The 2018-19 edition of Sixer’s Sevens, in which Pete Sixsmith or a super-sub sums up each Sunderland game in seven words, gets properly under way today. Yes, he had a first pre-season friendly the other night, when Darlington beat us 1-0. But Pete may have been keeping one eye on news from St Petersburg, when […]
Sixer’s Sevens: Bolton Wanderers 1-0 SAFC. Rock bottom again

The latest defeat in a sorry season does not, of course, send us down again just yet. It does put us bottom as Burton won and it does make relegation even more probable than it was. Sunderland appear from messages seen from the Macron stadium to have put in plenty of bustle but with the […]
Sixer’s Sevens: Sunderland 1-1 Birmingham City. Not the result SAFC needed

Malcolm Dawson was back in the East stand seat of Pete Sixsmith, absent again on Santa duties, to see Sunderland drop back into the bottom three after a disappointing draw against the bottom club, with Bolton and Burton both winning. The instant verdict is therefore his, as will be the substitute Sixer’s Soapbox in due […]
Sixer’s Sevens. Wolves 0-0 SAFC. Point made – and a good one

Pete Sixsmith Monsieur Salut writes: Bob Chapman, standing in for Pete Sixsmith (absent on Santa duties), has the sort of home-and-away record of attendance at SAFC games that cries out for a gong in the New Year’s honours list. Today, he saw a valiant backs-to-the-wall display by Sunderland that won an unlikely point at the […]
Sixer’s Sevens: Aston Villa 2-1 SAFC. Coleman sees measure of his task

Pete Sixsmith saw Chris Coleman’s managership start in painfully familiar fashion, yet another bright start undone by yet another piece of sloppy defending. The upshot: the simplest of conceded goals for Villa’s Adomah, albeit after the ref arguably ignored a foul on Matthews that started the move. Ten minutes gone, one down. Had Robbin Ruiter, […]
Sixer’s Sevens: Middlesbrough 1-0 Sunderland. Valiant defeat or deservedly bottom?

Monsieur Salut writes: Pete Sixsmith should have been sitting next to me today, I had to cry off – wife unwell – but watched on the TV what I thought was far from a bottom-of-the-table performance. It just wasn’t quite good enough and we lost anyway. Grabban should have scored minutes before we inevitably succumbed […]
Sixer’s Sevens: Sunderland 1-1 QPR. Winning ‘still seems miles away’

Monsieur Salut writes: for much of the match against QPR at the Stadium of Light, the Sunderland nightmare seemed be getting darker and darker. Pete Sixsmith reported that the defending was getting worse by the game as we went one down yet again. Until the McGeady equaliser, QPR seemed more likely to score again. Gary […]
Sixer’s Sevens: West Brom 2-0 SAFC. All but Honeyman throwing in towel

Monsieur Salut writes: No Pete Sixsmith at the Hawthorns. He wisely gave himself a day off from the drudgery and misery of supporting Sunderland and caught a game (and maybe some decent fish and chips) at Whitby. Another wretched defeat, 2-0 as I am afraid I predicted at ESPN, and we’re where we probably deserve […]
Sixer’s FA Cup Sevens: SAFC 0-0 Burnley. As Jake put it, ‘zzzzz….’

Monsieur Salut writes: To no great surprise Pete Sixsmith preferred Shildon vs Atherton Collieries in the FA Vase. He kept in touch via Barnes and Benno, describing a drab game short on quality and ending goalless before all of 17.632 souls (but my emergency seven-worder appears for now). With a replay almost the last thing […]
Sixer’s Sevens from Burnley: ‘probably the worst Sunderland display this century’

Monsieur Salut writes: unhappy texts flowed between Turf Moor and me today. I cannot recall an occasion when it seemed right to post Pete Sixsmith‘s seven-word instant verdict as the headline. This was one. I watched and listened as best I could and Gary Bennett got it spot-on – ‘no communication, no will to win, […]