Monsieur Salut confesses: thank heavens no one went for Sunderland 0-2 Leeds. There are quite enough people who could tell you I already owe them mugs. They will come, I promise.
Pete Sixsmith had almost forgotten what it was like to have to churn out, week after week, doom-laden masterpieces combining gallows humour and sharp footballing analysis. It had been relatively upbeat so far, a tolerable pre-season followed by a decent start in league and cup. The visit of Leeds United changed all that. So were we put in our place, ominously so? Or is it just a case of getting back to the drawing board as things will work out fine? Read on …
The thump as we fell to earth was a resounding one and could be heard all over Wearside. After a good start to our (hopefully short) life in the Championship, we came up against the first really well organised side that we have played this season and ended up distinctly second best.
Malcolm Dawson writes….I nearly put SAFC v Dirty Leeds in the headline in an attempt to attract a few irate United fans along to our Guess the Score competition but opted for diplomacy rather than provocation.
If you’ve never been here before then all you have to do is be the first to correctly predict Saturday’s scoreline before kick off and a prize could well be winging its way to you post match should Monsieur Salut feel inclined to dig deep into the pockets of his pantalon.
Pete Sixsmith (before the fierce slimming regime began)
Monsieur Salut writes: in his latest addition to this hugely entertaining series recalling his first encounters with opposing teams or – for away games – their grounds, Pete Sixsmith begins with a confession.
But do not be fooled by his Leeds origins. Sixer moved to County Durham – just up the street from me – as a boy and soon became a Sunderland supporter. While successive SAFC teams, managers and owners have sorely tried his patience over the past half-century, he has remained passionate throughout (save for one season-long sulk after the first of Peter Reid’s relegations). And the only Leeds team he likes are the Rhinos.
But as Sunderland prepare to engage once again with old footballing foes, Sixer looks back on his roots ……
Kevin Ayscough with a miniature Leeds fan, his grandson Charlie
You’ll need to scroll down now if you want to know Kevin Ayscough‘s* link to Salut! Sunderland and why he thinks a certain Sunderland fan ought really be supporting Leeds.
Kevin is a down-to-earth United supporter who sees no point in harking back to his club’s glory days, though he says he still cannot work out how we made his trip home to Leeds such a miserable one on May 5 1973. He rates Simon Grayson highly and, even before this week’s results put us 6th and Leeds 7th, saw both clubs finishing in the top six – a re-run of 1963-64 would suit him and most of us, even if we’d want the positions reversed ….
Pete Sixsmith‘s instant seven-word verdicts on Sunderland games are part of the staple diet of Salut! Sunderland. If he is not present, the supersub’s snap judgement is preceded by an asterisk. Tonight, he was indeed present as George Honeyman gave us an early lead, Grabban and Vaughan missed good chances to extend it and after conceding a seemingly inevitable equaliser (David Jones’s top quality 25-yard strike described by Sixer as ‘an absolute worldie‘), we ended up fighting a desperate but ultimately successful battle to hang on for a point …
Sixer now …as was, albeit a frw years back on a Ferryhill school trip to Paris
Mr Sixsmith – Pete or Sixer to most – has sternly corrected Monsieur Salut. The series is not to be passed off as The First Time Ever I Saw Your Team regardless of context; it’s Ground if we’re playing them away, Team if it’s at the Stadium of Light. So this latest edition is TFTEISYG and emphatically not TFTEISYT. Fine writers, eh? So precious.
But Sixer can be excused all preciousness. This is a wonderful series that cries out for a proper publisher (anyone listening out there?). And once aain he packs history, humour and personal reminiscence to come up with a winner …
Dave Briggs* is a Sheffield Wednesday fan who has seen good times, wretched times and better times. The good times presumably included seven years deejaying in Greece.
Last season’s playoff final defeat was a bitter disappointment but he relished the challenge for promotion after so much underachievement in recent years. Dave thinks we may need to be patient, too, and should not be too downbeat if we cannot make the top six at the first attempt. And he rather likes the three Owls players – Steven Fletcher, Keiren Westwood and Ross Wallace – with SAFC connections …
Photo comes courtesy of our Who are You? Owl Dave Briggs’s Twitter account
Pete Sixsmith had a long trek home from East Anglia yesterday. I bet the fish and chips tasted especially good at Wetherby after a fine 3-1 win. We’ll doubtless hear from him some time day – his report of the match, and his travels leading up to it, is eagerly awaited. In the meantime, start thinking about Wednesday and Wednesday, the third league match of the season …
Matches come thick and fast when you drop to the Championship and we already have three winners of Guess the Score waiting patiently for their prize mugs. Since Paul Devinbe (1-1 vs Derby), Phil Davison (1-0 to Bury and Eric Bowers (3-1 vs Norwich) are regulars on the podium, they’ll know Monsieur Salut can sometimes be slow to get round to having the prizes shipped out.
Don’t let my tardiness put you off telling us how the Lads will get on at Hillsborough after a promising start under Simon Grayson.
As usual, the competition is open to all supporters, Sheffield Wednesday’s, ours and indeed neutrals. Be first to post the correct scoreline before kickoff and you will receive a mug (UK delivery only) with a design reflecting your allegiance.
By now you should have caught up with all our post-Bury and pre-Norwich coverage. Go to the home page – https://safc.blog – if not and simply navigate.
Meanwhile, Martin Penney from the Norwich My Football Writer site put some questions our way …
Malcolm Dawson writes….I nearly put SAFC v Dirty Leeds in the headline in an attempt to attract a few irate United fans along to our Guess the Score competition but opted for diplomacy rather than provocation.
