West Ham United

Soapbox: we’re safe – Blackpool, West Ham and Wigan doomed

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There’s a big maybe, or series of maybes. First of all, Tangerine dreamers, Hammers and Latics straying this way should take comfort: Pete Sixmith‘s specialist subject is geography not maths. But he’s done the calculations using the BBC predictor page (see footnote*) and very much wanted the headline to read: “It’s official – we’re safe.” To M Salut, that sounded too much like tempting fate …


Whiling away an hour at work this morning, as my Year 11 group negotiated a tricky Media Studies assignment by comparing the online version of Bliss magazine with the printed one (cutting edge of academic education at Ferryhill – we annotated in Latin!), I turned to the BBC predictor page and worked out the rest of the season’s results.

And the good news is we will not go down. Indeed, we will finish with the princely total of 42 points, a real tribute to the effort and determination shown since January.

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Salut!’s week: boycotting West Ham, loving non-league, facing Man City

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Each week, when we remember that is, Salut! Sunderland gives the busy, occasional visitor a taste of what he or she may have missed. Just because Sunderland weren’t playing last week, it doesn’t mean we weren’t still looking for ways of keeping interest alive. This is a glimpse at what we thought worth talking about …

A £46 price tag for a frankly rotten seat in a doomed stadium to watch, for us, a meaningless – but final – game: fair or rip-off?

Salut! Sunderland is in no doubt as to the answer to that question. Mr Sullivan and Mr Gold may even know what we think, since our discussion on whether SAFC supporters should boycott to game has featured at Hammers fan sites, too.

Read what we – and, in reply, some Hammers as well as Sunderland fans – had to say by clicking here.

And follow the same drill for the other highlights of Salut! Sunderland‘s week by clicking on each sub-heading if you want to see the full posting:

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The West Ham rip-off: to boycott or not to boycott

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Tickets can now be bought for the last two away games – but be prepared to pass by the mortgage broker on your way to paying for the West Ham United match on Sunday May 22.

The appalling rip-off merchants who have charge of West Ham have decided that Sunderland supporters should be mugged for £46 apiece for the dubious honour of a seat at Upton Park/Boleyn/pre-Olympic Plaza.

By contrast, the ticket part of the trip to Bolton on May 7 would knock you back only £20 or £28.

Instead of merely fulminating to no great effect about Sullivan and Gold, or Sullivan’s Gold, some SAFC supporters are already talking of voting their feet, that is by putting their feet nowhere near West Ham on what should otherwise be – for us – a carefree final day of an eventful but unmenacing season.

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Cup wishlist: Man United, Man City out. Arsenal or Reading’s trophy

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Bob Stokoe statue, Stadium of Light, SunderlandImage: Mrs Logic

Salut! Sunderland has absolutely nothing against the city of Manchester. We hold no grudges against Stoke or Bolton.

But choices have to be made. Sunderland’s humiliating exit at the earliest possible stage of the FA Cup means we have been able to pick our runners at will in subsequent rounds.

So to do our bit to restore interest in the ailing old competition, colours will now be nailed to the FA Cup mast.

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West Ham v Spurs: two Olympic winners

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Olympic Stadium from the DLRBen Sutherland


Jeremy Robson normally has little time for Seb Coe and cannot bring himself to doff his cap and address him as M’lud. But he agreed with old Seb on the best future for the Olympic stadium and is delighted that the right result seems on the point of being announced …

What a load of hot air and waste of time!

It would appear that the Olympic stadium which is likely to cost somewhere around 565M GBP has been granted a stay of execution. It will not, after all, be razed to the ground when the shadows of the Olympic torch lengthen.

In fact it is more than a mere reprieve: new life will be breathed as a result into a grand old lady of English football, dressed in a traditional frock of claret and blue.

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SAFC v West Ham: the Hammer who still fears the worst

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Even before he became the editor of The Daily Telegraph, Tony Gallagher* had played a blinder as deputy editor (and acting editor) when the paper put MPs through the mill for their outrageous expenses. Some MPs, it is fair to say, questioned the notion of journalists lecturing anyone on expenses. But that’s another matter, as is Tony’s lifelong support for – and, despite two good results, gloomy outlook on – West Ham United, Sunderland’s opponents on Sunday if snow permits …


Read an updated version by clicking here

Salut! Sunderland: (Before this mini-revival), a Hammers-supporting pal declared himself lost for words. What the devil went wrong, and did you not share the excitement of some fans when Sullivan/Gold moved in?

Notwithstanding our amazing result against Man United, we’re paying the price for undermining a series of decent managers. Pardew was sacked peremptorily a few months after taking us to the FA Cup final; Curbishley steered us to mid-table safety and then he was sacrificed; Zola was obviously an outstanding coach – it was no accident that Carlton Cole, Scott Parker and Robert Green were playing the best football of their careers under him – but he was destabilised the moment Gold and Sullivan arrived and never recovered. Grant, demonstrably, lacks the motivational powers required to effect a change.
The Sullivan/Gold era has been pock-marked by one ugly dispute in the press after another which is extremely undignified. Personally, I have never warmed to them, assuming their passion is really for the Olympic Stadium, which I guess would generate huge revenue.

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The Hammers Soapbox: Carling Cup hopes gone west

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Not a great night: out pf the Carling Cup at an early stage in front of a measly crowd for an all-Premier clash, then Titus Bramble arrested on suspicion of rape (though remember he’s innocent until proved otherwise, a concept that should commend itself to bigwigs at a certain association football club). A jury can sort out that one and low gates are sadly par for the Carling course. As for our flat performance, here is Pete Sixsmith‘s analysis …


I had two possibilities for last night’s seven-word summary. The one that appeared was relevant to the disappointing performance we had turned in against a West Ham side who looked anything but relegation candidates. The other one will stay on my phone so I can recycle it if we are knocked out of the FA Cup by the likes of Bolton or Portsmouth.

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Au revoir Arsenal, now for West Ham …

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Playing Arsenal is tiring. For Salut! Sunderland, that is. We always seem to get a couple of (very welcome) “Who Are You?” previews to deal with, each game manages to end in controversy of one kind or another and then there’s endless debate afterwards. But a lot of the post-Saturday discussion here has been of a very high standard, so thank to the many Gooners who contributed …

Now on to the Carling Cup and London opponents again. Sam the Hammer (aka Sam H) is a regular enough visitor to these shores. He’s a techie wizard, genial company over a pint and lord of the manor over at the West Ham Process, one our constant rivals for top spot among the FootballUnited.com hit parade of footie sites. Sam is also one of life optimists, a condition that helps when you support certain clubs (don’t we know it?), but feels this is one Sunderland will win. So, Sam, Who Are You? …

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How the Salut! Sunderland jury voted

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Honourable mentions, too, are due to our other shortlisted candidates – read the full list by clicking here – but here are the citations from our judges for their Top Three choices in the annual Salut! Sunderland awards …

So the shortlist for the Who Are You? competition stretched to 10 entries, chosen by me from the dozens published at Salut! Sunderland – more than the number of teams we played since there were often two or more contributors – during the 2009-2010 season.

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