Possibly out of sequence as we await Pete Sixsmith’s magisterial analysis of SAFC vs Stoke. But the weekend is approaching, I’ve a lot on – paid-for work – so let’s get cracking with Guess the Score …
Pete Sixsmith, whose post-match reports have brightened these pages since time began, shares his thoughts on the match that didn’t really matter -except that we all wanted the Lads to finish on a high, finish 12th and send the fans home not just relieved but happy. Swansea had other ideas and we couldn’t do a thing about it …
We might have guessed. Pete Sixsmith did. His seven-word verdict was sent with the second half little more than 10 minutes old, when Wilfried Bony was given as much time as he needed to place a shot that Vito Mannine made a halfhearted attempt to save. In off the post. One-three and the goal Fabio Borini had just scored to give Sunderland a chance of at least a draw. Luckily, the work had been done in the previous five games. So Altidore came on, hit one chance wide, tumbled over in another good position and looked in vain for a penalty. In the end, it was back to where we were before safety was secured. Oh well, this is Sunderland after all – and I believe someone got the right answer in the Guess the Score …
It feels a bit surreal talking about being safe with a game still to spare, writes Stephen Goldsmith. You always …
So another season just about over and, along with it, our relegation near-miss and this generally good, occasionally great series. Salut! Sunderland salutes the great band of opposing supporters who have given their time to answering our questions. The awards are coming soon; the judges have had a shortlist selected by Monsieur Salut since before the Man U game. But they are not bound by it and may well choose one of the last three ‘Who are You?’s, which have been uniformly excellent, among their winners. And now let’s welcome back Jim White*, who sits on the board of the Swans Trust (Twitter address: @swansinfo) and knows his stuff inside out …
And thanks heavens for that. I now have a lot of serious saving to do to fund the lorryloads of mugs owed to recent winners of Guess the Score.
I said there’d be a prize for each competition until our fate was determined and it seems churlish to revert to a for-fun-only basis for the last game, especially since it promises to be a great party.
Adam Johnson looks a reborn player. Wes Brown’s return instantly lifts confidence in the back four. Bardsley is back to where he was when voted player of the season.
But the main reason Sunderland have been playing better in most recent games is arguably the cool, intelligent and secure contribution of our on-loan South Korean midfielder Kin Sung-Yueng.
When Pete Sixsmith misses a game, or at any rate a Sunderland game (he was at Shildon versus Durham suffering news from Swansea by text and Benno/Barnes on BBC Radio Newcastle), the stand-in is often Bob Chapman. Needless to say the poor chap, a home-and-away regular probably since time began, found this one an agonising exercise …
Come along before the match and join us for drinks and titbits at the Globe, 10 minutes from the ground on foot, said Jim White, a force behind the splendid Swansea fans’ part-ownership of their club and the Swansea supporters’ site SCFC2.
Pete Sixsmith couldn’t make it, Shildon vs Durham City being a long way from the Globe. Monsieur Salut overcame even greater geographical obstacles and made it all the way from Saint-Tropez or thereabouts. He wished he’d been at Shildon’s game until Sixer informed him belatedly it ended in defeat (his previous texted scoreline, 2-2, having been misread as a result). But he did enjoy the craic at the Globe …
John McCormick writes: Today it’s the supersub and I’m sure Pete Sixsmith will be glad he wasn’t there. I was thinking up loads of sevens this week and up until half-time they were all positive but it’s M Salut himself who summarises the game with seven words we hoped we wouldn’t see: