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Sunderland FC Forums
2008-03-18 23:23:00
Sunderland FC Forums Sunderland FC forums pop up all the time over the world wobbly web, but very few have the staying power and before you know it they become desolate, disabled and/or abandoned.There has been one dominant forum on the block since the summer of 2002, commonly known as the SMB (Sunderland Message Board) which forms part of the RTG Message Boards, which in turn is part of the Ready To Go website which has been online since 1998. The SMB forum has and still is a fantastic way for SAFC fans to share a bit of banter about footy related issues and some great off topic threads have been posted over the years.Towards the end of 2007 though, the comfortable and familiar surroundings of the SMB took on a new focus, completely seperating footy only posts from the off topic stuff and the way this was done was to create a completely seperate forum, Pure Football, great if you want to concentrate purely on footy issues, but for those members that had become accustomed to the mix...
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RIP Hazey
2008-01-13 03:45:00
Given the lack of opportunity lately to post new entries it is with sadness that i write this latest entry. One of the SMB`s greatest contributers has sadly lost his fight against Cancer.Hazey passed away at 4am on the 6th of January after a painful fight against his cancer. Many of us Sunderland fans are united by the Sunderland Message Board and it is through this forum that we first learned of Hazeys condition, in his wisdom he went about setting up his own blog, Dull Ramblings which gives chapter after chapter of insight into the mind of one who had nothing but love to give including everything from his family to the creatures and all of nature he encountered, while at the same keeping us all informed in somewhat at times graphic detail.A very touching comment PM`ed to Hazey which he happily posted goes a little something like;"There was this Gadgy I knew of, but didn't know.We were acquaitances via Footy on the tinternet.The Bengal Lancer is claiming his Life, but not his So...

Sticky Toffee Puddings
2007-11-26 00:42:00
Abject misery are just a few words available in the english language to translate into feeling what a lot of us Sunderland fans are feeling right now after the display against the Toffees.Everton became a fixture where the staistics of shots on target were literally converted into goals and to be brutally honest we may well have been on the wrong end of a cricket score.Excerpts of Roy Keanes assessment of the match."I have never been on the end of anything like that in my career but I am more concerned about the team, the supporters and the whole club. We need to react in a positive way next weekend. "I hope it does not damage team morale, but only time will tell. We have good lads and this is hard to take, but in terms of the character of the people in the dressing room we have time now to react in the right way next weekend." source: (skysports.com)Well, yes we do need to bounce back against Derby next weekend and nothing less than a full blooded passionate display of loyalty to ...
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Sunderland Newcastle 2007
2007-11-07 23:59:00
The Derby match is nearly upon us once more, come Saturday (ko 12.45) are we going to be celebrating our first win against the Mags at home for the first time in 27 years? (Stan Cummins 1-0 Roker Park).The Mags enter the game following their first home defeat of the season to Portsmouth and we enter following our defeat away to Sven's Man City, this has absolutely no bearing on the match that will ensue.The whole of the seasons bragging rights at work and schools depends on the outcome of this one and be under no illusion it is one of the biggest derby games on the planet, to the neutral it means nothing but Mackems and Mags it is much bigger than any Man ure v Man City or Celtic v Rangers or those petty little London derbies, like Spurs v Arsenal or any other of the six thousand clubs in the capital.The north-east derby between Sunderland and Newcastle has developed over generations, our first meeting back in the FA Challenge Cup in 1888 ended with a 2 0 win for the lads thanks to...

