SAFC - SAFC Blog

Who are you? We’re Manchester City (and Mark Hughes is still the right man)

December 17, 2009 by Colin Randall

Nearly a year and a half ago, some of us stood at the bar of the London-bound train after watching Sunderland trounced 3-0 by Man City at the Stadium of Light. To make things worse, we were sodden after a ferocious downpour. One or two London-based City fans were saying how much affinity they felt with Sunderland. All changed next day: the Abu Dhabi takeover was announced. Martin Haworth*, a City fan in Mackem territory, reviews the progress since then …

Salut! Sunderland (posing the question before Spurs 3 City 0!): So Man City are finally asserting themselves a little. Is a top four finish now certain in your view?

No it isn’t. For my money it would be nice to be able to qualify for the Europa League without gaining entry via the Fair Play qualification – which is how we got in on the last two occasions. I think the talk of the Champions League is mainly media frenzy. There is no-one I know who talks about it. For me, as long as there is progress, then that’s fine. It seems the owners also seem to have a patient attitude, which is good. I know that the end of last season, the form wasn’t good, and people were speculating whether Mark Hughes would keep his job, and I’m glad he has. Too often the club has suffered as a result of short-term actions. To qualify would be fine by me, and we’re still in the League Cup, so a bit of silverware would be a real bonus. Any progress on the last couple of seasons would be good.

Soapbox: Villa(ins) of the piece

December 16, 2009 by Colin Randall

It’s perhaps too early to panic, but there is no mistaking the gloom that has descended on the Stadium of Light. If losing 2-0 to a buoyant Aston Villa side was not in itself disastrous, the defeat followed all too many dismal Sunderland performances. Pete Sixsmith explains why a decent display last night was not good enough …

We were well beaten. Villa were a better side. We have some problems. Three statements that, to my mind, are non-controversial, but I hope those who read them

Wolves fans deserve a refund, but what’s gone wrong for us?

December 16, 2009 by Colin Randall

The dreadful run continues. Sunderland cannot finish off lowly teams – or even score against some of them – and can hardly count on doing fairly well, fairly consistently when confronted by the elite. Cana’s heroics have not been forgotten but he starts to look like a liability, the only question each game being how many minutes will elapse before he is shown a card. The first of our forlorn post-Villa reflections is, in part, a tale of two managers …

Steve Bruce, admittedly struggling with a squad hit by injuries and suspensions, plays his best available teams and gets a single point from two home games. Mick McCarthy gets slated for fielding reserves at Old Trafford (and yes, the travelling Wolves fans should be given £100 a head refunds for their wasted evening), but emerges with three points from two tough away games.

A search for football’s best, most passionate fans

December 15, 2009 by Colin Randall

Here is a reminder of the search launched by Sky Sports for the best football fans in the land. There will a league table, placing the fans of all 92 league clubs in order, and prizes are promised. Anyone got the answer? Naturally, we all think that answer is staring them in the face and comes from the Stadium of Light. Look at the video and decide whether you’d like to get involved and shout about your passion …

Imagine it. You support Chelsea, Arsenal, Man United or Liverpool. You’ve followed them for ever, or rather since you were old enough to work out they were quite good and won a lot. You may even have been to the city where they play.

Who are you? We’re Aston Villa (3)

December 15, 2009 by Colin Randall

If Salut! Sunderland‘s generosity with its space is matched by Villa’s generosity to the opposition, our fears after a rotten run since the Arsenal win may be unfounded. I certainly didn’t expect so many Villa fans to come forward with previews ahead of tonight’s game but am happy to publish a third contribution – from Gary Gleeson* – because, like our Pompey previewer last week, he lives within Gary McAllister diving distance of the Stadium of Light. Gary, chairman of the Villa supporters’ North East Lions’ Club, reached us via the VillaTalk site …

Salut! Sunderland How come you’re a Villa fan in the North East? Even if you’re from Brum, SAFC should have rubbed off on you by now!

I’ve been in the North East for about six years now. Originally from Dublin, I’m a Villa fan because of the Irish contingent of Paul McGrath, Steve Staunton and Ray Houghton.

Soapbox: Pompey pain

December 13, 2009 by Colin Randall

What do you do after seeing Sunderland throw away two points against lowly Portsmouth? Go home and kick the cat, start a few rows, reduce yourself to watching Stacey kicked out of the National Karaoke Championships? At least Pete Sixsmith had some musical therapy lined up …

I’m very pleased that I have had 18 hours or so to mull over this , as if I had written it straight after the game, Bill Taylor would have been even more worried about my pessimistic bent, while Jon would have been much happier with the use of short, pithy words like “c***”, “s****” and “r*******”.

Eighteen hours later, after a most enjoyable evening spent in the company of England’s finest folk singer and guitarist Martin Simpson at The Davy Lamp Folk Club in Washington, things look bleak, but not as bleak as they did at 6pm on Saturday.

