Stewart Donald

Do they mean us? A Wall Street look at Sunderland

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Attracting the attention of an influential US financial weekly

Monsieur Salut writes: it is a pleasure to come across a New York take on Sunderland that doesn’t just gasp in disbelief at the turkeys-voting-for-Christmas syndrome.

When the Dow Jones financial newspaper Barron’s decided SAFC was worth a look for its Penta section, the task fell to Tom Teodorczuk, who grew up in Virginia but also studied at Durham so knows the patch. It’s an interesting read – and can be seen in its original form at this link – and I will leave the Americanised spellings unchanged. It appeared beneath the peculiarly American headline, ‘The Rebirth of the UK’s Sunderland Soccer Club’ …

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The First Time Ever I Saw Your Ground: Oxford United, Kassam and Manor

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Sixer & carer, Pete Horan, yet another Shildon lad

Monsieur Salut writes: one of the joys of editing Salut! Sunderland is the chance it offers to read the gems of Pete Sixsmith even before they appear before the public gaze. Book publishers should be now be forming an orderly or disorderly queue to snap up rights to his magnificent twin series, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Ground, the title inspired by Ewan MacColl’s most successful song (for Ground read Face), and – when writing about home games – The First Time Ever I Saw Your Team.

Sixer modestly dismisses is all as ‘mere ephemera’ but when did mere ephemera last present such a wonderful blend of football writing, travelogue, history, geography and wit?

Today – and doubtless Stewart Donald and Charlie Methven, at heart Oxford fans (though also, at heart, Sunderland fans now) will cast a fascinated eye or four over Sixer’s prose. Today, it is right to take a look at both the Manor Ground and its successor, the Kassam Stadium. Neither fits Pete’s idea, nor mine, of the perfect football ground. But we did both see a fabulous Sunderland goal there back in 1973, when the white-hot excitement of FA Cup glory was still a warm glow …

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Sunderland’s three amigos: ‘working tirelessly’ to reconnect fans and club

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Jake: follow the Lads at salutsunderland.com

Monsieur Salut writes: it reads like an open letter and comes from Tom Lynn, a familiar figure at Sunderland games home and away as well as being the man who edited a much-missed fanzine The Wearside Roar. The sentiments are intended for ‘Brian’.

Someone whose e-mail address does appear to belong to a Brian has been writing quite regularly to Salut! Sunderland with relentlessly hostile thoughts on the new regime.

As I have said repeatedly about controversial contributors, people are fully entitled to express strong views at this site provided this is done with decency and within the laws for defamation.

Who or what is Brian? The Salut! Sunderland jury is out, but inclined to convict. A majority suspect a closet Mag. I am still not sur,e though the short correspondence I had with the owner the e-mail address in question did nothing to challenge that majority assumption.

The latest outburst from ‘Brian’ appeared as a comment on the second part of our Charlie Methven interview. The comment dismisses Stewart Donald/Charlie and Jack Ross as the ‘three amigos’ and you can see it in full at this link. Here is Tom’s response ….

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Charlie Methven’s Oxford Who are You?: (2) rebuilding Sunderland from ‘utter shambles’

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Charlie and fellow-Oxford fans at that Wembley 2010 playoff final, OUFC winning 3-1 against York City to return to the Football League

Yesterday – check out this link – the first part of Salut! Sunderland‘s Who are You? interview with the Oxford-supporting Sunderland AFC executive officer Charlie Methven* brought us his thoughts on the ‘heart versus heart’ nature of torn-between-two-loves match between the two clubs.

In today’s second and concluding instalment, Charlie compares and contrasts Oxford United and Sunderland, guides us on the Jack Ross project for SAFC and appeals to our fans to show a little more business common sense than is always evident. It’s another great read but don’t expect a scoreline prediction …

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Oxford United vs Sunderland prize Guess the Score. Return of the Donald derby

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There IS a prize and you know what it is.

The start of a busy 11-day spell for Sunderland takes Jack Ross’s side to the Kassam Stadium for the second leg of this season’s home-and-away Donald derby.

Our owner’s connections and allegiance to the opponents are well known.

He and Charlie Methven, minority shareholder and executive director, have shown heartening commitment to SAFC since taking over from the absent and disillusioned Ellis Short. But both are fervent OUFC supporters and will remain so to their dying days even though they have – literally – bought into the passion and yearning for success on Wearside.

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Bye bye Papy – Papy bye bye

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Malcolm Dawson writes……..in the briefest of statements the club has announced that it has reached an agreement with Papy Djilobodji that will finally bring an end to his employment at SAFC and bring closure to a saga which seems to epitomise the way the club had been badly run and the contrast in policy and attitudes that this current regime has brought to Sunderland AFC.

The statement in full reads: “Sunderland AFC has reached an agreement with Papy Djilobodji for his departure, his employment having terminated on 21 September 2018.” I would suspect the terms of the agreement precludes the club saying much more at this time, but a costly court case has been avoided and hopefully the matter has been resolved to the benefit of the club rather than the player.

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Should Sunderland be giving away a lot less about transfer targets?

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Monsieur Salut discusses the need for a sensible balance between openness and discretion in the pre-season transfer market…

Who knows? By the time I finish writing this, or soon afterwards, Sunderland could have clinched the signings of two strikers, a central defender and a midfielder.

If so, the concerns I am about to address will seem unnecessary and pointless.

But does anyone else share my growing reservations about the indiscreet manner of our approach to recruitment? Well I can answer that. They do, or at least one supporter who posted at Twitter does – he made his view known in a robust fashion that would prevent his tweet’s reproduction at this site.

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Sunderland AFC and me: how I’ve been brought back from the brink

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Monsieur Salut writes: I often envy the lifestyles of Pete Sixsmith and Malcolm Dawson, enjoying the North East without any longer the need to do much work – though both, in their own ways, remain active – and free to pop along to any match they choose. Then I read their accounts of afternoons or evenings wasted watching SAFC and, remembering too many similar experiences from my own life, start to feel a lot less envious.

Sunderland games have not always been Malcolm’s first choice in recent times. But he has stuck by the team through thin and thinner and is now encouraged by the new regime. He describes his return from the brink quite magnificently. Please read on …

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In conversation with Charlie Methven: (3) ‘missing out on promotion would be a failure’

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Our question-and-answer discussions with Sunderland’s executive director, Charlie Methven, continues with a series of detailed points put to him by Salut! Sunderland‘s deputy editor, Malcolm Dawson. I called Malcolm’s efforts speeches followed by questions, Charlie thought “lectures” the more appropriate description while appreciating the depth of his thinking.

And each ends with a highly pertinent question. Let the pair of them speak for themselves (and see the series in full at this link). Many thanks to all the readers who came here yesterday to see what Charlie had to say; we wish only that a few more had also taken the trouble to put their own views across or respond to
his comments …

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