Hands Up
2007-10-08 00:34:00
Hands up if you expected to get anything from the Emirates today? No i did not think so.As optimistic a Sunderland fan as i am i truly expected us to put up a fight and when we fell behind early doors i thought ok, tighten up and limit the damage, when the second one went in i thought oh *£$% the floodgates are going to open, thankfully Ross Walace managed to save us from what would have been an absolute tonking had Arsenal grabbed their third earlier.There is something brewing within the Sunderland squad this season i can sense it, is it going to be giving another team a hiding? i don't know but i am more than sure Keano will be making the headlines for all the right reasons, i hope it comes sooner rather than later.What is it about Blackburn last week that we could not do? was it because it was Arsenal that we seemed to raise our game, surely Blackburn was worthy of the same sort of performance, after all they are in the same league as us as well, what i mean to say is, have we...
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Devil the better you know
2007-08-31 10:16:00
It is no secret that Man U will be looking to upset Keanos return to Old Trafford by taking all 3 points against us, regardless of the reception he will get.Roy Keane as we all know spent a lot of effort and time doing all he could on the pitch as a Captain and player for the Red Devil s, but when he returns to his former employers with the Black Cats tomorrow all allegiances with Fergie and co will be set aside for the full duration of the match of that i am sure. He will be sending the lads on with a no fear attitude and he will be telling them not to be in awe of the occasion or the players they will be facing.Football can be a complete leveller regardless of the skill gap and Keano and his backroom have the knowledge to upset Alex Fergusons team of superstars, into the mix there are a few factors that need to go our way including a bit of luck.Mickey Chopra will be looking to add to his goal tally and i don`t care if he does take his top off when he celebrates his goal exposing ...

Stern Gives Bruce the Blues
2007-08-15 22:54:00
Stern John managed to rescue a point in the dying seconds in our game away at St Andrews tonight. After our last game against Tottenham Paul McShane easily scooped the Man of the match award but this time round he turned being a hero into being a villain, only through being in the wrong place at the wrong time, putting into his own net through a free kick floated towards the far post and Stephen Kelly nodding back across the six yard box and deflecting in of Paul McShane.It was not until the second half we managed to pull level through Chopra bagging his second goal in two games on 75 minutes, pure elation, Chops started this game as he rightly deserved after his weekend heroics against Spurs. He dashed towards goal with only his finish to concentrate on and yep you guessed it, with his new found confidence he let fly with a half volley that dipped over Doyle and into the back of the net, well deservedI do not mind admitting now that Birmingham away looked like a tasty encounter j...
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Choppy Start
2007-08-12 00:42:00
We may have left it late today but we managed it, a win against Spurs was exactly the kind of start we needed, points on the board will have settled a few of the lads' nerves. Holding top spot if only for a couple of hours before them up the road squeezed into 1st on goal difference by 4.45pmMartin Jols side came to the `SoL` with just as much time to prepare as we did, so if you hear that they had an off day, then i say shite, even the supposed better teams in the league can have an off day and still punish you. Spurs are supposedly tipped for a Champions League position at the end of the season, using their "Fantastic Four" strike force worth gazillions, hmmmm.Chopra managed to grab his goal on his home debut which will certainly settle any anxieties he may have had, solid displays from the majority of the lads with special mention to Nozza and McShane for keeping the tight back line and not allowing the Spurs frontline any time to get comfortable.Dickson Etuhu showed some good...
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Lucky Number 7
2007-08-08 22:30:00
Sunderland AFC`s seventh signing of the season has now been confirmed as Craig Gordon from Hearts for a reported £9m.This fee now completely smashes the fee we paid Rangers for Tore Andre Flop (£6.75m) and breaks all British transfer records for the transfer of any goalkeeper in British footballing history. This is also the 3rd highest fee paid for a goalkeeper in world footballing history the highest fee paid was for Gianluigi Buffon (£32.6m Parma to Juve) in 2001 where Gianluigi was quoted as saying "This is too much money for one player".If the fee we have paid for Craig who has already been tagged with the nickname "Flash" is going to effect his game or not will be apparent in the upcoming games, although Tottenham on Saturday may be a game too soon as he is nursing a shoulder injury.If you have read this far and you are wondering who "flash" is then the Sunderland Echo has gathered a few video clips for you to marvel at (cough cough apart from the own goal). If you are sc...
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Bohemians v Safc
2007-07-28 23:29:00
Tonights match via Setanta Sports against Bohemians ended in a win for the Black Cats courtesy of a Stern John header after just coming onto the pitch (78mins).This gave the majority of Sunderland fans with access to Setanta via the pubs and clubs an opportunity to take a closer look at our recent signings, granted they are just getting to know each others game right now give or take a few training sessions, but the £9m chunk of our transfer money so far managed to miss opportunities to add their first Sunderland goal by missing open nets. Firstly Michael Chopra heeled a close range effort over the bar from ridiculously close range then Kieron Richardson headed just over where it would have seemed impossible to miss.This is hardly an insightful description of what all these players are about, they have obviously got a lot more to show and our first game on the Irish tour will not bring the pressure and intensity of what a Premiership match will bring.Greg Halford gave a steady per...

