Continuing the theme of comprehensive disagreement about Sunday’s game, Pete Sixmsith praises, then lambasts Lee Mason (see http://www.espnfc.com/club/sunderland/366/blog/post/2138077/opportunities-missedbut-sunderland-will-be-pleased-with-a-point for another view) and acclaims one or two players others have criticised. But first let him regale you with his tale of a nine-goal Scottish thriller …
No two people will ever agree on all of the talking points from Sunderland vs Everton.
What we can say for certain is:
* post-Osman, no lectures are permitted from any Everton manager, player or supporter on penalties wrongly given or denied
* if we accept Howard did not handle the ball, there is at least an argument that says he obstructed play and should have conceded an indirect free kick in a highly dangerous position
* Sunderland played well and thoroughly deserved the point
* Howard risks being arrested as a wannabe jihadist until he shaves off that preposterous beard
Rob Hutchison now offers a useful counter-balance to Keir Bradwell’s man-by-man Sunderland ratings, and he does it – as is his style – with a single word for each player …
Monsieur Salut writes: Take a look at young Keir Bradwell’s marks out of 10 for Sunderland’s team, and the comments beneath his piece, come back tomorrow to see what old(er) Rob Hutchison made of it and even look at what I had to say at ESPN and you’ll soon accept that everyone views a game differently. Roberto Martinez, a manager I admire hugely, needs to be told that no one who brings Osman back to the stadium where he kicked the ground with no SAFC player in sight, claimed a pen and got one can ever complain about refereeing. But some things stand out and no one seems to dispute that Seb Larsson, so often criticised, had an outstanding game (I’d say another outstanding game). Let Gus Poyet sing his praises in his post-match e-mail …
Keir Bradwell has been quick off the mark today, as has his editor, Nic Wiseman. A good performance has resulted …
‘Sunderland ‘Til I Die,’ sings Aaron Neil, playing the Metropolitan police commissioner, as he prepares to be the guinea pig in a trial use of the Taser gun in a silly scene in Great Britain, the West End satire on press, police and politicians. Pete Sixsmith – the king of the seven-word instant verdicts you see below – doesn’t sing that much these days at football games but does shout quite a lot. Like most with a single view of the Everton penalty, he shouted very loud indeed when he saw as a wretched decision the penalty given when Seamus Coleman sprawled under Connor Wickham’s challenge. M Salut had a second view and a third view and ref Lee Mason was right (Wickham was lucky to escape red), as he was to judge at the end that Tim Howard went down on the ball outside his area but without touching the ball with hand or arm. (I take the point, expressed below, about obstruction but still feel the curiously Taliban-bearded keeper did well). A cracking second half, a good point and anything less would have been a travesty …
There are clubs we loathe, clubs we quite like and clubs we couldn’t really care less about.
I say “we” but each category necessarily involves a subjective view. Our own Pete Sixsmith has a (deeply negative) thing about Crystal Palace; I have a soft for them even if their ground is a tip and presents a series of spiked logistical hurdles. I quite like Liverpool; Sixer emphatically does not, or at least not post-Shankly and Paisley.
Peter Lynn appreciates a victory as much as the next fan. But there are times, he feels, when it’s important not to get carried away and instead reflect on the weaknesseses and doubts a winning display reveals, as well as the strengths ….
I’m still on the bus with Gus but there are too many passengers!
A win is a win and that’s all that matters to most of us and so it is with me but I feel the need to strike a note of caution as I enjoy the feelgood factor that the Palace win has created. Our last win, against Stoke, was followed by the Southampton debacle and surely we all want to avoid a repeat of that. So I think an honest appraisal of recent performances, both individual and collectively, may help.
This week, Monsieur Salut has been granted time off from the ‘Who are You’ feature. Our Liverpool-based associate editor, John McCormick, found and interviewed an Evertonian and the fascinating result of their exchange will appear here tomorrow.
That leaves Guess the Score. David Miller won the Personalised Football Gifts mug as the first – and only – reader to plonk for 3-1 to us at Crystal Palace. So no rollover, just the one mug and you must have it delivered to a UK address.
There are games that leave some of us wondering whether we’ve gone completely mad just by attending. But there are fans who cannot get enough. Pete Sixsmith was in that latter category until he finally joined the Club of 92. Now he’s done it all. Where does he go from there? …
Jay Crame was our guest in last week’s ‘Who are You?’. A Palace fan since the mid-1980s, he is the founder and editor of a fan site, The Eagles Beak.
I have no doubt he will be perfectly happy to see his post-match thoughts reproduced here. They add up to a good, honest and measured match report*: