Some days it’s good to get out. This season that could be said of Saturdays, which makes a nice change, but for some people it’s also true of Monday evenings, now that normal service has been resumed at the Eppleton Colliery Welfare Ground.
And just who are those people?
None other than a stalwart group of supporters known as the Hetton irregulars, one of whom is Pete Sixsmith. So when the U23s played West Bromwich Albion last night where do you think he was?
John McCormick: We’re bottom and there’s now a gap
When I last reported in with the Salut Sunderland relegation watch we had had some recent wins but were still in the relegation zone, along with Swansea and Hull. (Swansea weren’t one of the clubs chosen in our start-of season poll but I included them in December on the grounds that some people did vote for “another club” and they had begun to fit that bill after a decline).
That was only a month ago, just after the transfer window closed, since when new signings have had time to settle and new managers to generate – but maybe not sustain – a bounce. With a cup weekend giving most of them a breather we have another chance to review the situation.
But before I do, I have to congratulate West Bromwich Albion, who passed through our metaphorical barrier with ease. Would that we could reach such heights.
John McCormick writes: Wrinkly Pete often illuminates his posts with reference to old songs which, given most of our readers can remember us winning a trophy, still resonate. He missed one, though, but I spotted it and stuck it in the title.
Read on and you’ll find it somewhere in his prose. So this week’s quiz is:
What’s the title, and can you identify any singers/groups and the years in which they recorded versions?
No prizes, but there are at least four to find, and all from different years, if my memory serves me well. And if you think I’m looking back to keep my mind from pondering what lies ahead, maybe I am, not that Wrinkly Pete agrees.
John McCormick: We’re bottom but the gap’s closing
When I last reported in with the Salut Sunderland relegation watch we had had some recent wins but were still in the relegation zone, along with Swansea and Hull. (Swansea weren’t one of the clubs chosen in our start-of season poll but I included them in December on the grounds that some people did vote for “another club” and they had begun to fit that bill after a decline).
That was just before Christmas, not long before the transfer window opened, and just around the time struggling clubs might decide a new manager might help them take advantage of it. Now, with all that business done (free agents notwithstanding) it’s time to take stock before we head to the end of season crunch games, six pointers and desperation sackings that define the struggle for 39 points.
Andy Caulton, exiled in the USA, celebrates in the mountains with his Chris Brunt top
Andy Caulton was seen on the pages of Salut! Sunderland before the game between Sunderland and his team, West Brom, at the Stadium of Light on October 1, a afternoon marked by a traditionally bad SAFC start, an second-half recovery and a late equaliser from our joint second-top scorer, Patrick van Aanholt. He did the “Who are You?” interview in which he revealed a soft spot for Sunderland – and a fleeting memory of his dad mending Brian Clough’s car*.
Now PvA looks likely to desert Wearside for a reunion with Big Sam at Crystal Palace. On the face of it, it’s another of those rash gambles Sunderland have a habit of taking (Bent and Kaboul out, Graham in are examples that spring to mind) , unless there is someone better lined up to take his place. Time will tell whether Joleon Lescott is that player; the money is on him joining on a short-term deal. [UPDATE: signed as a free agent until the end of the season].
John McCormick writes: Were there any positives to take from today? I’m trying to think of some but I’m struggling. I suppose, with Palace losing, that we’re not out of it, which is something David Moyes alluded to on “Radio 5 live” after the game. If I remember correctly he said we’re not too far away [from safety], which is true, but in every area of the pitch West Brom, with whom we’ve contested many a promotion challenge and with whom we’ve shared many a relegation battle, were giving Ellis Short a lesson in how to run a club.
I suppose another positive is that we do have a manager with a Premiership pedigree, although I think he might well be trying to rebuild a relegated side next season. Anyway, here’s what he thinks after yet another defeat:
Monsieur Salut writes: No Pete Sixsmith at the Hawthorns. He wisely gave himself a day off from the drudgery and misery of supporting Sunderland and caught a game (and maybe some decent fish and chips) at Whitby. Another wretched defeat, 2-0 as I am afraid I predicted at ESPN, and we’re where we probably deserve to be, bottom place. Gary Bennett told BBC Radio Newcastle listeners we were ‘all over the place’, ‘lost’ and lacking a leader. It must be all too easy to play against Sunderland, he added. At least we have no game next weekend, said Nick Barnes; ‘we’ll still lose,’ came Gary’s reply. George Honeyman, on his league debut, came closest to offering that leadership Benno craved. No other positives …
Manish Patel* is a man on a mission. He has already raised £1.200 of pounds for Children in Need, by running hundreds of miles, and has set his heart on piling on those sorts of pounds for the charity with four full marathons and a total of 1,000 miles this year. See his page at justgiving.com. In between times, he loves sport and is a passionate West Bromwich Albion supporter. We can hardly begrudge him his joy at Albion’s progress underTony Pulis – or blame him for fearing Sunderland haven’t much hope of avoiding the drop (we get the same feeling every season) …
