Roll up, roll up and see what one satisfied customer, with a little help from the much-missed Ian Dury, has to say. Peter Lynn’s trip home is a long one, even from home games, but he travelled back to his Midlands nest in good cheerful spirits after the West Brom game. Like Pete Sixsmith on a shorter hop to Shildon, he glanced at the faces of fans on the returning WBA coaches and looked in vain for signs of happiness at what they’d just seen served up by Pulis’s men. Here’s Wrinkly Pete’s list of a Sunderland supporter’s reasons to be cheerful (it started as six, but he’s added an even more upbeat seventh) …
West Bromwich Albion
Sixer’s West Brom saga: ‘it’s football, Jim, but not as we like it’
John McCormick writes: Pete Sixsmith’s broadband was playing up yesterday so, like Hutch, his report arrived late. In his e-mail Pete said it would be a short report because of the problems. Short, maybe, but, like Nick Sharkey, perfectly composed. Would that one or two of our current team could do so well, although, as Pete says, it was one of their best performances.
Hutch’s Patch: lifeblood ebbing away against West Brom
Rob Hutchison’s internet facilities weren’t doing too well yesterday and his post match one-word verdicts arrived later than usual. Here they are:
SA’s Essay: we deserved more than a point against West Brom
Malcolm Dawson writes…….I left the ground feeling deflated this afternoon. Partly because I wanted the Mags to get a point …
Sixer’s Sevens: Sunderland 0-0 West Brom. Can’t stay up like this
Pete Sixsmith talked at half time about lots of huff and puff without clear chances, save for the superb Khazri cross that Defoe should have reached and nodded one. Then Sunderland carved out numerous reasonable chances after the break but poor luck, wasteful finishing and safe goalkeeping from Ben Foster kept us out. Norwich’s late win made it, on balance, a worrying day. We played quite well, especially second half, but the lack of killer instinct may well prove our undoing. Yet two more points wasted and time is running out, along with the obviously winnable games …
If this doesn’t inspire the Lads against West Bromwich, nothing will …
Sunderland cannot save themselves with one game, as we did when West Bromwich Albion visited the Stadium of Light on May 7 2014. But that was the last-but-one mat ch of the season. We’d done the hard work under Gus Poyet, beating Man United and Chelsea at their own places and walloping Cardiff at home. We sent Norwich down by beating Albion 2-0.
This, ahead of another home game to WBA that is nevertheless of immense importance and could well influence our fate, is how Pete Sixsmith recorded that fabulous night. His Soapboxes are always great reads; they are not always happy ones. This, for those who do not stray here often enough to know, is how Sixer does happiness. Let it inspire Vito, DeAndre, PvA, Younes, JoS, Lamine, Jan, Wahbi, Jeremain,Jack, Seb, Fabio, Dame, Jermain – already too many, so whoever turns out – to do what is necessary on Saturday. Now, over to Pete, version 2014 …
Ahead of SAFC v West Brom – Dawn Astle on Justice for Jeff
Malcolm Dawson writes: when I was young virtually the only domestic football televised live was the FA Cup final. Like most football daft youngsters I would sit engrossed in pre-match build up from about 11.00 in the morning until the game finished. I remember many of those games to this day and one abiding memory was Jeff Astle’s winner for West Brom over Everton,(watch final highlights here) completing the feat of scoring in every round. (West Brom’s 68 Cup run)
Later in life I spent over 30 years living in North West Leicestershire where I came across Jeff a couple of times on the cricket field, where he proved to be a likeable bloke with the competitive attitude you would expect from a former professional sportsman. Following on from her excellent West Brom “Who Are You” Jeff’s daughter Dawn explains the poignant consequences of her father’s sporting career, both for himself and his family. She explains the heartache and the dignified way in which she, her family and friends and the wider football community have come together to highlight an issue that has been sadly overlooked. You can find out more about the Jeff Astle Foundation here and CTE (the injury that afflicted Jeff in later life here).
Jeff Astle’s daughter on West Bromwich Albion’s Sunderland imports – and dad
Colin Randall writes: As we nervously approach a match of easily calculable importance, at home to WBA on Saturday, Salut! …
Sunderland v West Bromwich Albion ‘Guess the Score’: time for strong men
Jake’s image says it all.
There have been many occasions when we have said “no slip-ups this time, Lads”, “get it right”, “it’s a must-win” and other variants of “it’s time to play”. This time, we can roll up all those nervous words of encouragement into one cliche and, wherever we all find ourselves in the world at 3pm, GMT+1, on Saturday, blow the ball into the net at one end while sucking it out of harm’s way at the other.
Sunderland’s Desert Island Discs – Wrinkly Pete’s playlist
John McCormick asks: Do you remember, at least three managers back, so it must be years and years (or perhaps 18 months) ago, when I did an end of season piece about the songs that made the season. Now Peter Lynn, aka Wrinkly Pete, has picked up the theme with his own version of Desert Island discs. In keeping with the programme he has picked eight songs that have special meaning for him, and maybe for other supporters.
Were you there? Did you sing? Or do you have other songs that bring back memories? In his e-mail to the boss Pete suggested others might give us their favourites. Why not give it a go?
Now, over to Pete: