It is time for that rarest of things, Salut! Sunderland beating its own drum and asking readers to apply their own percussive accompaniment.
From the Football Supporters’ Federation (FSF) comes news of its 2013 Writers Awards ceremony, in association with William Hill, which will take place on Monday December the Emirates stadium. Monsieur Salut feels able to proceed with what it could mean for this site on the firm understanding that Paul Danson will not be among the judges.
You, as football supporters, are entrusted with the task of choosing the award-winners. And we may be forgiven for hoping to receive some backing as an independent fan site which is unashamedly partisan, as might be expected from one with Sunderland in its name, but also appeals to non-SAFC supporters who simply enjoy what is, often, excellent writing on football.
These are the categories:
* 1: Away Day of the Year
* 2: Blogger of the Year
* 3: Commentator of the Year
* 4: Fanzine of the Year
* 5: Independent Website of the Year
* 6: Newspaper of the Year
* 7: Player of the Year
* 8: Podcast of the Year
* 9: Pundit of the Year
* 10: Writer of the Year
From that list, I would humbly suggest the answers to categories 2, 4, 5, 8 and 9 and, in the order that they appear, Colin Randall, A Love Supreme, Salut! Sunderland, the Salut! Sunderland “Wise Men Say” Podcast and Pete Sixsmith. I would also say that Jake would or should have sprinted away with Illustrator of the Year if only the category had existed.
No one if required to agree. You may go along with some of my nominations but not others. It is possible that the only one you support is A Love Supreme, also the only one that is unconnected to Salut! Sunderland.
But if you wish to have your say in the voting in any of the categories I highlight and in the others that appear in the list, your task is straightforward: just e-mail awards@fsf.org.uk with your own nominations for each category. The FSF says a shortlist will be released in November, when supporters will be asked to cast votes for their favourites.
And just to show I am not obsessed with getting Salut! or its contributors recognised, I would add that really liked this part of the FSF announcement: “This year’s awards will also incorporate the fans’ Commentator and Away Day of the Year which echoes one of the FSF’s headline campaigns – ‘Away Fans Matter’.”
Away days? For me, they depend so much on the result that honest judgement is tricky. Yet I have seen us win important games at Bradford City and QPR and loathed the general experience, because of the squalid conditions. And I have always enjoyed going to Villa Park even though I have not been present for a Sunderland victory.
You will all have your own preferences, Wigan for the pies or SJP if you’ve been there when we’ve won, and your own pet hates, Arsenal for the “Rupert and Monty” factor, Wolves for the pervading hostility of West Midlands police towards away fans. You choose.
Kevin Miles, chief executive of the FSF, is a Newcastle fan but redeems himself, in my experience, by being a decent bloke.
He is spot-on when he says: “Fans are the foundation on which the professional game is built. These awards will recognise the best in the business and that recognition couldn’t come from a more reputable source than the fans.”
* FSF rules: you can nominate up to three entries to be shortlisted in each of the following categories, apart from Player of the Year for which you can only nominate one player from the club you support. The number of nominations received has no impact on the shortlisting process, as each nominated entry will be assessed by the shortlisting panel.
Nominations, by e-mail to awards@fsf.org.uk, must be received before 9am on Monday October 28.. Do not use the numbering I applied to the categories – they were mine for clarity of presentation and would not necessarily be recognised by the FSF.
Done. All categories as advised. Couldn’t think of a commentator though.
Pete’s a sensitive soul, Phil, Did you mean 10?
Done, in relation to categories 2, 5 and 9.