A small design fault with Salut! Sunderland‘s Martin O’Neill mug – letters falling off the text – has been cleared up, or so Monsieur Salut understands. So in yet another display of hope that our season will finally start in Saturday, here is another Guess the Score competition …
For this week’s edition in what is proving an outstanding series of”Who are You?” interviews, Salut! Sunderland turned to James Whittaker*, one of Monsieur Salut’s fellow contributors at the ESPN Soccernet site**. Stoke City entries of past seasons gave him tough acts to follow. He rose to the challenge with a spirited riposte to M Wenger, a damning assessment of one of Stoke City’s Sunderland Old Boys and an unwelcome scoreline prediction …
Stephen Goldsmith writes: You can all stop laughing. It’s quite expected really that this whole thing is my idea and I currently prop up the table. In fact it’s inevitable; I’m destined to finish there too. I might just start copying John Mac’s predictions every week as I have the power to do so.
The killing of Marie Colvin in Syria has left her confrère Monsieur Salut in reflective mood for much of the day.
Another attempt to capture the flavour of Salut! Sunderland‘s week in one Saturday morning posting …
As a matter of record, Salut! Sunderland notes with satisfaction that Stoke have lost their appeal against Robert Huth’s red card. He collects the standard three-match ban but avoids the extra match the FA disciplinary committee adds for “frivolous” appeals.
Salut! Sunderland has made no formal count, but reckons most – certainly many – Sunderland fans agree Robert Huth was unlucky to be sent off for his challenge on David Meyler.
Awful day, not a wonderful match but Martin O’Neill was rightly happy to see his team adapt better to the conditions and come away with three more invaluable points (see also Sixer’s Sevens) …
This is where Pete Sixsmith captures the glory and shame, hope and despair, excitement and ennui of the Sunderland matchday experience. When, rarely, Pete is absent or delayed, a supersub does it for him and the seven-word verdict is preceded by an asterisk. Pete’s full analysis of the game will usually appear within a day or two.
In dire conditions in a game allowed to go ahead after a late pitch inspection, James McClean fired home a winner to maintain the astonishing momentum we have achieved with what Martin O’Neill gets out of Steve Bruce’s players. Two successive homes victories against Arsenal and not just one would be just what we need to keep it going, Lads, so do the business at the Riverside.
… in which another week is reviewed for the reader who is too engrossed in work, study or play, or too forgetful, to visit Salut! Sunderland every single day …