Sunderland

Soapbox: a changing Premier amid the Liverpool/Man Utd shambles

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Change, says Pete Sixsmith with what he terms “apologies to the late, great Sam Cooke”, is gonna come. Dylan had similar thoughts (“Come gather round people …”). Pete’s belief is that the obscene spectacle of Liverpool FC’s disintegration, and the unsavoury air over Old Trafford, may be symptoms of a malaise that will lead to an overdue Premier League revolution …

Is it just me, or do I detect a change coming in the Premier League this year? Are we seeing the end of the Big Four period of domination? Are some of the middle ranking clubs ready to take over the mantle of European contenders from the perpetual participants?

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Danny Murphy and football’s dirty brigade

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Image: Shaun Elliott by A Love Supreme

Danny Murphy caused a few feathers to fly when he stuck his boot into dirty play and its causes. Did anyone else find themselves thinking about pots and kettles? …

Back in the days when I started watching football, it was amateur stuff in the Northern League.

My dad was secretary of Shildon AFC. His duties went beyond clerical/organisational necessities, though I do not think he was responsible for “pumping up” players to get stuck in to opponents.

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Soapbox in Workington on the FA Cup trail

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Phrases like “the quality shone through” and “good pedigree” somehow seem out of place when the subject is Workington football club. Pete Sixsmith finds a way of making them work …

Regular readers may be aware that I quite enjoy International weekends as it gives me an opportunity to go “somewhere else”. In the past few years I have made it to such diverse and exotic spots as Chesterfield, Barnoldswick and Hemsworth via Huddersfield.

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Jordan Henderson: how we say `Hands Off` to the Brands

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England Under 21s 2 Macedonia 1, Jordan Henderson man of the match and sublime goalscorer … of course we want our boys to do well when on international duty. But what if Sir Alex, M Wenger et al are also reading the plaudits? Can we hope to hang on to our talent, even when home-grown, if the Brands come calling? …


“The excellent Jordan Henderson.” That was the Mail. Man of the Match, reports Ian at the Blackcats list, “he and Muamba controlled the midfield but JH also had three of England’s very few shots on target and scored England’s first with, according to all the pundits.`wonderful technique`.”

Why does that terrific response to a Sunderland player’s brilliance on the international stage fill some us with dread? Because it will fuel the speculation, already begun, about a supposedly “big” club – brand is shorter if we have either Manchester club, Arsenal or Chelsea in mind – coming in with a bid.

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Luke’s World: so have we acquired a new Lee Cattermole?

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It would be unrealistic to draw from two card-free performances the notion that Lee Cattermole will not see yellow again relatively soon, and red again some time thereafter. For now, Luke Harvey is happy to salute a much-criticised character for trying to set his house in order …

As Sunderland left the field with a point against Manchester United, a mixture of emotions overcame me.

Should I be pleased with another point against another powerhouse team from the finest league in the world? Or should I be disappointed that we failed to get all three points in a match where we were more than deserving?

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Peter O’Toole, Joe Roc and a love letter to Sunderland

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joe roc

Owen Lennox, the highly respected Sunderland-born artist and author, was moved by the recent piece on Peter O’Toole’s Sunderland links to write about his own researches into Wearside history – and pass on an intriguing thought about the old war cry “Ha`way, Ha`way!” …

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Reading at Salut!Sunderland that Peter O’Toole’s father was a Sunderland supporter sparked a reference to, O’Toole the bookie, I’d uncovered while researching a novel I had published in 2007.

There was no reason for me to make the connection between the bookie and the actor in the same way there was no reason for me to make the connection between Dempsey’s rag shop in the Sheepfolds, and Jack of the same name, World Champion Heavyweight Boxer. There is little evidence to suggest that O’Toole senior watched Sunderland but we do know of one famous person who did, the man who painted The Last Minute-Now Or Never.

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