Who are you? We’re Aston Villa (1)

December 13, 2009 by Colin Randall

They’re cock-a-hoop after winning at Old Trafford. We’re down in the dumps after a draw that, as Steve Bruce admitted, felt like a defeat. Pete Sixsmith has yet to deliver his considered verdict but his post-match seven-worder – A horrible game that exposed our weaknesses” – gives you an idea of what he thinks.

Many Salut! Sunderland readers have already seen the second instalment of our Villa previews. A technical hitch meant it was briefly live on Saturday – even before Sunderland’s lamentable surrender of two points aginst Pompey; it was quickly removed but this the link could still be seen at newsnow.com and worked.

But back to plan A: over in the States, Dominic Wren*, discovered via the VillaTalk fan site, is a PE teacher and “soccer” coach (he probably means football). So a few press-ups with the Salut! Sunderland questionnaire – he’s originally from Dorset, the product of Villa-supporting Brummies – hardly brought him out in a sweat. Oh, and Dominic, pictured with John Carew, thinks Villa will beat us 2-1 on Tuesday night …

Salut! Sunderland: Villa seem to be doing the business this season. Has your time come again at last?

No, we’re back where we belong in terms of modern EPL, in the mix amongst the big boys, we still need more creativity (who doesn’t!) to trouble the top four consistently.

Who are you? We’re Portsmouth

December 9, 2009 by Colin Randall

As far as Salut! Sunderland is concerned, the Portsmouth fan known as Equinox* first surfaced in early 2008, when he answered the call via the Pompey online site to preview a game at Fratton Park. All the way from the south coast to a site for fans of a North-eastern club? Not quite. Our guest began: “Equinox lives in East Boldon. Yes that’s right, East Boldon, just a gnat’s wing away from your beloved SoL.” Living in the North East since 1989, he offered a spell prosecuting at Sunderland Magistrates’ Court as a good reason for an alias. Those days are gone, but he feels it is prudent to remain anonymous, the long arm of the outlaw being what it is. So what does Equinox think about the present turmoil at Pompey, and Saturday’s important game at our place? …

Salut! Sunderland: You have said Pompey is not a happy place. Leaving aside the Carling Cup (oops: Villa won 4-2) and last Saturday’s nice easy home game (vs Burnley, 2-0), you had a nightmare start, some green shoots and then another slump. What has gone wrong and has anything started to go right?

I think that it is fair to say that the stuffing has been knocked out of us, you can insert any similar phrase involving kicking and four colours if you want. Imagine being punched really hard in the guts and that’s how we feel. There have been stories, rumours, counter-rumours since Spring of this year and when you add that into actual factual happenings it really does look as if we are almost bankrupt and without a team. And then in steps Paul Hart who builds a team out of nothing, and, to be fair it probably isn’t the worst team tat the Premiership has seen but they had no pre-season and for a time at least, no wages. The past owner young master Gaydamak apparently said to the Chief exec that he didn’t care if we went into administration and then a feud started – Gaydamak ended up selling to the only skint arab in the village whose media pronouncements verged from the ridiculous to the downright mental.

And then we had all the bad luck going. In the first few games, deflected goals, very dodgy decisions, injuries you name it. And through it all Hart had to carry on trying to mould the team out of his rag bag of players. Personally I think he did well but there is no time in this league if your luck runs out…………….ours never ran out, it never actually started.

History lesson: the game that left Toon feeling doon

December 8, 2009 by Colin Randall

During Sunderland’s recent spell of post-Arsenal under-achievement, Newcastle have been recording wins against mighty opposition to stay top of the division that isn’t the Premier. And letting us know about how big a club they are. Time to cheer ourselves up, remind others of their place and – just three days late – celebrate a heartening 101st anniversary. Adapted from an article written by Colin Randall a year ago for The National, Abu Dhabi …

No member of the Toon Army thanked me this time last year for drawing wider attention to the centenary of one of the most momentous league games in English football history.

But then, Newcastle fans would probably feel disinclined to thank me for anything.

All the same, duty obliges me to record that 101 years ago last weekend, having made the short journey to Newcastle, Sunderland did not so much beat the Magpies as pulverise them

Soapbox: crestfallen at Craven Cottage

December 7, 2009 by Colin Randall

You have been warned. Pete Sixsmith has been in better moods. Sunderland-supporting readers of a sensitive disposition may wish to lock themselves into a small padded room and listen to the collected works of Jedward. If you’re built of stronger stuff, this is Pete’s verdict on a Sunday by the Thames made so dismal by Steve Bruce’s dunces that he wishes he’d stayed in the White Horse and ordered a £9 pint of Thomas Hardy ale. What on earth did Niall Quinn’s guest, Martina Navratilova, make of it? …

As I dragged myself from a warm bed this morning, still groggy after a long journey back from the latest away shambles, I heard the BBC newsreader say that the Government were worried about an increase in depression and anxiety.

One way to prevent this malaise among the red and white army, I snorted, would be to teach defenders to attack the ball when it is punted into the penalty box.