Image of Georgios Samaras: Sashymashy

Not forgetting Georgios Samaras from Celtic. Transfer deadline? Dead loss. That’s the verdict from Pete Sixsmith‘s Soapbox and who can blame him? Consider the other names in our own hat: Peter Crouch (£10m bid today, says Sky), Roman Pavlyuchenko, Patrick Helmes, David Craig Bellamy, Nicklas Bendtner, the other Cisse, Toy of th Rovers, Tupper of the Track (er, that’s enough – ed). Salut! Sunderland has remained aloof of the manic speculation; it’s either mostly nonsense cooked up by greedy, manipulative agents, hypocritical clubs, restless players and imaginative football hacks – or evidence of Steve Bruce putting out a search party for anyone who has ever played up front …

Time for the annual frenzy known as “the closing of the transfer window”.

Sky Sports News and its presenters should spontaneously combust somewhere around 8pm as news of St Mirren signing a Belarus programme seller tips them over the edge.

It was all hyper enough yesterday with the earth shattering news (if you work for SSN) that Owen Hargreaves is having a medical at Manchester City. Presumably, they (City) will be offering deals to Paul Scholes, Bobby Charlton and Sir Matt Busby before 11pm tonight.

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What a shame that Steed Malbranque has let it be know he is on the point of giving up football.

Only 31, and just 26 minutes into his new career at St Etienne, the former Sunderland midfielder has personal problems and appeared a troubled figure when he spoke to the Ligue 1 club’s manager Christophe Galtier on the eve of yesterday’s game at Sochaux.

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If you thought Steve Bruce had problems with what he suggested was the “pathetic” hysteria of hypercritical supporters of his own club, stand back and consider the torrent of abuse now heading in the general direction of Arsène Wenger.

Comments on a match report at the Red London site after Man Utd 8 Arsenal 2 began with Nealmustgo’s kneejerk “bye bye Arsene that’s your lot”.

Darren Dommett exclaimed “what a total sham wenger needs to buy or go” and Danish Gooner offered his own slice of bacon “WENGER OUT NOW !!!!!” before the oh-so-eloquent “Arsenal” summoned all his expressive powers to declare: “Wenger can burn in hell, just dont take arsenal with you, you f****** french frog.”

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Pete Sixsmith‘s test messages from South Wales suggested a day that peaked with his pre-match pint in Port Talbot and went downhill on reaching the Liberty Stadium in Swansea. At least he was spared a third defeat in a week. This is the blow-by-blow account of his day …

It was a long, long day and a long, long way to go for a point in a goalless draw.

And it went something like this:

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Image: Mrs Logic

Liverpool 1 SAFC 1; SAFC 0 Newcastle Utd 1; Brighton & HA 1 SAFC 0; Swansea 0 SAFC 0

No one is going to pretend that Sunderland have got off to a flying start. Even Steve Bruce’s sternest critics here would accept that he has not tried to do so.

But it is still necessary to apply some kind of proportion to the opening results.

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Having given my qualified support to Steve Bruce, if only because sacking him three games into a season would be spectacularly bad timing, I now look forward to him issuing writs against those responsible for grossly libellous reports that he tried to sign Joey Barton. As for tonight’s e-mail, the D word – disappointing, not despise – gets another outing but it’s really just a routine response to a routine draw …

Dear Colin,

To put it into context, to come away from home in the Barclays Premier League and pick up something is always decent.

The disappointing thing is that we had enough chances to win two football matches.

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When Jordan Henderson left, Sunderland supporters were divided into two main camps: dejection about what the move said of our own vaunted ambition, and the feeling we’d done some rather smart business provided the money was properly spent.

We are still waiting for the so-called marquee signings – two needed, three if the underperforming Gyan is on his way – but the money we received from Liverpool, £16m or more, still looks good.

But am I not right in thinking the overwhelming majority of SAFC supporters will feel pride and even reflected glory if he does well at Anfield, just as most of us smile when SuperKev bangs in two more goals for Blackpool? And Jordan’s doing well after a slow start against us.

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This is where Pete Sixsmith captures the glory or shame, hope or despair, excitement or ennui of each Sunderland game. After a grim week, the action moved to the Liberty stadium in Swansea. And it was not a pretty sight. Gyan, “not at the races” and maybe with his mind on an onward move according to Gary Bennett on BBC Radio Newcastle, twice shot at the keeper when passes to better-placed colleagues were obvious options, there were good headed chances at both ends and we survived a long-range shot that beat Mignolet but not the angle of post and bar (O’Shea having hit their bar early on). And that was that in the goalless draw many had feared: against limited opposition, we proved ourselves limited, too.

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 appear soon. A match report appears here.

The full Sixer’s Sevens archive – see link below – encapsulates the matchday experiences, from darkest gloom to sublime elation, of a fan who is usually there …

Aug 27 2011 Swansea City (0) 0 SAFC (0) 0 Uninspiring game. Both teams look like strugglers

Aug 23 2011 Carling Cup 2nd Round: Brighton & Hove Albion (0) 1 SAFC (0) 0 Abysmal team selection got what it deserved

Aug 20 2011 SAFC (0) 0 Newcastle United (0) 1 Totally outfought in dismal second half display

Aug 13 2011 Liverpool (1) 1 SAFC (0) 1 Came back well, better side second half

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 …

This is the latest edition of Salut! Sunderland’s Week. Pete Sixsmith has worked his not inconsiderable backside off for us in the past seven days. Some of you clearly think he deserves some beer money; he’ll get some, once we’ve recorded our first win of the season, from the proceeds of the mugs and pens already ordered. If you feel like buying something, go to the Salut! Sunderland Shop now …

Most of us have known worse weeks to be a Sunderland supporter. Come to think of it, one 5-1 tonking at St James’ Park was much, much worse than a 1-0 defeat at home followed by our customary exit from as early a stage of the Carling Cup as we can manage.

But it has still been bad. We all know that only a win at Swansea today will restore the faith of lots of those now disaffected with Steve Bruce – and that plenty will remain disaffected even if we are three points better off by 5pm. We also know many SAFC supporters, long suffering or short, are some way short of confident that we can actually record our first win of the season. We shall see.

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Has Steve Bruce every right to go on the offensive in his response to the fierce criticism he has endured since losing at home to Newcastle and then away at Brighton in the Carling Cup? Well, yes and no: the calls for his head may be over the top, for now at any rate, but supporters have a right to voice their opinions on what went wrong in two games, crucial to them and the club.

I am on record as stating here my belief that sacking him this early in the season, after what was then one bad result and is now two, would be absurd. As you can see from the comments that have appeared at Salut! Sunderland all week, that is hardly a universal view.

It hasn’t changed and it won’t change even if we lose tomorrow; three or four games in just doesn’t seem the right time to be contemplating such a dramatic move and change.

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