Sunderland A.F.C - SAFC Blog

Everton Who are You?’: ‘teaching my daughter the cleaner Goodison songs’

September 22, 2016September 9, 2016 by Colin Randall

Football, marathon running, academia and cheese … that’s the heady mix that sums up Lydia Bleasdale-Hill*, our Everton Who are …

Hayley Penman, supporter of Sunderland and Dunfermline: a young star rewarded

August 31, 2016August 30, 2016 by Colin Randall

Hayley: 'I'm as good as any lad, except maybe Cannonball Charlie' — Hayley: ‘I’m as good as any lad, except maybe Cannonball Charlie’

This is an article Hayley Penman, then aged all of 10, wrote for Salut! Sunderland back in February of last year. It was warmly received, and rightly so. Recently, another supporter of Sunderland AFC, Jennifer Lowery, though not of Hayley’s generation, asked that a prize mug due to her for coming up with the title of the manager’s post match e-mail “Moyes on the Boys”, should go to a deserving young reader of our choice. We invited suggestions and Hayley’s name popped up in the replies. The mug that is on its way to her is well deserved. It will not change her life but I hope it will encourage her to write over and again for this site and to develop what is clearly a real talent …

Southampton Who are You?: ‘yep, I’d take Defoe, class act, and Januzaj’

August 25, 2016August 25, 2016 by Colin Randall

Alan Copps* is one of Monsieur Salut’s valued former colleagues and his fine writing – as opposed to M Salut’s basic reporting – graced the pages of The Daily Telegraph and later The Times. Late in his career, he moves significantly upmarket to offer various thoughts to the thinking man’s football site Salut! Sunderland ahead of Saturday’s game. Oh, and as I write, Salut! Sunderland is seven followers short of 2,000 at Twitter …

The Devil’s Advocate: a SAFC fan prepared to say ‘about time too’

August 25, 2016August 25, 2016 by Colin Randall

Rob Hutchison, master of the occasional one-word, one-mark matchday ratings, returns to devil advocacy, with some strident and, doubtless for some, controversial thoughts on our plodding progress in the transfer window …

Hola kiddies . . . .another week in the life of Sunderland’s little devil.

Middlesborough. Was it a derby? Of course it was. They’re our almost nearest if not dearest. To claim otherwise is merely pouting that we don’t really care about these perceived also-rans. Bragging rights are everything, and when we beat them at the Riverside, oh it will be glorious.

Sixer’s Sevens: no Yedlin but Sunderland 1-0 Shrewsbury. ‘Corker from Januzaj’

August 25, 2016August 24, 2016 by Colin Randall

There has been very little anguish over DeAndre Yedlin’s move to Newcastle. Some of us believe he was worth bringing back, based on his significant improvement towards the end of last season. Others do not rate him, yet, as being of Premier League standard. But with talk of Atletico Madrid’s Javier Manquillo being on the point of signing – that fountain of truth, the Daily Star, says it will cost us £13.6m if he plays 25 times this season – perhaps we do not need (yet) to panic.

Tonight? Truly awful first half against mighty Shrewsbury, despite having what passes these days for a strong side. Second half not much better, said our Pete Sixsmith – ‘slowly losing the will to live’ – until the late winner from Adnan Januzaj. ‘A corker’ was Sixer’s verdict. He’s off to the south coast now in readiness for the much bigger test of Southampton on Saturday. We will know by the morning whether he felt able to delay his departure sufficiently to write more than these seven words on tonight’s game ..

The Shrewsbury view: time for a spot of giant-killing against ‘intriguing’ Sunderland

August 23, 2016August 23, 2016 by Colin Randall

Carl Jones with Shrewsbury’s keeper Jayson Leutwiler (right)

We are delighted to welcome a Shrewsbury Town supporter, Carl Jones*, to talk about his club, football in general and Wednesday’s league cup second round tie at the Stadium of Light in particular. Carl wasn’t sure whether he could attend but has now arranged to be there, hoping for an upset against whatever side David Moyes – a former Shrewsbury player of course – puts out. He reckons there’ll be another 2-1 scoreline, and still not in Sunderland’s favour …

Just before we abandon hope, it’s Shrewsbury in the league cup. Guess the score

August 22, 2016August 22, 2016 by Colin Randall

Jake: " — Jake:’I’m not having any of this Shrowsbury nonesense!’

So we had two correct predictions for SAFC v Boro, both from Middlesbrough fans (Smoggie and the WAY interviewee Thomas Keen). There was no prize mug for this match – they may be a bit sparse this season – so they must be feeling a little like those who pick the same lottery numbers every week but forget to buy a ticket the Saturday they come up.

Sunderland v Middlesbrough ‘Who are You?’: a Smoggie optimist in Prague

August 18, 2016August 18, 2016 by Colin Randall

All the way from professional exile in the Czech Republic, Thomas Keen*, of half-Guisborough, half-USA stock, tells Salut! Sunderland ahead …

Sunderland v Middlesbrough ‘Guess the Score’: a time for winning

August 17, 2016 by Colin Randall

It has been an eventful week.

Much better than expected display at the Etihad, ruined by an unfortunate own goal, egg on Monsieur Salut’s face after he fell for an online reference to Graham Gooch being Lynden’s dad, insolent follow-up comment from Sixer and Malcolm Dawson and now speculation that Watford want and may land Younes Kaboul. Not to mention our former web guru Sam’s belated success in getting rid of that awful error message that had polluted Salut! Sunderland‘s landing pages for a long, long time.

Caribbean delight: find a young winner of the Salut! Sunderland mug

August 12, 2016August 12, 2016 by Colin Randall

Anyone who was paying attention will have noticed that the winning title among those suggested by readers for David Moyes’s post-game e-mails, which Salut! Sunderland will get round every matchday or soon afterwards to posting, was “Moyes on the Boys”.

So the author the phrase qualifies for the promised mug …