No one, it seemed, had a dour enough disposition to suggest we’d be reduced to a wretched 0-0 draw. As Jeremy Robson has pointed out on these pages, that’s now two visits to promoted sides without a goal and with no more than a point.
Even before Eric Bowers popped up to say I must have overlooked a clearly invalid 0-0 entry from Cyprus, Monsieur Salut had decided in his headlong rush toward Queer Street to turn disappointment to virtue.
Mike Alderson* was the second Stoke City fan, and the second official of City’s South West supporters’ club branch, to respond to our request for volunteers for the two forthcoming games at the Stadium of Light. We will hear from his pal ahead of the league game a week on Saturday. Mike sees Tuesday night’s league cup tie as just the sort of match our two clubs should take seriously, since league honours are perhaps beyond both. One obvious question we would ask with hindsight: would he be as ready to tip Man City for the title, in honour of their more modest, proper-club recent past, now that Manuel Pellegrini has decided the worst insult he can aim at Chelsea is to say they played like Stoke to grab a draw at the Etihad? ….
Forget the Man Utd old boy nonsense. Phil Bardsley may be a Salford lad, a United fan and a player who’d give his right arm to have had a proper Old Trafford career. But he was barely part of the playing set-up – eight appearances in five years. Until this week’s move to Stoke, he has effectively been Sunderland and Sunderland alone, with a commendable 200 games, seven goals (some of them spectacular and rather important) and just a few loan spells, all pre-SoL, at Rangers, Burnley, Villa and Royal Antwerp, to modify the impression of a solidly one-club man…
Deputy Editor Malcolm Dawson writes….
This has been a strange sort of season so far. Ensconced as we have been at the foot of the table for so much of the season, there has still been plenty of optimism around. Many of us have been of the opinion that Gus Poyet’s team would turn around the early season form and crawl up the table away from the relegation zone. A run of games that saw the team lose only twice in eleven games, one of which resulted in a trip to Wembley, should inspire confidence. But of course this is Sunderland and we are Sunderland supporters. The home games that remain should all be winnable, yes even Everton, but it is at home where the team has arguably been the most disappointing. Fulham and Aston Villa are two games which we thought should guarantee three points and both were frustrating to watch as we crumpled to defeat. It certainly makes attending games at the Stadium of Light difficult at times. Last night was another which added weight to that argument, but thankfully this time the result was the one we hoped for. Later than usual here is Pete Sixsmith’s measured view of the 1-0 victory over Stoke City …
Any victory is a good victory if you are in the kind of brown stuff that we have been in all season. A third league triumph on home soil and against a team that are down there with us has to be a cause for rejoicing and rejoice I did. We are out of the bottom three for the first time since August and a draw at Southampton – the only one we got under the absolutely not missed Paolo Di Canio.
Sunderland rarely take the easy route. One up after 25 minutes against moderate opponents who go down to 10 men in the second half. And who has to soak up the pressure? You guessed. All the same, Pete Sixsmith saw as mighty a win as they come, one taking Sunderland out of the bottom three for the first time since the second week of the season …:
How many times have I lain awake in far-off parts, mobile phone by the pillow set to silent to avoid annoying Mme Salut but ready to be consulted when Pete Sixsmith’s texts arrive with news of a stream of Sunderland goals?
With games coming thick and fast, time for finding a new Stoke City interviewee ran out. But we had an offer from Angela Smith*, who did such a good job before the game at the Britannia, to help out again. It is an interesting exercise to get someone to update replies to largely the same questions – if fewer in numbers – and Angela makes it worthwhile …
On his night of fame – a cameo in a BBC programme about the Northern League that fell some way short of the Andy Warhol four-minute test – Pete Sixsmith found himself dodging paparazzi and autograph seekers at Eppleton for a youth development squad match against Stoke City …
On Boxing Day 2004 West Brom’s 19th game of the season saw them at home to Liverpool. They lost 0-5, …
All Sunderland supporters, and all followers of football with a shred of common sense and fairness, will hope – and pray, if they pray – the club succeed in the appeal against Wes Brown’s staggering unjust dismissal at Stoke City.