West Bromwich Albion

West Brom, Sunderland, Norwich fans ‘are most stressed’ on the road, Man City the surliest

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Jake will tell us they drive like saints in Spain
Jake will tell us they drive like saints in Spain even if Real and playing Barca

So new research says football fans are a menace behind the wheel when there’s a match on the radio and our teams are playing. So perhaps it’s a good idea to head on over to cheapautoinsurance.co if you need car insurance before heading out on the roads on match day.

And guess who is up there among the worst culprits. Us in second place, behind West Brom but ahead of Norwich supporters in terms of how stressed we become while listening to games on the car radio and trying to drive at the same time.

John McCormick would doubtless cast a sceptical eye on the methodology – where are the comparisons with non-football fans and their accident rates, for example? – but I shall pass on the details for you to decide whether they could have some validity.

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Sixer’s WBA Soapbox: Headingley to the Hawthorns. Hailing Swansea and Bradford

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Jake shares the pain
Jake shares the pain

Pete Sixsmith did not mention the Capital One cup final in his report on another awayday disappointment, in fact not one but – for him – two in one weekend. Firstly, he had no reason to; secondly, the Wembley match had not even kicked off when Pete submitted his typically observant and entertaining Soapbox.

But let us pause to offer hearty congratulations to Swansea City, who will doubtless now resent being considered a club like our own, for producing the logical result that these days seems beyond SAFC ) and to Bradford City on having a grand day out. The two sets of fans played a starring role: Ian Todd, the man many of us have to thank for the existence of the SAFC Supporters’ Association London and SE branch, noted: “Norwich v Sunderland surely lost its ‘friendly final’ title today.” Monsieur Salut, listening to impossibly distant and intermittent TalkSport coverage on a Mediterranean seafront, had just one question – could the ref have avoided a red card for the Bradford goalie? Discuss …

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Sixer’s Sevens: West Brom 2 SAFC 1 – another late rally falls short

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Jake gives Sixer star billing
Jake gives Sixer star billing

This is where Pete Sixsmith records his instant verdict, in seven words, on each Sunderland game. Monsieur Salut, driving through the Burgundy snow, received goal updates (or two of them; the text telling me of the bizarre second for WBA must have gone astray) and his one-word verdict – “Lost” – but not the Seven. Fortunately it did get to Malcolm Dawson who has been able to record it for posterity …

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WBA v Sunderland ‘Who are You?’: happy Baggie salutes Cyrille & Bomber

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Jake asks the question
Jake asks the question


The players have been sunning themselves and getting to know one another better in Dubai – some SAFC fans thought they should, on balance, have been made to do their bonding on Roker sands – but it’s back to football on Saturday. Salut! Sunderland is delighted to welcome another thoughtful opposing supporter, Nathan Carr*, who has told us all we need to know about West Bromwich Albion ahead of Sunderland’s visit to the Hawthorns. Nathan, who contributes to the BT Life’s A Pitch fanzone on the Baggies (see footnote for link), is spot-on with his remarks on Cyrille Regis and is also an understanding soul, as his defence of Liam Ridgewell – he of diving and toilet humour fame – shows …

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Sixer’s Soapbox: costly errors as West Brom boing boing back to the Black Country

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Jake says: 'I must get a picture of Sixer looking miserable.'

Malcolm Dawson writes….: There are times when I question the logic of spending good money going to football. Yes there are times when the team puts in a performance that lifts the heart, when a close game or a dramatic fightback creates a tension that gets the pulse racing, when a back to the wall performance, defying the odds, creates a sense of relief that brings a satisfaction all of its own. But it seems that more often than not I feel like I did on Saturday. After a half an hour or so I had that familiar feeling of resignation that we would get nothing from the game and what may have been a disappointing couple of hours became excruciating as the whining bloke behind me, kept up a constant two word analysis of the team’s performance. On my way back to the car I bumped into a couple of friends, North East born but living in Staffordshire, who had been to see Show of Hands at the Sage on Friday and were stopping off at Derby on the way home to catch a Bellowhead concert. Folk music may not be your cup of tea but you know what you are getting for your pennies. Still I’ll be back for QPR as will Pete Sixsmith. Here’s what he has to say about the Baggies….

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Martin’s Musings from SAFC 2 WBA 4: ‘unlucky Simon Mignolet’

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Back to the drawing board?

There were those of us who thought we may have turned a corner at Craven Cottage, but today that corner only took us into a cul de sac. To me – Malcolm Dawson – it seemed as if nothing much had changed from previous home games and the first half was another dose of “Groundhog Day”. The midfield was static, the team lacked purpose going sideways rather than forwards and it was only after we were two – nil behind that we showed any attacking threat. Was it a penalty? I’ll watch the replays tonight but it was certainly a needless one (M Salut, watching on TV, saw in Liam Ridgewell an accomplished diver at work). Those around me were less than happy but the manager remains upbeat.

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Sixer’s Sevens: SAFC 2 West Brom 4 (didn’t even need Ridgewell’s dive)

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Jake gives Sixer star billing

Even heroes have days when they are less, well, heroic. Simon Mignolet has been outstanding in game after game. Today, he got less of a hand to Zoltan Gera’s long-range shot, admittedly excellent, than we would have expected. 0-1. Then, he fumbled the simplest of collects leaving Shane Long with the ball at his feet one yard from an empty net. A disastrous half-time scoreline – and it threatened to get considerably worse as possession was squandered, crosses ended at first man or went tamely beyond or behind. Then Craig Gardner’s deflected free kick flew in. What was heading for a comfortable away win was suddenly at least drawable. Until Mike Dean was fooled by the clearest of dives, by Liam Ridgewell after a risky but contact-free Johnson tackle, rendering the hardworking Sessegnon’s late goal a consolation as the Baggies – slicker throughout – added insult to injury with a last-gap fourth. Pete Sixsmith‘s seven-word verdict tells the story rather well; he’ll have more to say over the next 24 hours or so… ..

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