Paul McShane
2007-07-27 00:54:00
Sunderland AFC`s newest player during the current window Paul McShane has made the relatively small trip from the Hawthorns to Join the Black Cats at the `SoL`.McShane becomes Keano`s sixth summer signing behind, Russell Anderson, Greg Halford, Kieran Richardson, Michael Chopra and Dickson Etuhu and takes Sunderlands current transfer spending to just under £15m, with fees for certain players rising dependant on us staying in the Premiership and/or appearances.£1.5m (rising to £2.5m dependant on conditions) seems like an absolute steal for a player of McShanes quality, standing 6' tall and with international experience under his belt, this 21 year old will hold no fear for the coming season, yet again Keano has brought in experience that has a definite positive feel about it, this time strengthening our defence.

Safc Toolbar
2007-07-13 00:54:00
I will rant about our recent signings in a minute but what i want to tell you about first is the Safc toolbar i have been developing for a while and with immediate feedback from Jay via the SMB (bassa :)) there is now version 1.1.What is the Safc Toolbar ?The answer is: see that thingy along the top of the page you are viewing, you know the bit that has a search box, back, forward, refresh etc. buttons within it? Well its one of them. But guess what the one i have developed is purely all aimed at Sunderland AFC, which means you get all the latest news from Safc.com, Ready to Go, this blog and others.It also includes links to all of the Sunderland footy sites that are being recommended by its users like the obvious ones: A Love Supreme, Safc.com, The Stat Cat and the SMB so far but guess what else as a user you get to tell me directly what you would like to see included!!!As if that would be the end of it! everyone who downloads the Safc Toolbar automatically has the ability to chat ...

Greg Halford
2007-06-12 17:00:00
Greg Halford has become Roy Keanes first Sunderland AFC signing of the closed season in a £3m deal which brings the 22 year old to the SoL.Greg is an experienced and specialist right back who will take on the right sided position where Danny Simpson left off after his return to Man U. Greg obviously prefers the top level even after only spending a brief stint there with Reading when he joined them in January although only making a handful of appearances in the Premiership he has earned his keep playing in the lower leagues eventually winning promotion with Colchester Utd in 2006.It is still very early days for our latest Black Cat but we wish him well and good luck for the new campaign.
More About: Greg

SAFC New Fixtures and Kit
2007-06-08 08:11:00
07/08 Fixtures for the Sunderland AFC will be published on the BBC and SAFC websites on Thursday 14th June and I for one wait in anticipation on who we will be playing first, last and then I will glance back over them again to see when we will be facing the auld enemy.A couple of weeks later June 29th sees the launch of the new Sunderland AFC Umbro away kit which sports the new Boylesports logo on a brand new white kit, you can pre-order your away kit now directly through SAFC.com.Sunderland FC have been linked to a whole barrel full of players during the closed season so far, the SAFC website has even gone as far as to list all of the players we have been linked with some of the more noteable names among them in my opinion would be the likes of: Eidur Gudjonsson (Barcelona), Sami Hyppia (Liverpool), Paul Scholes (Manchester United).The list also includes ex-safc players: David Bellion (Nice), Gavin McCann (Aston Villa) and Julio Arca (Middlesbrough).All of these players offer ...

Safc Blog Competition
2007-05-22 00:10:00
It has been 2 years since this Sunderland FC Blog first came into existence, to celebrate the 2nd anniversary I am going to give away a coveted Sunderland FC Watch paid for out of my very own pocket from my own hard earned cash.What do you have to do to get this around your wrist?Sunderland AFC have had a remarkable 06/07 season obviously returning to where we belong, but what I would like you as a safc supporter write a review of the 06/07 season, beginning with the end of our last Premiership campaign.I will leave the competition open for 4 weeks, starting today and ending on the 8th of June, after the 4 weeks are up I will publish a poll for visitors to vote for the best written article, there are no age or sex restrictions. The winning article will form part of the History of Sunderland AFC page, get started on your article and email it to: safcblogger@googlemail.com good luck.Upcoming news: Punjabi Army interview
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Na na na naaa Keanooooo..
2007-05-08 11:23:00
What a season! Roy Keane has started something very special at Sunderland FC, re-igniting the passion within the fans that had waded not more than 12 months ago.Sunderland AFC started the season on what was one of the lowest points in our history, dumped out of the Premiership with an all new record points tally.I am not going to dwell too much on last season because we are experiencing a brand new future at the club the likes of which are the envy of other clubs fans up and down the country.If Niall Quinn and the Drumaville Consortium had not been successful in bidding for Mr Murrays shares within the club towards the end of 2006, I can quite confidently say we would not be looking forward to the new 07/08 campaign in the Premiership, we would more likely be joining Leeds in the third tier of the Football League.The total transformation from Roy Keanes appointmant and the vision and backing from Niall and the rest of the consortium has left me completely gobsmacked! Thanks to Pres...

