Stephen Goldsmith - SAFC Blog

Jordan Henderson and the Liverpool fans’ mantra: ‘he’s not really all that good’

June 5, 2019 by Colin Randall

John McCormick writes: wasn’t it good to see Jordan Henderson picking up that trophy the other day? It wasn’t his first, either. Way back in 2011-12 he’d been on the winning side as Liverpool picked up the League cup. He’d also been a runner-up in a few competitions (FA Cup, Europa League, Champions League, Premiership and so on) had captained his country in the World Cup, and, generally, proven to be a bit of a canny player. Yet, not long after he left Sunderland, I remember listening to Liverpool fans explaining why he just wasn’t good enough for Liverpool and how he’d never replace Steven Gerrard [the sniping from sections of the Liverpool and England support has continued – Ed].

There were similar criticisms about his selection as an England player after he made his senior debut in 2010 and, indeed, it was a while before he earned another cap. Yet we knew all long, didn’t we? At least Stephen Goldsmith did. Here’s what he wrote just 7 years ago, on June 5th 2012, under his byline “Goldy’s Logic” and with the title:

Return of Poznangate: ‘small-time’ pettiness (Manchester United view) or harmless banter?

December 23, 2016December 22, 2016 by Colin Randall

It’s a familiar question in the ‘Who are You?’ series: what do you think, we ask opposing fans, of Sunderland – the club, the fans, the city and region, David Moyes?

This is how Dale O’Donnell, our Manchester United interviewee (he’s editor of the the Stretty News fan site), replied:

‘Yeah, I thought we looked after you a bit when Steve Bruce was in charge with the likes of Brown and O’Shea. Then your fans took the p*** a bit and Poznan’d at our expense. That has to be one of the worst small-time things I have seen as a football fan, and I highly doubt it will happen this season if Sunderland face the inevitable.’

After reading Dale’s replies, which I generally found thoughtful and knowledgeable, I asked him: ‘… was it more petty to do it, or more petty to take it seriously?’ He generously allowed for ‘a bit of both maybe’

See the full interview here: Dale O’Donnell in the Who are You? hotseat

But what better, I thought, with no football until Boxing Day, than to offer you once again Stephen Goldsmith‘s thoughts on the subject. Stephen, you may recall, once graced these pages, which he also used with Gareth Barker to promote and develop the Wise Men Say podcast until they Poznaned off to the brighter lights of ALS. He’s fondly remembered all the same and this is probably the third time his piece, slightly modified, on the subject has had an airing (so apologies if it feels a little familiar and pardon the outdated references to Sir Alex – the thrust of the article remains valid) …

Summer Madness: (1) on Man Utd being urged ‘forget our Man City Poznan’

December 22, 2016July 3, 2015 by Colin Randall

Stephen Goldsmith, fondly remembered from this parish, unwittingly kicks off a series of Summer Madness retrospectives, good reads that deserve another airing.

The choice of Goldy’s article from 2012 was prompted by a tweet from a MUFC fan explaining his jibe about Sunderland being relegated next May. It reflected his lingering anger at the Poznan done by some SAFC fans when they beat us in the final game and thought themselves champions until Man City scored in stoppage time to break their hearts. See the Twitter exchange below (I cannot quite work out how to avoid repeating each tweet before the reply). But first, have another look at Goldy’s amusing piece …

Salut! Sunderland Podcast: what’s gone wrong with Ji Dong Won?

August 30, 2013August 30, 2013 by Colin Randall

One of the most encouraging things about the live podcast last week was seeing many journo and editor types in the audience, writes Stephen Goldsmith. This was particularly pleasing as it meant I could remind them face to face about their assurances of featuring on the podcast.

James Hunter from the Evening Chronicle was one the recipients of this direct method and popped in to the studios to discuss all things SAFC. Being the Sunderland correspondent in a Newcastle paper, it was a change in environment for James, here he could witness Sunderland fans moaning instead of Newcastle fans goading over airports or housing estates that aren’t even in the same county. Gareth Barker and I were also joined by Craig Clark from over at Roker Report who sparked off a massive Phil Bardsley debate at the live pod last week. If he hadn’t have asked somebody else would have in all fairness.

The Salut! Sunderland Podcast live: our scholars ponder Saints clash

August 23, 2013August 23, 2013 by Colin Randall

After last week’s lapse with the podcast, not posted here until after the Fulham game, the lads have made no mistake this time. M Salut has just listened to it and it’s cracking stuff with the panel talking in front of, and to, a live audience. See the link below …

The Salut! Sunderland Podcast: the Fulham one that nearly got away

August 20, 2013 by Colin Randall

Mea culpa, penitent stool, abject apologies … guess what we clean forgot to post last week?

Our much-feted podcast duo, Stephen Goldsmith and Gareth Barker, meant to send Monsieur Salut the file but didn’t. M Salut, weighed down by work and domestic duty, neglected to chase them.

What’s the point, you may well now ask, of carefully bolting the stable door long after the horse has had time not only to bolt but to live out its life and end up in someone’s pure beef lasagne?

Peruzzi, Colback and other transfer sagas

July 13, 2013July 13, 2013 by Colin Randall

Jake detects thinking

There has been a lot of transfer activity to reflect on already this summer, writes Stephen Goldsmith. We all expected a total overhaul, to be fair, and the appointments of Roberto De Fanti and Valentino Angeloni certainly suggested that we’d be generally looking abroad for our new a acquisitions. One potential signing in particular stands out in terms of quality, according to those in the know, while one potential outgoing transfer has me especially curious…

Salut Reflections: Westwood, Mignolet and Bramble make for interesting week in Sunderland.

June 7, 2013June 7, 2013 by Colin Randall

During Martin O’Neill’s final months as SAFC manager, it became increasingly hard to gather and comment on news for a Reflections piece for Salut! Sunderland, writes Stephen Goldsmith. It seems unlikely Di Canio’s reign will be similar. The end of season is generally a bit of a lull for bloggers and writers, who try their best to avoid getting carried away with bogus and erroneous transfer targets. There have been a couple of interesting developments in the last week, though, “that’s for sure” (Bruce: 2009/2010/2011).

Salut Podcast: Sunderland’s season review! O’Neill, Di Canio, where now?

May 24, 2013 by Colin Randall

And so another season draws to a close. It’s fair to say the contrast in the campaign’s two managers …

Salut! Sunderland’s end-of-season reviews: (7) slower than my 9-year-olds

May 23, 2013 by Colin Randall

Another of Jake's Generics — Jake: ‘we had joy, we had fun … and then we had seasons watching Sunderland’

Stephen Goldsmith is not just a budding broadcast sports journalist, podcast wizard and Salut! Sunderland assistant editor. He also coaches children. In the latest of our end-of-season reviews – the series will end soon with Pete Sixsmith‘s calculations of how well spent his season ticket money was – Goldy says his young charges show more movement and pace than our midfield managed at times …