Sunderland - SAFC Blog

Sixer’s Travels: FC United of Manchester found, Corby Town downed, Corbyn crowned

September 16, 2015September 15, 2015 by Colin Randall

The slogan — ‘I don’t have to sell my soul’ says their banner slogan

Pete Sixsmith is not dewy-eyed about Jeremy Corbyn, whose victory in the Labour leadership poll was announced as he (Sixer) was gawping at Michael Foot memorabilia at the National People’s Museum. He just cannot get that song by a Sunderland-supporting folk singer, Bob Fox, out of his head. Labour’s post-war victory, so it went, would mean jobs and holidays in the sun for all and the Lads to win the cup. Package hols were the easy part, the jobs bit never happened and it took 28 years for the cup prediction to come true. We’ll leave Sixer to muse over how long it will take Corbyn to get the Lads back to a winning Wembley visit. Here’s what else he did on Saturday …

On the eve of Borini’s return, how Sixer welcomed Liverpool’s golden couple

September 12, 2015 by Colin Randall

Erin's Twitter photo: 'where did you say Hackett and Baines is, Pete?' — Erin’s Twitter photo: ‘where did you say Hackett and Baines is, Pete?’

A grand weekend read for those who missed it the first time round – and it comes with Erin Borini’s seal of approval though she has not yet turned up at Sixer’s for that cuppa or to be shown round the vacant house next door …

Pete Sixsmith was inconsolable when Salut! Sunderland, in common with Hello! magazine, lost out to OK in the bidding war for exclusive coverage of Fabio Borini’s Tuscany wedding to Miss Erin O’Neill. Now he makes up for that disappointment, forming the official ‘welcome to the North East’ party as the happy couple plan their new life on or near Wearside. And guess what? Sixer’s recipe for happiness had Erin in stitches (see her retweet below) …

Jake: a happy day recalled — Jake: ‘you’ll find Sixer a good neighbour’

SAFC vs Tottenham Hotspur: a chance to snatch that elusive first win

September 11, 2015September 11, 2015 by Colin Randall

Jake: are Charlie Fleming and Danny Blanchflower eligible for Sunday?

We’ve had – and still got – Guess the Score, at https://safc.blog/2015/09/safc-v-tottenham-hotspur-guess-the-score-returns-as-a-mugs-game/. There’s a mug from Personalised Football Gifts awaiting the winner, who can be a Sunderland of Spurs supporter or follow neither team.

And we’ve had a Who are You? with Richard Littlejohn, such a good interview that even Littejohn’s natural enemies, from Sixer to the Sheriff of Nottingham for all we know, were heard offering polite applause. Catch it for yourselves, if you haven’t already, at https://safc.blog/2015/09/tottenham-hotspur-who-are-you-with-littlejohn-west-hams-loss-spurs-gain/.

Tottenham Hotspur ‘Who are You?’ with Littlejohn: West Ham’s loss, Spurs’ gain

October 8, 2015September 10, 2015 by Colin Randall

Jake: Charlie Fleming and Danny Blanchflower (we think) scrap for the ball — Jake: Charlie Fleming and Danny Blanchflower scrap for the ball

Salut! Sunderland’s ‘Who are You?’ series, in which we interview supporters of SAFC opponents, has had some notable catches, including actors, writers, broadcasters, footballers and managers as well as a great procession of ‘ordinary’ fans, often extraordinary people who follow their teams with passion and commitment. As a broad church, we’ve had senior clerics, too.

But we return to journalism for the first of this season’s Tottenham Hotspur editions of ‘Who are You?’ and hear from the tub-thumping columnist and broadcaster Richard Littlejohn*, who rebelled against his family’s West Ham-supporting tradition when the double-winning Spurs side of 1961 captivated him as a boy of seven. Littlejohn, scourge of the politically correct and anyone who says ‘hey Little John, so where’s Robin Hood, then?’, will be relieved to hear the interview has been approved by ‘elf ‘n’ safety’ …

When Bent scored one penalty, missed two and SAFC still beat Tottenham

September 9, 2015 by Colin Randall

Wouldn’t it be nice to see a repeat on Sunday, with Jermain Defoe taking Darren Bent’s place as the ex-Spurs striker with a point to prove? You’ve seen Guess the Score – https://safc.blog/2015/09/safc-v-tottenham-hotspur-guess-the-score-returns-as-a-mugs-game/– and you will or can see the Richard Littlejohn “Who are You?” interview tomorrow but let’s hark back to a vital morale-boosting win in Sunday’s equivalent fixture of 2010 …

SAFC v Tottenham Hotspur: Guess the Score returns as a mug’s game

September 13, 2015September 8, 2015 by Colin Randall

Jake: a wonderful image from times gone by

Far too early for a Sunday game but the cupboard is otherwise bare so let’s go with Guess the Score. One good excuse: we have the return of prize mugs for winners to gloat about …

Too late for winners so far – in fact there may have been only one, apart from the Swansea game and its special prize and he’s already got mugs galore – Salut! Sunderland is delighted to announce the resumption of Guess the Score as a prize competition.

Broad support for SAFC in the Salut! Sunderland transfer window poll

September 8, 2015September 7, 2015 by Colin Randall

NB: Polling has now closed but you can still view the results

With more than 400 votes cast, it is nearly time to close the Salut! Sunderland poll in which readers have been invited to offer their out-of-10 assessments of the club’s dealings in the transfer window.

The poll will run for one more day and end t0morrow morning and, the pattern of voting having been established quite early, the results are perhaps unlikely to change a great deal – and the club can be fairly pleased with the outcome.

Votes of confidence in the transfer dealings of Advocaat, Congerton and Short

September 3, 2015September 3, 2015 by Colin Randall

Salut! Sunderland won’t labour this but the poll on our club’s performance in the transfer window can continue for another few days before getting its decent burial.

You can see from clicking on View Results that the number of ratings posted is approaching 200 (300+ as of midday on Thursday – Ed). That’s a small percentage of SAFC’s support base but a bigger sample than professional pollsters typically regard as viable in their surveys of voting intentions and so on.

Your chance to rate Sunderland’s transfer dealings

September 2, 2015 by Colin Randall

Opinions are like, well, anything we all have. Mine is no more valuable than the next Sunderland supporter’s.

The transfer window perked up a little towards the end with Fabio Borini’s broadly welcomed return and the loan addition of a full back from Spurs, the USA international DeAndre Yedlin.

After Eight: transfer window assessed as DeAndre Yedlin strays into Hutch’s Patch

September 3, 2015September 2, 2015 by Colin Randall

Deadline day brought one last player to welcome. We wanted a full back and that is what DeAndre Yedlin, a USA international signed on loan from Spurs is. ‘I’m delighted to be given the opportunity to play for a club with such great history,” he says diplomatically to safc.com. ‘I’ve heard fantastic things about Sunderland and the supporters from Claudio Reyna and Jozy Altidore.’ Rob Hutchison finds more than his usual one word apiece to run the rule over the eight imports …