Who Are You? - SAFC Blog

The Manchester City ‘Who are You?’: surely we won’t play like Norwich

November 7, 2013November 7, 2013 by Colin Randall

Mind, Norwich fans probably thought they would never play like that either. Fresh from the 7-0 and 5-2 tonkings of the Canaries and hard-of-thinking Russian racists, Manchester City have the more onerous challenge of Sunderland away. Stop laughing: we’ve beaten them in each of the past three home games. Can Steven Fletcher or A N Other emulate Darren Bent, Ji Dong-won and Adam Johnson to make it four in a row? Our City ‘Who are You?’ volunteer, Louis Baxter*, found in a Twitter trawl, thinks not.

This week’s second ‘Who are You?’ appears before Pete Sixsmith has had a chance to report on the Capital One cup win over Southampton. Thursdays are always a little strained at Salut Towers but Sixer will pop up in due course …

The Southampton Who are You?: ‘Poyet will have you playing nice football’

November 4, 2013November 4, 2013 by Colin Randall

I don’t want to raise hopes too much but Southampton did something very rare on Saturday and let in a goal. What’s more, of only three previously conceded, one had been scored by Sunderland, back in those heady days when we could actually say we were unbeaten away. Chris Rann*, the power behind georgeweahscousin.com, does not offer a prediction for Wednesday night’s Capital One cup – a place in the quarter finals and a home tie against Chelsea awaiting the winners – but says the prospect of the Saints claiming the trophy excites him more than England’s World Cup trip to Brazil …

Hull City Who are You?: ‘#notohulltigers, yes to Bruce, Elmo, Meyler, McShane’

November 1, 2013October 30, 2013 by Colin Randall

Welcome to another outstanding edition of ‘Who are You?’ as Sunderland prepare to visit Hull for the crucial follow-up to derby joy. This is a bit out of sequence given Hull’s return to Spurs tonight (league cup) but other commitments mean that can’t be helped. Ian Waterson,* editor of the Hull City fanzine City Independent and a frontrunner in the campaign to preserve the club’s name as Hull City AFC rather than change to Hull Tigers as the owner wants, bears a proud Hull name of his own, one shared by the original members of the Watersons folk group (Norma and her late siblings, Lal and Mike). Ian turns out to be a ‘very distant relation’; it’s a little like the Sunderland connection that means any Wearside family called Morris may also be among Monsieur Salut’s “very distant relations” …

SAFC-Newcastle Who are You?: (2) ‘tribalism good; witless, unfunny excess bad’

October 24, 2013October 24, 2013 by Colin Randall

CR writes: 15 years ago, a bright spark on the Telegraph news desk decided a Sunderland supporter was the best man to cover the Shepherd/Hall/Dogs/Mary Poppins fallout. One of the first people I interviewed was Kevin Miles*, prominent in a Toon campaign to force the two culprits out. I liked him a lot, enough to say ‘of course’ two years later, despite the head thinking ‘no way’, when asked to join his team of England supporters for a friendly against Germany before the minor storm of Charleroi at Euro 2000. Now he’s a big wheel at the Football Supporters’ Federation and, as an unreformed Mag, offers a mixture of wit, wisdom and partisanship ahead of the Wear-Tyne derby …

The Sunderland v Newcastle United ‘Who are You?’: (1) Geordiedoonsooth unmasked and smarting

October 24, 2013October 23, 2013 by Colin Randall

It’s a Sunday match but it is also the Wear-Tyne derby – and we have a Saturday match to try to forget. This may also be the first of two Wear-Tyne derby Who are You? features, so let’s start early. And the first man in the hot seat is none other than Geordiedoonsooth, whose regular visits to Salut! Sunderland provide a fair amount of mild banter. He reveals himself as Ray Mossom, a Geordie of the long-exiled variety (Monsieur Salut, away from the North East since the rather important year of 1973, cannot get too sniffy about that). You will decide what to make of his replies, his views and his predictions -you’ll all be pleased to see he stills feels the pain, very acutely, of last season’s SAFC romp at SJP – but I’m chuffed he agreed to do it …

