Who Are You? - SAFC Blog

Manchester City v Sunderland ‘Who are you?’: come back Niall and Reidy

February 11, 2014February 11, 2014 by Colin Randall

Peter Reid is 57, Niall Quinn 47. Perhaps too late to return to Man City as midfield dynamo and target man. But both would receive huge warm welcomes if they could find time to get along to one of the functions run by the City Disabled Supporters’ Association. The invitation is extended via Salut! Sunderland by the association’s secretary, our ‘Who are You?’ interviewee, Mark Barber*. How about three unlikely points for ‘predictably unpredictable’ SAFC, as Jake called us the other day, in return for an evening with Reidy and Niall? I bet they’re rooting for us, not City, in both forthcoming games …

Sunderland vs Hull ‘Who are You?’: (2) an easy vote for Norman

February 6, 2014 by Colin Randall

Gary Clark‘s* answers to the Salut! Sunderland questionnaire are long by any standards and it seemed like a good idea to split the interview into two rather than expect people to plough through 2,500 words or more in one go. Read Part One here – https://safc.blog/2014/02/sunderland-vs-hull-city-who-are-you-is-allam-becoming-mike-ashley/– and now sit back to enjoy the rest of the Q+A, including an amusing reference to the respective goalkeeping qualities of Tony Norman and Ian Hesford – and why Raich Carter, son not ghost, will be in the away end on Saturday …

Sunderland vs Hull City ‘Who are You?’: is Allam becoming Mike Ashley?

February 5, 2014 by Colin Randall

Despite the battering it got at Ready to Go’s SMB forum last week – people taking against what I thought was a fine Newcastle United ‘Who are You?’ – this series is something I am proud of; I am deeply grateful to all those who give their time to participate.

And I trust my Hull City friends will excuse this week’s provocative headline. In fact, it reflects one of the questions put to Gary Clark*, City fan extraordinaire and author of two books charting his club’s historic seasons, From Boothferry to Wembley and This Is The Best Trip…. . He’s been this way before but, ahead of an important match for both clubs, is mightily welcome back, even at the great length he has chosen for his answers (so much so that I have decided to split it up and run Part Two tomorrow). Only thing is, we must all hope he’s a bit down in the dumps on the road back to Humberside …

Newcastle United vs Sunderland ‘Who are You?’: a less than happy Mag

January 30, 2014January 30, 2014 by Colin Randall

As time crept on, I feared I had left it too late to find a warm, witty or wise Newcastle fan for the pre-derby ‘Who are You?’. Then Pete Sixsmith came up with Brian Neil*, a Gateshead-born, Bishop-by-adoption lad with a fondness for exclamation marks and mild profanity. Brian is an ideal interviewee: bags to say for himself and lots of strong views on things Toon to like and dislike (he very unhappy about the Pardew/Kinnear axis), as befits a season ticket holder who has attended every derby since 1981. He roundly – and rightly – rebukes Monsieur Salut for misuse of the word ‘great’ and is otherwise a very good read despite everything …

Sunderland v Stoke City Who are You?: ‘Norwich, Palace, West Ham and Cardiff relegation contenders’

January 27, 2014 by Colin Randall

Angela: at her favourite haunt ... — Angela: at her favourite haunt …

With games coming thick and fast, time for finding a new Stoke City interviewee ran out. But we had an offer from Angela Smith*, who did such a good job before the game at the Britannia, to help out again. It is an interesting exercise to get someone to update replies to largely the same questions – if fewer in numbers – and Angela makes it worthwhile …

SAFC v Kidderminster Harriers ‘Who are You?’: knowing away fans by name

April 29, 2014January 24, 2014 by Colin Randall

This may be a special treat for our star writer, Sixer, and our deputy editor, Malcolm Dawson. The first question put to our Kidderminster Harriers interviewee explains why. The euphoria of Old Trafford gives way, on Saturday, to the more modest experience of a home game against Kidderminster Harriers. Scott Jones* is the matchday announcer at the Harriers’ ground, Aggborough. He’s also a home-and-away ever-present. I cannot imagine a better candidate …

Manchester United vs SAFC ‘Who are You?’: Fergie fear to Moyes muddle

January 20, 2014 by Colin Randall

So Wembley is one step, albeit a long one, away. At least we can put relegation fears on the back burner. The build-up starts here.

Long ago, Newcastle United became engulfed in the sleazy saga of Freddy Shepherd and Doug Hall, exposed by the News of the World’s fake sheikh after, as Wikipedia delicately puts it, ‘mocking the club’s own supporters for spending extortionate amounts of money on merchandise, calling female supporters “dogs” and mocking star striker Alan Shearer by calling him the “Mary Poppins of football”, all while frequenting a brothel’. Monsieur Salut and Jerry Lawton* found themselves covering the tale for their respective newspapers (the Telegraph displaying a sense of humour by sending a Sunderland fan to do it). We gleefully watched United lose a midweek match at home to Crystal Palace and became firm friends. It’s taken a while to get Jerry, a staunch Man Utd fan, to do a ‘Who are You?’ – we haven’t always been in the same division – but here it is ahead of the Capital One Cup semifinal second leg …

Fulham vs Sunderland ‘Who are You?’: super Steed, gunman winger, impressive Poyet

January 9, 2014January 9, 2014 by Colin Randall

Dan Crawford* is a sportswriter, Fulham supporter, Labour councillor (‘when will my bins be emptied?’) and commissioning editor of the Cottagers’ Hammyend.com fan site. It’s a good read for proper fans of any football club …

SAFC vs Manchester United ‘Who are You?’: cruncher Brown, winner Keano, regal Eric

January 6, 2014January 6, 2014 by Colin Randall

With all these easy or easyish home draws, are we going to end up as cup winners twice over but relegated? Well, the easy bit comes top an end tomorrow night when Man Utd arrive for the first of the two legs of the Capital One Cup semis. Beatable these days but hardly a pushover for the Lads. Busby MUFC *, proper name supplied but withheld as a matter of personal choice (he cites a valid reason), was discovered at Twitter where he has no fewer than 38,000 followers …

SAFC v Carlisle Utd ‘Who are You?’: on Bridges, Kavanagh and Wembley

January 3, 2014January 2, 2014 by Colin Randall

Mark Nicholson*, located at Twitter, is a diehard Carlisle supporter who will join a sizeable army crossing west to east for Sunday’s FA Cup tie. What sort of Sunderland team he will see, with the leaue cup semis only two days later and a relegation battle to wage, is open to question. He’s a great admirer of the Sunderland old boy Graham Kavanagh, first as a player and now as manager of Carlise. All the same, he expects our class to make itself felt in the last 20 minutes …