Sunderland

Port Vale vs SAFC: another Who are You?, a big Sunderland connection

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Ally Simcock

Monsieur Salut writes: sometimes, Salut! Sunderland struggles to find anyone supporting an opposing side to do the ‘Who are You?’ interview. Sometimes – not often – we receive a cast-iron promise, send out the questions and wait in vain for responses. And then there are the times we are overwhelmed with offers. Port Vale is one such example. Let’s hear from Ally Simcock*, former chairman [sorry, M Salut is too old to be doing with chairs as people] of the supporters’ club, a prolific writer on all things Vale and now a supporters’ liaison officer with the club. She reveals a Sunderland connection that goes right to the top of her club … and I have promised a third volunteer, Lisa Bowker, that I’ll be back with questions if it goes to the replay Ally predicts …

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Anything Raheem Sterling can do, Leon Osman did better for Everton

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The penalty awarded to Raheem Sterling for Man City after his foot prodded the ground and he fell over against Shakhtar Donetsk, having suffered absolutely no contact from any defender, has revived the debate about whether players should own up. Yes, it does sound a preposterous notion in 2018. Keith Hackett, a former referee talking on TalkSport, said that while a ref could take account of a player’s honest admission and change a decision, it was not something officials actually expected to happen. Oh dear.

But worst penalty decision in history, a question that we’ve seen being asked today? Sterling is in perfectly good company, Think back to Boxing Day 2011 at the Stadium of Light. This is the piece we published then, after Everton’s Leon Osman, untouched by any Sunderland player, missed his kick, stubbed the ground and went down with his hand raised in appeal mode. A world-class referee, Howard Webb, was fooled and Everton equalised from the spot to save a point. Go to the link to read the lively debate that followed …

Postscript: Sterling did offer a public apology to the referee Viktor Kassai and to Shakhtar (the penalty brought the second of City’s six goals). I am sure an Everton supporter will put us right if Osman, too, finally admitted he had ‘misled’ Webb …

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The tables turned: Sixer – ‘happy for once with SAFC’ – answers Port Vale’s questions

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No prize this time but Guess the Score just for fun – just click on this caption

Monsieur Salut writes: since Rob Fielding was kind enough to answer our Who are You? questions we could hardly say no when he asked for a reciprocal gesture.

Pete Sixsmith knows his Potteries and will be at Sunday’s match so it seemed right for him to do the honours for Rob’s highly professional OneValeFan site, where I noticed one Vale fan describing the likely away contingent of around 2,000 as a ‘poor show really … we’d take more than that if the game was at Sunderland’ …

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‘The novelty of a packed away end’: Port Vale vs SAFC Who are You?

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Rob Fielding. Click on his photo to see all other editions of Who are You? this season

Monsieur Salut writes: a slightly troubled search for a Port Vale fan for this week’s Who are You? finally led to three offers of help. Rob Fielding*, who runs the onevalefan.co.uk fan site, then turned around the questions as quickly as anyone in the history of the series and we are deeply grateful to him

This is what his fellow-Vale fan Tony Boulton, a Burslem boy in Texas, has to say: ‘Rob is a great bloke. He’s been working on his website for over 20 years, since the emergence of forums. Despite the very nature of fan communication, in the age of social media, he has persevered and kept it under control with an amazing level of integrity. Our history does not bear comparison to Sunderland, but we are two tiers below where we would like to think we can be. Football has changed so much, but the mid 90s was our heyday and if we never see that success again, we did make it to Wembley three times. That was something we could only dream about, when I was a kid …

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The Plymouth Argyle Soapbox: Sixer defers to Marshall’s Lore on a ‘day to cherish’

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Jake: ‘Stop press: Sixer stepped off the Soapbox and it’s John Marshall in his place’

Monsieur Salut writes: John Marshall can always be relied upon to step in as an admirable substitute on occasions when Pete Sixsmith is absent from a Sunderland game. Sixer did see a SAFC win – Shildon’s ‘best performance of the season’, according the manager, to beat Barton Town 2-0 away in the second round of the Buildbase FA Vase – but arranged for John to provide both the Seven and the Soapbox report on a terrific result that took us to five wins on the trot and a place in the top two …

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Sixer’s Plymouth Sevens: two-goal McGeady seals smooth win and second place

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Monsieur Salut writes: no Pete Sixsmith at Home Park for Sunderland’s fifth league win on the trot, Aiden McGeady claiming both goals and more crucial saves from Jon McLaughlin, plus some solid defending, keeping another clean sheet before 1,300 travelling fans. And Sunderland are now second top. Sixer’s supersub, John Marshall, provides the seven-word verdict and will be followed by a full report.

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Plymouth Argyle Who are You?: ‘SAFC should win by three or four’

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Jake sets the scene

Monsieur Salut writes: Mike Arthur* is a salt-of-the-earth Cornishman, so much so that we can forgive him for being not only the president of the Plymouth branch of the Argyle Supporters’ Club but also a supporter of Manchester United. As many will know, I don’t really hold with having a second team (unless it’s Shildon in my case). But Mike’s attachment to the Red Devils dates from the same horrific event that drew so many of us, if most only briefly, to the nation’s United love-in: Munich.

Mike, a retired police superintendent, is recovering from a hip injury sustained when some oaf reversed into him as he crossed a road. But despite advancing years – he’s 76 – he’ll be there for our match and also hopes to travel up to Sunderland for the return towards the end of the season. Now why is it that his own pessimism – optimism as seen by us when anyone says we’re going to win a game with ease – has me worried? …

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Can Sunderland improve on four successive wins? Guess the Plymouth Argyle-SAFC score

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Jake” ‘what five wins on the trot would feel like …. ‘

Having hobnobbed at the SoL on Saturday, Monsieur Salut is nowhere to be seen (unless you, too, are in a small French town where Salafists allegedly took over one area).

He remains skint. So no question of a prize Guess the Score for Plymouth Argyle. Another multiple winner collects the latest mug, having gone for 3-0 versus Southend. Heaven knows when we’ll get around to sending it but it shall be done.

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The North Eastern Programme Club: a Fulwell ender’s plea for safe standing

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Monsieur Salut writes: I thoroughly enjoyed my first game of the season and the warm welcome given to three members of the Salut! Sunderland team – aka the codgers who pull together the site – by SAFC’s executive director, Charlie Methven. He said nice things about the site; we said nice things about the progress and changes made by him and, of course, the owner Stewart Donald.

The one member of the editorial team not able to make it, John McCormick, was there in more than spirit. Anyone who bought a programme may well have read what follows: a contribution from John that has attracted praise on Twitter. I intended to reproduce all Salut!’s programme pieces – and SAFC readily consented to this – and will get round sooner or later to posting the ones that have gone before. But here’s John on the issue of safe standing ….

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‘SAFC for promotion, Southend to emulate Swansea and aim high’: The big Who are You?

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Rhys Ellingham, the home-and-away Southend fan who became a club official

Monsieur Salut writes: it is not often we get a club official to sit in the ‘Who are You?’ hot seat but Rhys Ellingham*, head of commercial for Southend United, immediately agreed to answer our questions. Rhys says Sunderland won’t be the last big club to tumble through the divisions but predicts a rosier future – with a possible playoff place for his own club, which he believes will be capable, with a bigger new ground, of matching the rise of pre-relegation Swansea City. Read on …

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