A spot of fun for this potentially decisive day.
Cast your minds back to the night of April 27 2007 and the closing stages of the Championship-winning season under Roy Keane. Burnley were the visitors and 44,448 were inside the Stadium of Light.,
Jody Craddock was a terrific servant to Sunderland AFC. He went on to play as wholeheartedly for Wolves, so much so that the initially unimpressed Molineux faithful sang one of those ‘used to be s****, now he’s all right’ songs in his honour. Salut! Sunderland is delighted his testimonial match – Wolves XI 4-1 SAFC XI, Niall and SuperKev included – drew a 9,000+ crowd. Read about it at the Sunderland Echo – http://www.sunderlandecho.com/sport/sunderland-afc/wolves-beat-sunderland-in-jody-craddock-testimonial-1-6598428 – but let us recall the Who are You? he kindly did with us before the last game of the 2009-2010 season …
OK, it doesn’t precisely come down ONLY to this. We can lose and even fail to win on Sunday but still stay up. We could lose both games and stay up provided Norwich failed to beat Arsenal. But please, Lads, be sufficiently composed and clinical on Wednesday to ensure the happy ending to the football fairytale everyone outside of the Toon Army and Norwich wants to see. Lose and the tension on Sunday will be unbearable, not that we haven’t been there before.
Our West Bromwich Albion interviewer is young Nathan Carr*. He’s been here before and is still only 17. Nathan likes Sunderland, even if he loyally predicts an away win on Wednesday, and has also – mostly – enjoyed seeing Sess in the Baggies’ stripes. Had the questions been posed later, I’d have asked about the ugly manifestation of corporate power that condemns WBA to playing without their famous blue stripes next season …
Malcolm Dawson writes: After a massive loss at Spurs Gus said we needed a miracle. After a plucky but pointless performance against Everton a disappointed Pete Sixsmith told BBC North East that relegation was a certainty. Most of us felt that Pete was nearer the mark than the manager but with no-one predicting 7 points from the remaining three away games the miracle is almost upon us. Tomorrow it could be and on Wednesday it should be. I count no chickens but one more win will do it whatever Norwich do. “Things can only get better” is what our tremendous supporters have been singing for weeks now and their faith is almost repaid. Pete Sixsmith was at Old Trafford and is rewarded for his loyalty with a great day out in Salford. Here is his seven word verdict.
The people at Campo Retro offered a tempting trip to Lisbon for the Champions League final, now a mouth-watering all-Spanish contest. There was one snag: you had to earn it, by writing about a momentous footballing occasion of your life and having it published online.
No one among the Salut! Sunderland army of readers and contributors took part, unless they did so directly (surely a Sixer at half his best would have walked it), but there is at least a small Sunderland link in the outcome. The prize was won by Mark Godfrey, an Everton fan who wrote about his experience of Italia 90 as a lad of 14 watching on TV.
Mark doesn’t tell us much about that link of what it led to or didn’t, just that his acceptance by the Sunderland School of Excellence coincided with that summer.
This article first appeared in The Football Pink and here it is …
The first part of the MUFC vs SAFC ‘Who are You?’ appeared yesterday –
https://safc.blog/2014/04/the-manchester-united-vs-sunderland-who-are-you/ – with Pete Molyneux* telling us about that Ta Ra Fergie banner protest of his, back in 1989. United had gone five minutes, maybe even six, without winning, so he had good reason to be cross. He later mellowed and has a book to prove it. Here are Pete’s responses to questions that did not concern that banner. Stand by for some terrific thoughts on the club we support. Pete has a very soft spot for Sunderland …
The answer to the question posed in the headline, logically, is No.
Sunderland have done brilliantly in the league cup and in recent Premier League games. We all hope and hope again that Saturday might bring at least one point and maybe three.
Colin Randall writes: Pete Molyneux** is a Manchester United fan with form. Cast your minds back to 1989. Pete was fed up. Now we think we know all about Being Fed Up. It has a different meaning among United fans – they’d lost a home game, for heaven’s sake – but Pete felt it all the same. And he declared his unhappiness by unfurling a banner proclaiming “3 YEARS OF EXC– — USES AND IT’S STILL C*** … TA RA FERGIE” at Old Trafford.
There were no asterisks, of course, but I always worry about the sensitivity of others. In any event, both – Pete and Fergie – stuck at it and were richly rewarded as United expectations of winning everything in sight was rewarded by, well, winning lots. And last year, the book of the banner – Ta Ra Fergie – The Legacy of the World’s Greatest Football Manager* – appeared.
It surely makes all the amends needed. Pete seems a great bloke and has done us proud with these answers ahead of MUFC v SAFC on Saturday. I think it makes sense to start with his description of the banner protest, plus his thoughts on matters closer to our own hearts and run the rest tomorrow. The ‘rest’ includes great thoughts on, memories of Sunderland …
See it at https://safc.blog/2014/05/the-manchester-united-who-are-you-2-tremendous-respect-for-sunderland/…
Salut’s correspondent between schoolwork, Keir Bradwell, assesses our latest win (not a combination of words we’ve been able to use recently) against relegation rivals, Cardiff…
Pete Sixsmith pays tribute to Kevin Phillips and that, loyal readers and any visitors from SuperKev’s pre and post-SAFC stop-off places, is all that is needed by way of introduction. Apologies to Leicester, Watford, Aston Villa and Baldock Town – ran out of headline room …