Steven Ftetcher

Sixer’s Substitute’s Soapbox: Udinese like a Sunday morning

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Malcolm Dawson writes……Following his most recent visits to the O3 Arena, Peter Sixsmith has developed a liking for watching a team in red and white stripes at St James’ Park, so when the Football League fixtures were announced he got Pardew, his faithful manservant, to organise a suite at the Exeter Travelodge and a ticket to see The Grecians play Pompey in what to many of us, is still the old Fourth Division. It was all sorted before SAFC announced their final pre-season arrangements and Pete will be at The Hawthorns next week to bring his unique insight into the first game of the campaign proper, but it fell to me to make the ten minute trip to Heritage Park, home of the “Two Blues”, for the final warm up match…..

Malcolm Dawson climbs up on the soapbox at Bishop
Malcolm Dawson climbs up on the soapbox at Bishop Auckland

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O’Neill is no longer resuscitating Bruce’s Sunderland: midfield is dead on arrival

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Stephen Goldsmith writes: I refuse to get too carried away with all the doom and gloom just yet – as tempting as that may be! You certainly won’t be hearing me shout for a change in management amid all this poor show of form. The national media are particularly mystified as to why the Sunderland fans are keeping their patience with O’Neill, in an almost identical manner in which they were mystified as to why we wanted their pal Bruce out last season. Double standards springs to mind. The crux of it all is that last season’s mini-revival highlights the amazing impact that O’Neill had when he came here. Who can argue that the Ulsterman’s arrival resulted in a below average squad performing above themselves? They have now plateaued and it isn’t pretty. Had Bruce still been here we would be playing Championship football, a fact which nobody should doubt.

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The Lars Word: great centre backs from King Charlie to John O’Shea

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Lars Knutsen: opening the defence case

Lars Knutsen, Sunderland exile in the USA, praises the contributions of our centre-back regulars to the unbeaten start to the new season and looks back at the rock-like figures who played for SAFC in the days when there was one in the middle and he was called the centre-half …

SAFC vs MUFCJohn O’Shea in action vs old mates: image by ‘vagueonthehow’

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