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Time to stop worrying about failing to beat the Mags and losing Darren Bent? The season resumes and there’s a lot of work our players need to do between now and May. Cast your minds back to last May, though. When Blackpool faced Cardiff in the Wembley playoffs, Salut! Sunderland supported the Tangerines, partly for the romance of it and partly because of two men: Jimmy Armfield, for obvious reasons, and an old pal from Belfast, the writer, broadcaster and (see footnote) occasional lyricist Neil Johnston*, who has always supported them. Jimmy did the first Who are You? – a gem: click here to see it. Now Neil, a respected figure in Irish music and deeply involved in the annual Ballyshannon Folk Festival, does the honours before the return game at Bloomfield Road, which his affinity is necessarily a distant emotion …

Salut! Sunderland: Success story of the Premier’s promoted clubs – or a Hull city disaster waiting to happen – can Blackpool keep going without a calamitous collapse in the second half of the season?

I think they can stay up providing they don’t lose key players like Charlie Adam and DJ Campbell. But their tendency to concede late goals is a worry (NB: question posed and answered before any dealings in the transfer market – ed).

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First things first: a great round of applause for Joan Dawson who, with typically excellent contributions from Pete Sixsmith and Jeremy Robson, not merely kept Salut! Sunderland ticking over while I’ve been swanning around Malaysia but edited the site in such accomplished fashion that she risks being given the job full-time. Secondly, did I miss anything in my absence? …

How was I to know that once my back was turned we’d gain David Miliband and lose Darren Bent? Not to mention a bitterly disappointing performance against Newcastle. Let us hope for DM’s sake that he is not being judged on early results.

News travels fast enough to ensure that I was not allowed to escape knowledge of these events. In fact, Salut! Sunderland having its sources, I knew in Penang of the Milliband appointment some time before it became public in the UK; the Bent bombshell reached me as a nasty little one-liner along the bottom of the screen on BBC World.

Flying back to the UK today, I kept a pinch of salt handy as I read Bent’s press conference bleatings, especially the bits about how brilliant our fans had been towards him and how sad he was that it had ended like this. I also read without the least enthusiasm the crop of names mooted as possible replacements.

Maybe no one in football owes a jot of loyalty to anyone else these days. Players and managers get precious little from clubs so why should they give any to the clubs? And we all try to better ourselves in life, whatever we do to earn a crust.
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As the hoo hah dies down after the derby game and Darren Bent’s move to the Midlands, we have a very important game at Blackpool on Saturday. Our current form is not brilliant; since two hard fought consecutive wins, we have crashed out of the cup and almost allowed the Mags to claim undisputable bragging rights for the rest of the season So, let’s wallow in a little bit of nostalgia as Pete Sixsmith reminisces about three visits to the seaside town that is noted for fresh air and fun, one in the 60s, one in the 70s and – to follow later in the week – one in the 80s.

My first visit to Bloomfield Road was in September 1964 in a proper First Division game. I was 13, Colin was 15 and he played a major part in persuading my reluctant father that I be allowed to go to the game on Billy Reilly’s bus. Colin convinced him that we would be ok and that no drinking would take place on the Central Coaches flyer and that after the game we would go to Woolworths for a meal before taking a tram (probably in the shape of a Mississippi river boat) see the illuminations.

Well, the first part was wrong with a capital W. The bus was full of Shildon’s finest drinkers, including Michael Jones and his somewhat overweight brother who rejoiced in the nickname of Jasper. He was a drinking legend in the town and he took up two seats on the coach because of his mighty girth.

We were picked up at The King William and the bus meandered down to Close House, where the adults got off and shot into the Royal Hotel for a couple of pints while Billy Reilly and Kenny Snowdon loaded the bus up with crate upon crate of Newcastle Brown Ale.

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Stories that Darren Bent had put in a transfer request in the summer but was persuaded to stay would explain the contrast in his performances this season compared to last.  Pete Sixsmith speculates on some other reasons, and like Jeremy Robson (below) takes the long view.

Well, that has been an interesting 24/36 hours hasn’t it? Almost defeat to the Mags, imbeciles running on the pitch and then a transfer request from Darren Bent. As the Chinese say, “May you live in interesting times”.

 Except I would rather not, or at least not if they are as negative as these “interesting times” are. I don’t want to dwell on yesterday’s game- enough said about it and I am getting a bit worried about myself, when Newcastle fans compliment me on my fairness. I must be getting old. What next? A pat on the back for Nick Clegg? An acceptance that Bernard Manning was “quite funny”?

The idiot who ran on the pitch, one Ross Miller, clearly has the brain cells discarded by a semi educated aardvark. Whatever the reasons for celebrating, it does not extend to pushing over an opposition player. The youth should be thoroughly ashamed of himself and turning up to apologise to Harper and then appearing on 5Live should not prevent him from being barred from the Stadium and the possibilities of a custodial sentence.

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With M Salut still out of the country, Jeremy Robson is the first to comment on the surprising – and, for many of us, the very disappointing - news of Darren Bent’s transfer request. 

He’s scored thirty odd goals in a season and a half. He has consistently presented himself as a good professional, and has this morning surprised us by asking the club for a transfer. The modern day footballer lies somewhere between a 17th century Pierrot player and a 70s rock star. Despite his goals (for which we are grateful), and the league position which improved considerably, largely due to his strike rate, Darren Bent has never really captured the hearts of the Sunderland faithful in the same way that Messrs Quinn and Phillips did in their pomp, or quite in the same way that Marco Gabbiadini did several years earlier. The Dazzler never really made himself ours. We loved his goals, but the question really remains about whether we really loved him as a player. It’s difficult to love something that isn’t really yours. You might become fond of your next door neighbour’s dog, but he isn’t yours so you will never feel the bond or mutual respect that comes with ownership, and which results from trust, loyalty and a long term relationship. Bent has worn the shirt. He has played well and conducted himself properly and professionally. Sadly you could say the same for your bank manager or accountant or junior school headmaster, provided that you were lucky enough to have a good one.

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Joan Dawson is doing such a grand job as acting editor that it seems almost wrong to intrude, and Steve Bruce‘s post-match comments hardly match Pete Sixsmith’s for wit and incisiveness (see this report). But here, nonetheless, are Steve’ s thoughts – which found their way to M Salut in Malaysia – on a game in which Newcastle started much the sharper, coped with our lively response and went on to dominate. No dispute at Salut! Sunderland on who merited three points …

Dear Colin,

When you’re behind in a derby game and score 30 seconds from the end then of course you are pleased.
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“Thank goodness that’s over” says Pete Sixsmith as we scrape a point against a far better Newcastle side. Talk of getting out of jail, fat ladies singing and clutching at straws dominate these observations on a bitterly disappointing derby performance. We need to do better next year !!!!

At 13:48, with the clock running down, I sent my Seven winging across the seas to M. Salut in Penang. “Once again found lacking when it mattered” were my words as we huffed and puffed against a side who were threatening to score a second, and take a deserved three points home with them.

For the umpteenth time we pushed forward with effort rather than skill. The ball dropped to Bardsley who whipped in a shot, Harper parried it and Asamoah Gyan poked it over the line to level the scores.

Wild celebrations from those around me; much jumping about and a feeling that we had not only got out of jail, but that we had kidnapped all the Prison Officers, burnt the place down and reformed the entire criminal justice system. The Fat Lady (or middle aged Man in this case) was singing his head off at this one. Games last for 90 minutes!!!

Quite frankly, we were awful. Whatever weaknesses we had seen against Blackpool and Notts. County were magnified 100x in this scrappy, bitty and, for us, ultimately disappointing derby.

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Starting with the return derby with Newcastle United, where poor defending and lack of creativity so nearly cost us all three points, this is Sunderland AFC in snapshot. Almost every week Pete Sixsmith offers his inimitable seven-word verdict on our games. When, rarely, Pete is absent, a supersub does it for him. The full archive – see link below – encapsulates the matchday experiences, from darkest gloom to sublime elation, of a fan who is usually there (and who will have much, much more to say about today’s bitter disappointment which was very nearly much worse) …

Jan 16 2011 SAFC (0) 1 Newcastle United (0) 1 Bacon saved by Gyan but scarcely deserved

Jan 8 2011 FA Cup Third Round: SAFC (0) 1 Notts County (1) 2* No excuse for failing in such fashion 

Jan 5 2011 Aston Villa (0) 0 SAFC (0) 1 Take your pick between 1) Bob and Tim Chapman: * Aerial battle settled by Bardsley super strike or 2) Sobs: * Deserved battling win – but at what cost?

Jan 1 2011 SAFC (2) 3 Blackburn Rovers (0) 0 Comfortable rather than convincing against feeble opposition

Dec 28 SAFC (0) 0 Blackpool (0) 2 Miss chances, you lose matches. That simple.

