Stephen Goldsmith writes: Enough of all this Man Utd v Arsenal and Liverpool v Man Utd nonsense, Wigan and West …
Positives: winning, being unbeaten, Mignolet’s world class shot-stopping, Fletcher’s Fifth …
Negatives: matched and menaced by Wigan for half the match, unable to build on a lead even against 10 men. Maybe we should acquire the wonderful gift identified by a certain Scottish bard: ‘to see oursel’s as others see us!’ Over to our resident Burns specialist in – if we are to believe him – pious, farewell mode Pete Sixsmith…
It could all have been so much different. After three minutes and then again after fifteen, Simon Mignolet won this game for Sunderland. He did what he is paid to do but these early, crucial saves meant that Stephen Fletcher’s fifth goal in four games got the Lads their first league win of the season. Whether McClean’s cross was intentional or whether it was meant as an attempt on goal only he knows for sure, but there was no doubt about the clinical way the chance was put away.
Martin O’Neill delivers his post-match e-mail after today’s first League victory of the season.
Who else? That was Peter Sixsmith‘s rhetorical question as Sunderland finally took the lead shortly after Wigan had gone down to 10 men when Gomez was sent off for a bad challenge on Danny Rose. Steven Fletcher was indeed the scorer, his fifth and also Sunderland’s fifth in the Premier this season. Simon Mignolet had earlier kept Wigan scoreless with a remarkable first-half save but SAFC were in the end reasonably comfortable if narrow winners …
No, Ned Brown*, younger member of the father-son partnership behind the Wigan Athletic fan site Los Three Amigos, is not talking about Lee Cattermole. Nor is he referring to Steve Bruce. As a lifelong Wigan supporter and also near-lifelong exile, he has respect for what both did for his club. You’ll need to read on to have the headline explained. Sunderland supporters, as buoyed by a decent League Cup win as the Latics were by theirs, are desperately hoping for a Premier League victory at last – and certainly not for a replica of the game last season that sent the guillotine blade slicing through the air towards Bruce’s neck. Ned predicts our fifth draw …
Stephen Goldsmith writes: You can all stop laughing. It’s quite expected really that this whole thing is my idea and I currently prop up the table. In fact it’s inevitable; I’m destined to finish there too. I might just start copying John Mac’s predictions every week as I have the power to do so.
As if we hadn’t banged on about Villa quite enough (though we do wonder how many Villans don’t yet know one of theirs won the top prize in our prestigious ”Who are You?” awards), now we’re at it again. Or, rather we’re not, not really. Stephen Goldsmith* – as Goldy – has been a frequent, thoughtful contributor to Comments and simply uses the Darren Bent example as the starting point for a riveting read on the glossary of want-away footballing hypocrisy …
With apologies for the laboured pun – and M Salut promises not to add, ”Or Well, what did you expect?” – we present the third of Luke Harvey’s series of defining moments in the season just ended. We’ve had Signing of the Season and Opponents of the Season. Here is Luke’s Game of the Season …
You simply cannot argue with four wins in six games. Martin O’Neill reflects on what was for him the best of the all …
This is where Pete Sixsmith captures the glory and shame, hope and despair, excitement and ennui of the Sunderland matchday experience. When, rarely, Pete is absent or delayed, a supersub does it for him and the seven-word verdict is preceded by an asterisk. Pete’s full analysis of the game will usually appear within a day or two.