The Manchester United Who are You?: ‘good grief, I’d forgotten David Bellion’

October 3, 2013October 3, 2013 by Colin Randall

Keith Hoggins* laughs gently at Monsieur Salut’s football club, musical tastes and sport of choice as participant (scroll down for the spoof front page he designed to mark a career change** a few years ago). And M Salut mocks his former colleague’s glory-seeking support of Manchester United. That’s the authorised version; we now learn Keith started following MUFC just “as they were getting crap” and also that he not only has a soft spot for Sunderland but shares none of his fellow fans’ pantomime outrage at the Poznan prank. He sees us staying up – I wonder how many of us do – without even having to record a first home point as early as Saturday evening …

SAFC vs Liverpool Who are You?: ‘we’ll be champions, Manchester United below 4th’

September 26, 2013September 26, 2013 by Colin Randall

Steph Jones*, an avid supporter of our next opponents, Liverpool, pops up in The Observer, along with Pete Sixsmith, when they want someone prepared to pontificate about their clubs for free. Salut! Sunderland is a bit the same with its invitations to the “Who are You?” hot seat, though we have more reason to expect it for nowt. Loved the succinct nature of her responses – some interviewees go on for yonks – but wonder whether she really, truly believes David Moyes will have to settle for a place outside the top four this season …

Jake in cynical mood
Guess the Score in SAFC vs Liverpool at https://safc.blog/2013/09/safc-vs-liverpool-guess-the-score/

SAFC vs Peterborough Who are You?: ‘it’ll soon be a league fixture’

September 23, 2013 by Colin Randall

Amid all this turmoil, there’s work to be done. It falls to Kevin Ball to drum up enthusiasm among the rebellious waifs and strays left behind by the PDC whirlwind. If anyone can do it, surely it’s Bally who somehow produced a home win, the only one of the season, as caretaker manager when we went down with 15 points. Robert Graves*, manager of the Peterborough United Supporters (PUSFC) team and a regular Posh voice on local radio, did the honours when we last met Peterborough United in a cup game (Jan 2012) and returned – before the PDC dismissal – with the mischievous suggestion that the wait for our next encounter will be shorter – next season in the Championship (though he’s surer about us going down than Posh being promoted). For that impertinence alone, he should have the smile wiped off his face by a 5-0 home win in tomorrow night’s Capital One cup third round tie …

West Bromwich Albion vs SAFC Who are You?: ‘Baggies counting on Sess’

September 19, 2013 by Colin Randall

At ESPNFC.com the other day, I described West Brom away as our first cup final of the season. The way things are going, there’ll be many more of them. Can we finally break our duck? Our volunteer Baggie, Rikki Paul*, was found at the wbaunofficial site. He reckons WBA will add to our misery with a narrow win in a “tight, nervy” game …

Sunderland v Arsenal Who Are You: ‘biased’ referees, tiptop Ozil, Suarez dilemma

September 12, 2013September 11, 2013 by Colin Randall

Many of us remember the day at Highbury 17 years ago when Arsenal brought along their own ref, Paul Danson. They’ve done it again. Walter Broeckx*, in our Arsenal “Who are You?” hot seat and hooked on the Gunners since boyhood, is not only a qualified ref in his native Belgium but is responsible for the Untold Referees section of the soaraway fan site Untold Arsenal**. We had a lively exchange of views with Gooners when he came up with data suggesting Sunderland had the benefit of dodgy match officials’ decisions last season and that northern bias on the part of refs might be to blame. Who better to invite along to give an Arsenal perspective, Ozil and all, on Saturday’s return to proper football – and to defend those eccentric views? …

Jake doesn't mind that he chose them instead of us — Jake doesn’t mind that he chose them instead of us: click on image for a better view