Just Like Watching Brazil
2007-04-28 16:53:00
Watching Sunderland FC as a Sunderland supporter is one of the most nerve jangling things a man can experience, the kind of ups and downs you experience is altogether very unhealthy and last nights game at home against Burnley was no different.The biggest crowd of the season (44,448) were entertained to a real footballing treat at the Stadium of Light.The first half was completely dominated by the Black Cats and the early goal from Daryl Murphy (14) from a David Connolly cross was exactly what we Sunderland fans needed, David chased what seemed like a lost cause away from goal and near to the bi-line and cut back a cross in with his right which Daryl anticipated ahead of any of the Burnley back four and tucked it away.This you would think would be the setting for the rest of the match, an early goal to settle both player and fan nerves, this would have been the case as well if only for a missed penalty with 19 minutes on the clock. The penalty for Sunderland was undeserved in reali...
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06/07 Safc Player of the Season
2007-04-23 05:11:00
Nearing the end of the season with just 2 games to go things are tightening right up at the top of the championship.Yesterdays 2 - 4 reverse by Birmingham against Wolves dropped us back into second place by 1 point and just ahead of Derby in third by a point, which means Derby need to drop all 3 in either of of their last 2 games and Sunderland AFC have to win just one to see us promoted.There are still quite a few other permutations but we cannot rely on other teams doing ud any favours, we will have to put the 3 - 1 defeat away to Colchester behind us and dig deep to cross the finish line.the 2006/07 season in the Coaca Cola Championship has been another coaster ride that we have come to expect as a Sunderland fan, but there have been quite a few positives including the emergence of new and rediscovered talent within the club, most noteably Nyron Noseworthy`s turn of form in comparison to last season.It is that time of year again to let the rest of us know who your player of the s...
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Party Poopers?
2007-04-20 17:32:00
Derby County tonight (ko 19:45) at home to Luton will be an eagerly awaited result for both Rams and Black Cat fans alike, a loss for Derby County will mean Sunderland AFC simply have to win against Colchester Utd tomorrow to see us promoted. Any other result will mean we will have to wait a little while longer.Derby currently stand 3rd on 78 points, 4 points behind the Black Cats and have not really experienced any kind of consistency in recent weeks although lowly Luton Town FC will make a fist of it I really do not expect any real suprises, Football is a fickle game though as we all know, so if the Rams do manage to slip up now, then the final icing on this seasons campaign can be applied.Tonights match may not be a deciding factor in our season, but away to Colchester tomorrow could be one of the trickiest encounters since the turn of the year and with one of the leading scorers in of Jamie Cureton we will have our work cut out, obviously we need to cut of the supply line to th...
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Boylesports.com
2007-04-19 09:02:00
I am extremely proud to announce that The Safc Blog has teamed up with Boylesports.com. We will be offering all visitors the opportunity to take a punt on all future Sunderland games along with other Premiership, Championship and a lot more football matches available through their easy to use betting slip.John Boyle has had the foresight to invest into our great club, with the potential investment of £10 million into Sunderland FC, I think it is only fair to offer some of my hard earned cash back to the club by having the odd flutter myself.

Relentless March
2007-04-15 23:08:00
You are well aware by now that Sunderland AFC hold the top of the Championship with the recent victory over QPR, all credit to John Gregory`s outfit who came to the stadium with a decent following and gave a good account in comparison to some of the teams that travel to face Sunderland AFC.Sunderlands relentless march back to the Premiership seems unstoppable right now and although the remaining 3 of Colchester, Burnley and Luton will still have to be overcome, I would still say we have the easiest of finales to this Championship season in comparison to Derby (Luton, Crystal Palace and Leeds) and Birmingham (Leicester, Wolves, Sheffield Wednesday and Preston).Birmingham FC may well have their eyes on Derbys position in the table right now and obviously that will be their primary focus hoping for the Rams to drop a few points among their final 3 games so that they can take full advantage of their game in hand.A huge welcome to boylesports.com whom have chosen Sunderland AFC to furthe...
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The Resurrection of Sunderland
2007-04-08 23:57:00
The Resurrection of Sunderland continues away to the Saints on Easter Monday, a very apt adaptation for what is the new religion of football. Mackems and Saints go head to head tomorrow looking for a vital 3 points to nail this Championship season and gain promotion back to the promised land and rid ourselves once and for all of the shroud of shame from last season.Our recently dethroned Mick McCarthy travelled back to Sunderland from the Midlands with his Wolves team along with a hint of trepidation I am sure, wondering what kind of response he would receive from the Sunderland faithful.Thankfully for Mick Mac it was not as bad as he may have expected and after the hammering he received from our next opponents Southampton the previous week I bet he also thought he was in for another trouncing on the pitch from the Black Cats considering our undeniable good form, that did not materialise either.As only the result will show a modest 2 -1 home win for the statasticians to ponder, wher...
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Sunderlands Promotion Race
2007-04-01 18:10:00
Sunderland took another vital step in the promotion race yesterday with a smash and grab at Ninian Park that brought us back up to second in the table.Ross Wallaces free kick was just reward from the Black Cats endeavour yet again. The international break seemed to make no difference at all and now the race back to the premiership continues.What did you think of the goal? I especially liked the paddy the goalie gave after the ball hit the back of the net. Let me know what you thought of the game.
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The Run In
2007-03-30 08:57:00
With the international break now over and Englands dissappointing exploits again on hold, the domestic season again will take focus and all eyes will be back on the promotion race as far as Sunderland is concerned with the next game at Ninan Park.The last seven games of the season see Sunderland sat 3rd in the table with only 10 points seperating 1st from from 7th, we are going to be facing 3 of our promotion chasing rivals amid those last games. Cardiff is the next obstacle in our way but will the break have helped or hindered our recent form? Which ever way you look at it, the lads are now in position to at least secure a play-off place if all things go well.This weekends match to one side I am hoping to secure some copyright permissions from a book publisher so that I can add a load of images to the blog from Sunderlands Footballing history, this will make for better reading of the Sunderland Football Blog.The next couple of projects I have got lined up for the blog included a p...

Sunderlands Global Support
2007-03-17 22:22:00
Sunderland AFC undoubtedly and deservedly brings support in the 100`s of thousands from around the globe, with renewed and enhanced eire connections it is not supprising our fanbase is growing not just in the Republic of Ireland, but also elsewhere around the world. When I last looked at my statistics for the Sunderland AFC blog I was supprised to see such diverse readership from countries like Kuwait, Finland, the Russian Federation, Canada, France and even from our Trinidadian support following Dwight and co. (you know who you are, and thanks for dropping by).It would be interesting to hear the thoughts or even to receive a few pics from our Safc supporters abroad during this promotion chasing season. If you have any pics to contribute I will be happy to put them on here for you, send a quick email with your pics or stories to dean[at]website-by-design.co.uk and I will include them within the supporters page.So we have now entered the automatic promotion spots on goal difference f...
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Youtube Supporters
2007-03-12 03:18:00
Great to see Sunderland AFC supporters are making good use from the best of what the web has to offer, this next video was produced by the Punjab Army, a group of dedicated sikh followers of Sunderland AFC.Although Arca appears in the video and I know he has gone a little further south down the road to Boro, I think the rest of the video encaptulates how most of us feel about Niall and Roy and what we are trying to achieve here in Sunderland.If you like this video and you want to watch a few more from Sunderland AFC supporters, great news! you can by visiting the section of the Youtube website dedicated to Sunderland AFC contributions by visiting the following link: Sunderland AFC on Youtube
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