Dec 26 2010 Manchester United (1) 2 SAFC (0) 0 United simply miles better than we were

To see Sixer’s Sevens in full, click here. If an asterisk precedes the comment, the words that follow are the work of someone else because Pete is for once absent from the game or his verdict has been delayed …

Yesterday we heard from Garry Steckles*, much-travelled reggae-loving son of Tyneside, in a re-run of his piece from 2008 (click here to see). Today, from a long way away (home in the UAE if back from holiday in Sri Lanka), he looks back at the St James’ Park debacle, laments the treatment of Chris Hughton and modestly accepts that yes, Newcastle United have a God-given right to glory …

Newcastle 5 Sunderland 1. Few people saw that coming. How taken aback were you?

Very. I thought the teams were pretty evenly matched, and hoped that being at home we’d have an edge, but never expected 5-1.

Were you dynamite that day, or was it just that we were damp squibs?

I only saw the highlights, but suspect our lot had a pretty good day and your lot didn’t – which kind of reflects the season so far, particularly for Newcastle.

What were your minimum and maximum expectations for this season?

The usual. Hoped we could stay up at worst and maybe get into the top four to six at best.

Did you expect – and approve of – Chris Hughton’s sacking?

Diabolical. I guess we could see it coming, but it still stunk. There again, with the notable exception of the Sir John Hall era, the people running Newcastle have usually been fools or villains or both.

What does the Tyne-Wear divide mean to you and have you ever allowed the rivalry to affect a relationship or judgement?

I like to beat Sunderland, but also think that anyone who carries a sporting rivalry beyond that has to be at least partly retarded.

A lot has been made of Newcastle United supporters’ supposed belief in a God-given right to be not only North East top dogs but to succeed at the highest levels and be popular. Have you ever harboured such thoughts?

In one way, yes: I think we’ve got such an amazing fan base that we deserve to be one of the world’s great teams, not just one of the North East’s or the UK’s. Newcastle’s fans deserve a Barcelona.

Which players past or present represent, for you, the true spirit of Newcastle United and which should never have been allowed near the black and white shirt?

Spirit of Newcastle? Jackie (who I had the enormous privilege of meeting a few times), Frank Brennan (ditto). Shearer. Beardsley. At the opposite extreme, I was embarrassed that Gascoigne was a Geordie.

And what would the McKeags, Westwood and Seymours of the past have thought of Mike Ashley?

I think they’d have agreed with me that he should bugger off back to London where he belongs, and they’re welcome to him.

What parts of North-eastern culture attract you most and which ones appal you?

The humour. Warmth. Toughness. I love big northern working-class cities and their people. Next to Newcastle, Liverpool’s my favourite city in England (nowt seems to appal him – ed).

How many years is it now since you lived in the North East? Has keeping or disguising the undiluted accent a conscious ever required a conscious effort?

I left in 1968, and have lived away since then apart from about a year in 1992 when my mother wasn’t well. People tell me I’ve lost a lot of my accent (he hasn’t – ed), which might be true to a point, but that’s only because people tend not to be able to understand me if I speak normally. But I’ve not made any conscious effort. I was brought up in Newcastle, Killingworth and Whitley Bay, and there’s nowhere else in the world I’d sooner be from.

Name this season’s top four in order, and the bottom three. if neither Newcastle nor Sunderland feature in either list, where will each club end up in May?

I’d rather take a pass on the top four, as none of the teams I’d like to see there are going to be there. I fear the bottom three will be Wolves, West Ham and pick one.

It is time to abandon high-minded ideas about cheating – diving, feigning injury, trying to get opponents booked or sent off – and accept it as part of the modern game. If not, how do we stamp it out?

It’s up to the managers. I loved Brian Clough’s approach, and it didn’t stop his teams from winning. If I was a manager I’d tell my players that if I saw them doing any of that stuff they’d be in more trouble than they could imagine.

What about the Fifa decision on World Cup venues. Were you bothered that England lost out and what was your view of Qatar’s success?

Somewhat ambivalent. Qatar was a real curve ball, tiny country, crazy climate. But they’ve got so much money they can do just about anything … although there seems to be some merit to the idea of playing the 2022 World Cup in January, when the climate’s in the Gulf region’s just about perfect.

How will you keep tabs on the game and what will be the score?

Online. (No answer on the score – ed; to the same question before we beat them 2-1 in Oct 2008, he had replied: “I should say Newcastle, but I suppose I’d settle for a draw. These days, mind you, I’d settle for a draw against Whitley Bay Reserves.”

* Garry Steckles on Garry Steckles:
I guess I’ve been a Newcastle supporter for as long as I can remember. My earliest sporting memories were us winning the cup three times in the early Fifties, and while I’ve lived mainly abroad since the late Sixties I’ve always supported The Lads from a distance. But I’m so pissed off over the Hughton business I’m thinking of switching to Barcelona.