Who Are You? - SAFC Blog

Manchester City v SAFC ‘Who are You?’: Mancini, Mackems and Mary Poppins

March 30, 2012March 29, 2012 by Colin Randall

who are you copy2 — Jake poses the question

Rick Haswell-Cohen* is a lucky lad. Fell in love with and married a Mackememoiselle, then woke up one morning to news that the team he’d always supported was suddenly mega-rich. Salut! Sunderland is deeply grateful to Rick, creator of the North-eastern branch of the Manchester City Supports’ Club, for stepping in despite huge pressure of work when the original volunteer had to withdraw. The goodwill has its limits: he doesn’t think the Etihad will be the start of our process of getting over cup disappointment…

SAFC v Everton ‘Who are You?’: from Birmingham Blues to Bitter Blues

March 26, 2012 by Colin Randall

Yesterday was a day for Sixth Round Blues as the Birmingham shade wrecked Sunderland women’s FA Cup dreams in their quarter finals. Can the Lads drive red and white into the ascendancy tomorrow and shatter the Everton Blues’ 6th round hopes? Diane Hill, a devoted Evertonian and secretary of the Harrogate Toffees*, seems to think we will do no such thing – but doesn’t see her Blues going on to win the trophy …

The Sunderland v QPR ‘Who are You?’: still bowled over by Stan

March 22, 2012March 22, 2012 by Colin Randall

Steve Colwell, a beer buff who runs the website beer.meister.co.uk, supped at our table just before the first game, which …

The Blackburn ‘Who are You?’: nearly getting Zidane and wanting Martin O’Neill

March 20, 2012 by Colin Randall

We were not so much let down as ignored by a promising Blackburn Rovers candidate who – sorry to be cryptic – is important enough to have intermediaries, one of whom did his utmost to pull it off. Heroically, our old friend Mike Delap*, who runs the The Wild Blackburn Rover site overcame jet lag to do the honours, with some cracking replies, just after returning from a trip to New York …

The Everton v SAFC ‘Who are You?’: Cumberland gaps

March 15, 2012 by Colin Randall

who are you copy — Jake poses the question ...

Do you sometimes feel the “Who are You?” interviews ramble on for too long? Could you do with something shorter, snappier? If yes, then David Stead, secretary of the Cumberland branch of the Everton supporters’ club, is your man. He said in advance he would keep his replies short and treated the questionnaire like an exam paper, choosing the questions he wished to answer and leaving the rest. We’re grateful all the same; being asked out of the blue to be a (blue) “Who are You?” candidate probably feels like having cold-call sales pitches from British Gas, BT and every other double glazing firm combined. So in the great tradition of Barry Maddicott, another Everton fan who, in 2010, produced the shortest “Who are You?” in the history of the series, here are David’s responses ahead of the FA Cup 6th round at Goodison …

Liverpool Who are You?: (2) ‘oh dear Jordan (and oh dearer Carroll)’

March 9, 2012March 9, 2012 by Colin Randall

Well, one “Who are You?” candidate, Phil, had a “week from hell” and looked unlikely to deliver. No sooner had I appealed for emergency supersubs – and received two much appreciated offers – than Phil surfaced with renewed promises. It was too late. Maybe we will return to him for the cup semis or final! Meanwhile, after Keith Conneely’s excellent contribution yesterday, my Abu Dhabi colleague Michael Barnard* has provided another fascinating set of answers ahead of Sunderland v Liverpool tomorrow. He expects a draw, but his thoughts on Carroll (“oh Carroll, I was such a fool” could be Kenny’s new take on the old Sedaka hit) and Henderson are especially illuminating …

The Liverpool Who are You?: (1) ‘the debt we owe Sunderland supporters’

March 9, 2012March 8, 2012 by Colin Randall

Murphy’s Law decrees that whatever can go wrong will go wrong. Sod’s Law is subtly different; bad fortune can be “tailored to the individual”, good may come about despite anything the individual does. In seeking an emergency substitute for the Liverpool “Who are You?”, when circumstances left me facing an empty page, I approached two new targets with tales of Sod’s Law. Luckily, Murphy did not intervene and Keith Conneely*, the second of two “Yes” responses, had already completed the Salut! Sunderland questionnaire (No 2 can be found at this link)…

The Newcastle Who are You?: ‘9-1, but we only had nine men!’

March 1, 2012 by Colin Randall

While we were vying with Middlesbrough in the FA Cup, this article appeared at Salut! Sunderland: “Beat Boro, overhaul Newcastle but cling to regional common ground.” I invited a prominent NUFC blogger to respond and his reply, which I hope reflected pressure of work and nothing else, was “not really”. Our Newcastle United “Who are You?” volunteer, Peter “Exiled Geordie” Mann*, a sports writer and football historian whose many interests include writing for the Toon Talk fanzine, knows all about the nuances of North-eastern loyalties and was willing to discuss them. He wasn’t at the glorious 1908 game mentioned in the headline but has no doubt what went wrong for the Mags …

The West Brom Who are You?: ‘those rose-tinted Sunderland glasses’

February 23, 2012February 23, 2012 by Colin Randall

Not every photographer who visited Roker Park did so on behalf of Pravda, albeit the Slovak equivalent of the official Soviet daily. Dave Hewitt*, lifelong Baggie, explains the background, tells of the day he photographed Kevin Ball holding a damaged trophy aloft and describes gathering disenchantment with Mod€rn Football …

SAFC v Arsenal: how Arsène Wenger sank the drinking culture

February 16, 2012February 16, 2012 by Colin Randall

Does Arsenal’s walloping in Milan mean they’ll be easy meat on Saturday evening? Or will they return to Sunderland in angry, let’s-prove-we’re-not-useless mode? Time will tell …

Twelve days ago, I met a man on the Tube. He was a director of the Roosterspiripiri fastfood chain on his way home from the Emirates, having watched with his two young sons Arsenal’s demolition of Blackburn. He was also a Gooner, so happy. Once the train emerged into daylight, my mobile phone flashed with news of a goal from Stoke (McClean Coming Clean), so I was happy, too. Man on Tube had a fascinating family background embracing Pakistan, Sunderland and Newcastle and agreed to answer the “Who are You?” questions. Since then, total silence. Luckily Anthony “Ant” Oliveri* popped up. He loves Southend, adores football generally (see his WeAreTrueFans site) but worships Arsenal. And here, much more than a mere supersub for Roosterspiripiri man (who now reports that he has been out of action with a trapped nerve in his shoulder, so all is forgiven), he is …