Sunderland

Sunderland Out West: Annfield Plain to Sacramento, Mark Twain’s City of Saloons

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safc nasa

Thanks to Degsy – otherwise known as Derek Aspinall, who runs Sunderland AFC North American Supporters’ Association (see footnote for contact details), the branch for fans in the United States and Canada – Salut! Sunderland brings you the first of a series of reports from the Lads’ three-match pre-season tour. Here we introduce Paul Pattison, who will be at tonight’s match versus Sacramento Republic (it’s 8pm local time but they’re eight hours behind the UK; it’s still Monday night, for heaven’s sake, as I write after breakfast on Tuesday!).

Check out the Sunderland SAFC North American Supporters’ Association Facebook pages – https://www.facebook.com/safcnasa

safc nasa 2

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Are Sunderland about to clinch Jeremain Lens deal?

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Image: Aleksandr Osipov https://www.flickr.com/photos/15267882@N06/5040811551
Image: from http://football.ua/galleries/, owned by ?????? ????????????

Now this really would be an exciting piece of transfer news.

No one at Salut! Sunderland wants to tempt fate, jump the gun, speak out of turn, count chickens or live up to a million other cliches.

But if reports are correct, the Netherlands international Jeremain Lens, an attacking midfielder with pace who can also play as second striker, is either having a medical at the Stadium of Light today or is in talks with the club.

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Supporting Manchester United, Arsenal, Barcelona or Melchester Rovers: OK wherever you’re from

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Click me for a better view of the ingredients: geographical references to Jake, M Salut & Sixer, Malcolm Dawson and John McCormick
Click for a better view of the ingredients: geographical references to Jake, M Salut & Sixer, Malcolm Dawson and John McCormick
Malcolm Dawson, Salut! Sunderland‘s deputy editor, didn’t know quite what he was starting when he dredged up Monsieur Salut’s old guide to the criteria to be met before it became acceptable to support Sunderland, Manchester United or, for that matter, anyone else.

It’s here – https://safc.blog/2015/07/who-do-you-support-what-gives-you-the-right/#comments – with some great comments, new or posted when the piece originally appeared five years ago.

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Summer Madness: the war over, a lifetime of supporting Sunderland began

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Fernland - Bartram & Sons

[Tyne & Wear Archives and Museums]

This wonderful slice of nostalgia began life as A T – Alan – Hedley’s comment on the Summer Madness piece about criteria for qualifying as a supporter of this or that football club. It was so evocative of a different age that Salut! Sunderland has no hesitation in elevating it to the status of article.

To give context, the four simple rules of eligibility proposed in the original item were 1) You were born or brought up in Sunderland, Melchester or whatever, or their surrounding areas; 2) They were the team your dad took you to see for your first professional league game; 3) Your family’s roots are in the relevant area even though you were born and/or raised far away, even abroad or 4) You formed a close bond through playing or otherwise working for the club, or in the town or city where it plays. You need to meet only one of the requirements to qualify. Here is Alan’s response (and believe it or not, there is even more to come on the subject) …

…

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Sixer Says: SAFC off to a winning pre-season start vs Darlington

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Pete Sixsmith: 'it's back and so am I'
Pete Sixsmith: ‘it’s back and so am I’

It seems a little too early for football but it’s back all the same and Pete Sixsmith was at Bishop Auckland to catch a 4-2 win for the Lads …

A pleasant evening in DL4 as the season opened at Bishop Auckland’s Heritage Park ground, where Darlington are tenants – and, if rumours are to be believed, tenants for a fair while as it looks like their ground share with Darlington RFC is very much on the back burner.

None of which worried Sunderland who have a fancy for playing some Under 21 or WSL games at Heritage Park in the near future. We like the set up and although the pitch has its problems, there is plenty of good shopping nearby.

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Summer Madness: an updated look at Sunderland’s foreign legionnaires

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Jake: 'soar like a bird and stop it gannin' in, Costel'
Jake: ‘sorry Pants, you’re still with us so excluded from Malcolm’s selection’

Malcolm Dawson‘s revived series of reflections, first published in 2013, on the Good, Bad and Ugly among the foreign players he has seen in Sunderland colours has provided a fascinating summer distraction as we await news of more such signings, with maybe the odd Englishman thrown in. Here, our deputy editor updates the story to take account of the men from afar who have joined us – and left us – since the series appeared …

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Summer Madness: Sunderland’s foreign legion. Torre Andre Flo and other duds

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Jake: 'just like watching Real?'
Jake: ‘just like watching Real?’


Scarcely a day goes by without Sunderland being linked to a foreign player. Until proper announcements are made, we have little idea of where rumour ends and fact begins. Deputy Editor Malcolm Dawson has seen it all before, albeit not in such numbers. Among them, there have been the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Summer Madness, a series reproducing good reads of the past, has already brought you the Good (
https://safc.blog/2015/07/summer-madness-2-the-good-bad-and-ugly-of-sunderlands-foreign-legion/). Here Malcolm recalls some of the imports from SAFC history who were, er, less influential signings …

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Relegation watch: still looking at Watford, Bournemouth and Norwich, with Leicester hanging on

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John McCormick:
John McCormick: getting ready, only a month to go

What a website! On 15th June, in response to my “who went down, who’s going down?”  Dave left a comment which included:

“… I think Pearson will, at some point, have a big row with a player or a fan, and the team’s spirit that kept them up will dissipate…”

Two weeks later Leicester City’s website contained the following:

“…it has become clear to the Club that fundamental differences in perspective exist between us. Regrettably, the Club believes that the working relationship between Nigel and the Board is no longer viable…”

The effect on team spirit remains to be seen but as I said at the start, what a website!

A week ago I left you with a poll whose results were suggesting the targets of my dodgy numbers “relegation watch” would be the three promoted clubs and Leicester. Since then another couple of thousand votes have been cast but they didn’t make much difference, despite the turmoil  at the Kingpower . Here are last Friday’s and this Friday’s results:

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