Jake: catch Sixer’s instant seven-word verdicts throughout the season
Pete Sixsmith was there to witness the first of three successive home games that could – like it or not – define our season. The first proved a disappointment, yet another draw. And this time we had to come from behind even for that. Monsieur Salut’s headline suggests the obvious question pending our fuller analysis of the match …
Lars Knutsen looks at the undeniable problem facing Jack Ross: how to inspire his players to stop dropping so many points because of a failing to build on or protect leads …
Are Sunderland AFC now ready to emerge from this season’s “bad patch”? More to the point, does our record since November 17 – D, D, W, W, L, W, D, W, D, D, D, W, D – actually constitute some sort of a slump in fortunes?
Monsieur Salut writes: in this edition of his marvellous twin series describing first encounters with Sunderland opponents and – if an away game – their grounds, Pete Sixsmith offers illuminating thoughts and memories on Tuesday night’s visitors from Blackpool. Interestingly, he remembers the same occasion in the 1970s described by our Seasiders’ Who are You? interviewee, Phil Corbett – a Roker Park clash between the two sides that ended not only unhappily for Blackpool, seeing a lead overturned and promotion hopes shattered on the last day of the season – but also violently. Those were grim times of frequent outbreaks of football hooliganism, and we had our share of idiots (and worse), as Phil relates.
Pete had a good friend, plus his dad, in the away end that day but concentrates on the football and what was a not very convincing victory – he calls it undeserved – courtesy of a late Bobby Kerr winner. At this stage of the 2018-19 season, most of us probably would settle for another while naturally hoping for better …
The Yorkshire Seasiders on a trip to Portugal. Click the photo for all the Who are You? interviews this season
Monsieur Salut writes:Phil Corbett* is one of Blackpool’s seriously disgruntled supporters, left frustrated and worn-out by the ‘calamitous’ ownership of Owen Oyston. But it doesn’t stop him being a fan. As he explains ahead of Sunderland’s home game against his side on Tuesday night, this means avoiding home games so as not to spend money on the club. Away games are considered OK provided fans can pay on the gate and not have to purchase tickets via Blackpool FC.
It is a wretched state off affairs that makes Newcastle fans’ loathing for Mike Ashley seem more like a passionate if occasionally turbulent romance. Let Phil, chairman of the wrong-side-of-the-Pennines Blackpool supporters’ group known and the Yorkshire Seasiders, take up the story, recall an unpleasant encounter with Roker Park (and the much later compensation of a winning day out at the SoL) and offer an unwelcome scoreline prediction …
Pete Sixsmith was at the disappointing 1-1 draw in the ‘Donald derby’ – reflecting the divided loyalties of our Oxford-supporting owner Stewart Donald (and his executive director Charlie Methven) – and will be writing about his day at greater length over the next 12-24 hours
But with three home games coming up in quick succession, and assuming a slightly worrying degree of significance as Luton and Barnsley set the pace at the top, we need to get the usual features out of the way even if they upset the natural order of Salut! Sunderland business.
Monsieur Salut accordingly brings forward the Blackpool Guess the Score competition and thanks the many thousands of people who came here last week to sample the goodies on offer …
Jake: catch Sixer’s instant seven-word verdicts throughout the season
Pete Sixsmith was happy enough at half time with a ‘decent’ first 45 and a Jimmy Dunne header – from a corner believe it or not – giving Sunderland the advantage. For those not among our 1,800 fans present at the Kassam Stadium, Barnes and Benno made for less reassuring listening. We appeared to live dangerously in all too familiar fashion before Dunne’s goal and again in the second half.
As stoppage time loomed, we looked as if we might hang on. ‘A win’s a win,’ said Nick Barnes and Oxford immediately equalised. Jerome Sinclair inevitably figured in the move; our players argued furiously that he had fouled Dunne before setting up Browne, to no avail. And meanwhile Luton and Barnsley just keep on winning and we haven’t managed more than one goal in a game since the stuttering 2-1 win at home to Bristol Rovers in mid-December.
Sixer’s considered verdict will appear in due course but his seven-word instant verdict sums up his frustration …
Sixer & carer, Pete Horan, yet another Shildon lad
Monsieur Salut writes: one of the joys of editing Salut! Sunderland is the chance it offers to read the gems of Pete Sixsmith even before they appear before the public gaze. Book publishers should be now be forming an orderly or disorderly queue to snap up rights to his magnificent twin series, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Ground, the title inspired by Ewan MacColl’s most successful song (for Ground read Face), and – when writing about home games – The First Time Ever I Saw Your Team.
Sixer modestly dismisses is all as ‘mere ephemera’ but when did mere ephemera last present such a wonderful blend of football writing, travelogue, history, geography and wit?
Today – and doubtless Stewart Donald and Charlie Methven, at heart Oxford fans (though also, at heart, Sunderland fans now) will cast a fascinated eye or four over Sixer’s prose. Today, it is right to take a look at both the Manor Ground and its successor, the Kassam Stadium. Neither fits Pete’s idea, nor mine, of the perfect football ground. But we did both see a fabulous Sunderland goal there back in 1973, when the white-hot excitement of FA Cup glory was still a warm glow …
Monsieur Salut writes: it reads like an open letter and comes from Tom Lynn, a familiar figure at Sunderland games home and away as well as being the man who edited a much-missed fanzine The Wearside Roar. The sentiments are intended for ‘Brian’.
Someone whose e-mail address does appear to belong to a Brian has been writing quite regularly to Salut! Sunderland with relentlessly hostile thoughts on the new regime.
As I have said repeatedly about controversial contributors, people are fully entitled to express strong views at this site provided this is done with decency and within the laws for defamation.
Who or what is Brian? The Salut! Sunderland jury is out, but inclined to convict. A majority suspect a closet Mag. I am still not sur,e though the short correspondence I had with the owner the e-mail address in question did nothing to challenge that majority assumption.
The latest outburst from ‘Brian’ appeared as a comment on the second part of our Charlie Methven interview. The comment dismisses Stewart Donald/Charlie and Jack Ross as the ‘three amigos’ and you can see it in full at this link. Here is Tom’s response ….
Charlie and fellow-Oxford fans at that Wembley 2010 playoff final, OUFC winning 3-1 against York City to return to the Football League
Yesterday – check out this link – the first part of Salut! Sunderland‘s Who are You? interview with the Oxford-supporting Sunderland AFC executive officer Charlie Methven* brought us his thoughts on the ‘heart versus heart’ nature of torn-between-two-loves match between the two clubs.
In today’s second and concluding instalment, Charlie compares and contrasts Oxford United and Sunderland, guides us on the Jack Ross project for SAFC and appeals to our fans to show a little more business common sense than is always evident. It’s another great read but don’t expect a scoreline prediction …
