
David: I never thought Bent got a fair crack of whip when he was with us. Like any striker, he needed a decent run in the side to prove his worth and he never got it. Since his move, he’s more than proved his point. You could say much the same this season about Pavlyuchenko, whom I have always rated and who, at long last, is getting the chance to show his mettle. I’m a fan of Hutton’s, too. I love the way he bombs forward, though I’ve always harboured doubts about his defensive capabilities. As for Steed….I’d have him on the pitch for any game, though probably not for more than 60 minutes these days.
So, are Spurs on their way to recreating their glory days? Is the top four now there for the clinching? …
In the second part of our look at Colin Irwin’s visit to the Stadium of Light – in the depths of the 2005/2006 relegation season – for Sing When You’re Winning, his book on journeys into the “soul of soccer” (good alliteration, but he meant football), we hear a potted history of our club’s ups and more plentiful downs …
Sunderland were actually founded in Glasgow by an Ayrshire man, James Allan, in 1879 and their current travails are nothing new in the long and winding road that’s brought them to the Stadium of Light.
One of the giants of the early years, they hit the rocks after the Second World War. Blighted by an illegal payments scandal, they slithtered down the league and in 1958 were relegated from the top flight for the first time in their history.
They restored some pride, of course, in 1973, with one of the most startling FA Cup finals ever.
The mini-run is over, for now. Maybe we did get carried away with a couple of wins and a few draws. Liverpool not only brought us down to earth with that thud. They hammered us …
This was not a good weekend to come up against top four sides in decent form, as Villa, Bolton and Pompey discovered yesterday and we had rammed home to us today.
Are we getting carried away? I have rarely known Sunderland fans in such upbeat spirits ahead of what is, on paper, a really tough game.
Ian Lynch *, our latest guest writer, is another Mackem who believes we can claim at least a point yesterday. Let us hope our gutsy display the other night is not placed in perspective by this scoreline: Chelsea 7 Aston Villa 1 (at least we managed two consolation at the Bridge).
Ian belongs to the Blackcats e-mail loop but does not post often – annually, on his own calculations. But this amusing and predominantly optimistic State of the Team assessment cried out for a wider audience …
At the moment, it seems clear that we have the makings of a first XI for next season that has a world-class keeper, experience and strength at the back, pace and invention in midfield and goals up front.
All we need is a left back who can attack as well as defend. And for our young midfielders to get better, not worse. That would be nice.
Consider the evidence:
Our Liverpool guests, Peter Hooton, rock singer and leading light in the Spirit of Shankly union, and Neil Jones, a Reds-supporting football writer, have dealt with some of the on-the-field issues affecting their club, who began the season hoping for the title but now have to settle for being just one of a cluster of clubs vying for fourth place. But let’s stop the pussyfooting: what do the fans really think of the owners? What, come to that, do they think about the lad who threw the beachball, whether cheating is OK provided it delivers the title and who will win Sunday’s match against Sunderland? And what do we think of Peter’s band, The Farm?* …
Salut! Sunderland:
Your club has an immense history, with triumph and tragedy, glory and disappointment, but what would Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley have made of the current owners and their impact on LFC?
Peter (SOS):
I think they would be horrified at what is happening. One of Bill Shankly’s most famous quotes is ‘At a football club there is a holy trinity- the players, the manager and the supporters. Directors don’t come into it. They are only there to sign the cheques.’ The problem with these cowboys is that they have run out of cheques; in fact they never had any in the first place!
Neil:It’s the million dollar question I suppose, I’m sure Shankly in particular would have plenty to say. He was a man who despised any interference from above, so he would not take kindly to some of the stunts pulled by the current owners. I’m sure he would be very much behind the supporters’ union which bears his name.
After another good result, 1-1 at Villa, Sunderland face a huge task: stopping Liverpool exact revenge for the beachball defeat at the Stadium of Light (even though it was their beach ball that deflected Darren Bent’s shot into the goal). Salut! Sunderland put questions to two prominent Reds:
* Peter Hooton*, leader singer of the (once) chart-topping Scouse band The Farm and a senior figure in the evocatively named Spirit of Shankly union, which campaigns againts the “dreadful custodianship of Hicks and Gillet” …
* Neil Jones**, who reports – we are sure – with exemplary impartiality on his club for goal.com
Both men had plenty to say about their club, our club, beachballs and Steven Gerrard’s tendency to fall a lot. There may even be more Liverpudlian wisdom on its way, so we’d better turn this into a part work …
Salut! Sunderland: Let’s start with a googly – you might call it a no ball – and ask whether referees and the authorities are soft when it comes to Steven Gerrard; it’s what you hear on the lips of fans of other clubs, especially top six rivals.
SOS: I personally can’t see it. Alex Ferguson thinks so and made a big issue of it last week but that was propaganda before our match with United to try and influence one his favourite referees Howard Webb. The Rio Ferdinand ban was due to the fact that he turned and deliberately lashed out at Hull’s Craig Fagan whereas Gerrard and Michael Brown clashed as Brown checked his run and the referee saw it. How Fergie has the audacity to call FA dysfunctional is mind-boggling. He bullies the FA and referees at every given opportunity.
Neil: He’s certainly given the authorities plenty to think about. But remember that it was not always this way – Gerrard as a young player was often involved in disciplinary hearings. I think his status affords him an extra amount of leniency from the FA, compared to some players. That is the same for a lot of England stars – I’m thinking Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney at this point.
My personal opinion of the two recent incidents is that the Wigan ‘v-sign’ was petulant, and he took a needless risk out of frustration. He could easily have been sent off, but then is what he did any worse than some of the foul-mouthed tirades we see from other players on a regular basis? Probably not. As for the Michael Brown episode, again he got rather lucky, but I do believe that it was an instinctive defensive reaction as Brown ran across his path, rather than a malicious assault. Still, it is not hard to imagine action being taken were the roles reversed.
Our new matchday correspondent, Bob Chapman*, was delayed by a grisly day at work and a cat demanding a medical consultation. But his report from Villa Park adds more weight to the argument that, come what may on Sunday, we’ve really turned the corner, with John Mensah’s commanding centre-back play an important feature of the revival …
It is a time of year I should always like, a chance to take in a midweek fixture towards the end of the season with nothing, effectively, to play for.
Steve Bruce, I know, will want 40 points but I believe we probably have enough already. Sadly in all my years since 1964 following Sunderland, that has been a pretty rare event. There has always been something at stake.