No one suspected for a second that beating Wigan Athletic 4-2 at home amounted to a revival. It is not, by itself, even a mini-revival, though another win, at home to Fulham today, would represent one of those.
But it came as a mighty relief nonetheless, perhaps ending any relegation fears.
For a look at what has been happening at Salut! Sunderland, in case you missed any of it, here’s a snapshot of the week. Click on any sub-heading to read more …
Especially for those outraged by our lapse from republican values, to the extent of running a spoof wedding vows item, it’s straight back to normal business. Late, almost too late, came this gem: a second Fulham “Who are You?”, this time from David Lloyd, editor of the fan site There’s Only One F In Fulham …
Salut! Sunderland: You drew against one relegation struggler at the weekend, we finally won against another. A good time or bad time for us to have you up at the Stadium of Light?
We played well at Wolves but were suckered by them scoring with their first attack of note (after 20 minutes) and needed a late leveller having had several chances. Against Bolton in midweek we should have scored five or six (we won 3-0) and were brilliant going forward. If we play to that tempo you could be in trouble!
Q: William Arthur Philip Louis, wilt thou have this woman to thy wedded wife, to live together to God’s law …
A Fulham supporter whose photos have graced these pages was all lined up, then went AWOL. Just when we thought we’d have to run the spoof Lily Allen interview all over again, Sean Collins popped up – courtesy of the Fulhamfc site, to which huge thanks for indulging a Mackem in despair – with these instant, and therefore all the more appreciated, responses. We could, however, have done without his score forecast …
Salut! Sunderland: You drew against one relegation struggler at the weekend, we finally won against another struggler and you had a great result last night. A good time or bad time for us to have you up at the Stadium of Light?
A bad time in my opinion for Sunderland, due to a mixture of your unfortunate injuries and our players that have come back from injury looking sharper, the likes of Zamora, and especially Simon Davies who was exceptional last night.
What, then, is the legacy of Roy Hodgson, the Fulham view of him now and the verdict on Mark Hughes so far?
The legacy of Roy will always stay as it was, a stand-out period in the club’s history and done with honest hard work and genuine team spirit. Mark Hughes took a while to grow into the job, a task made harder by injuries to key players, but he now seems to be stamping his own authority on the side and a top 10 finish would be respectable.
Across at the official club site, it’s already that time of year.
Who, safc.com wants to know, do fans make their player of the season and young player of the season, and what were the goal, save and team performance of the season?
Voting closes on May 11 – which I hope does not mean no one will be trying to pull off the goal, save or team display of the season on May 14 against Wolves or at West ham on May 22 – and each vote is entered into a prize draw with a pair of tickets to the May 18 awards dinner at the Stadium of Light as the prize.
We’ll take a long time getting round to it, but the question is simple enough: what possible interest was served by Steve Bruce refusing, if the reports are correct, to attend the post-match press conference? …
Salut! Sunderland supports Sunderland AFC with absolute passion. It was created by a journalist who started his career in the North East and later moved to Fleet Street (though he has also spent thousands of pounds and devoted countless hours to following the club since boyhood).
None of that will ever stop this site criticising SAFC when criticism seems merited, or criticising the press when that is merited, too.
Slump is over, but at what cost? That is another of Pete Sixsmith‘s seven-word verdicts, one he reached after reflecting on the immensely gratifying win over Wigan, three of our four goals coming after the club’s roster of fit senior strikers had finally reached zero. The injury list lengthens but the darks clouds are beginning to disperse. And where do Aston Villa come into this? Nowhere in truth; Pete just feels they need bringing down a peg or two after all the Bent-came-to-us-because-we’re-a-bigger club bragging …
I would imagine that 39,000 fans and the entire workforce at the Stadium of Light had a warm and rosy glow about them on Saturday night. I certainly did, thanks to the much needed and richly deserved 4-2 win and a couple of snifters of Baillie Nichol Jarvie, just about the finest blended Scotch I have ever come across. I wholeheartedly recommend both the win and the whisky.
The BNJ (as we Scotch aficionados call it) is a light coloured drink, with a sweet taste – but you’re not really interested in that are you? You want a rundown of the day the magic carpet ride got back on the rails don’t you. So, here goes and I promise not to mix my metaphors as crudely as in the previous sentence.
The tweet from LMuir89 – Liam Muir, a journalism student at Sunderland Uni – brought a wry grin.
Saturday’s games were in full flow, we were goalless again and Liam wrote this: “Kenwyne Jones and Darren Bent on the scoresheet yet Sunderland can’t buy a goal!”
Sunday’s a day of rest, especially after you’ve won for the first time since Jan 22. Pete Sixsmith‘s analysis will appear tomorrow. Please feel free to add your own quotes to these …
Steve Bruce:
“I have to say a big thank you to the supporters. They were magnificent and played their part from the first whistle to the last.”
