Is is time to fire rubber bullets at Peter Lynn, aka Wrinkly Pete? The moment when we just say: ‘Sorry Donna, but you’ll just have to accept I’m not in love“? Maybe Une Nuit A Paris would give us answers but, then, writing for Salut! Sunderland is never much more than Art for Art’s Sake as Mandy would surely confirm when not flying (or being flown).
The things we do for love, the things we do for love.
So sang 10cc in 1976 and so many of the lyrics of that song fit my love for Sunderland AFC and this season’s travails.
“Too many broken hearts have fallen in the river”
“Communication is the problem to the answer”
“And you’re feelin’ like a part of you is dying”
“Ooh you had me crawling up the wall”
Despite all that I and thousands of other fans have suffered this season, I will keep on loving and supporting but it is worth putting on record what I have gone through to watch some dire football.
I, together with my two-car sharing friends, have travelled nearly 12,000 miles to watch 31 games, including cup matches.
Making allowances for those cup games, we have seen a league point every time we passed 303 miles and a goal scored every 357 miles.
Now I am not going to complain on logistical grounds as I know many other Sunderland fans make a far greater sacrifice, but would like to make one point:
I can stand watching us lose, I can tolerate players making mistakes but I cannot stand seeing players not trying or even looking like they are trying. I will leave the naming of names until the season has ended but I doubt anyone watching this season, especially at home games, will need me to.
Back to 10cc: “you lay your bets and then you pay the price”. I have done my own mini John McCormick and my
prediction is that we will stay up, with the bottom of the final league table looking like this:
Aston Villa 39
Newcastle 39
Leicester 38
Sunderland 38
Hull 37
QPR 30
Burnley 30
And for the future, back to 10cc and keeping Dick Advocaat, hopefully alongside a young, promising new manager:
“a compromise would surely help the situation”
Keep believing
Wrinkly Pete (off on a hiking trip in the Lakes – whether via Goodison is not clear …
The weekend games have lifted Sunderland spirits a little, as seen by the improved Yes and Maybe votes in the ‘will we survive?’ poll …
[polldaddy poll=8818549]
In this expansion of the poll we invite views on which clubs Salut! Sunderland readers (who, don’t forget, may well again include supporters of the other six clubs) reckon will go down.
Duncan Watmore might be saying “I’m ‘andy (try me.”