Niall on the Road

As you may remember Niall Quinn is hitting the road during the month of March and meeting fans who have lapsed as either season ticket holders or pay at the door fans. His discussion at these meetings will be to try and get people back to the SOL on a regular basis and also to hear why fans are still staying away. The venue at Sedgefield racecourse at the end of March is one of the smallest venues and is practicaly full but I have been able to get 20 tickets (more if required) for one of the main events at Rainton Meadows Arena, Houghton-le Spring on March 7th at 8.00pm. Anyone interested in going and listening to what Niall has to say please contact me through the normal email or comment on this message . Oh forgot to say the tickets are free!

Regards

Jim Gilling

Where am I?

As I leave the building making my way back to my pick up point I can't but notice the amount of people in my way. The bridge over the train lines was never like this for a long time. Smiling faces, people jumping with joy. some jumping on each others backs saying what a great feeling it is, others just punching the air with grins like cheshire cats. As I get near the pick up point it's the same again everyone saying how they were going to enjoy the week-end and the night out tonight; even going home the moaning old twat said how good it was and he felt great; lets have more of the same next week.

So where was I?

Great Match - Roys Comments

Dear Coxhoe Branch,
I thought it was a close game, it could have gone either way. Both teams had chances, it was a great game for the neutral.
We conceded a last-minute goal on Tuesday [at Birmingham] and it was nice to score so late in an entertaining game.
Credit to Derby for coming here and having a go. Do I think we deserved it? It doesn't really matter what I think.
Derby are a very good team. We controlled the first half but when we conceded they were putting us under a lot of pressure.
Our lads dug deep and sometimes you need a little bit of luck, maybe we had that today.
It was our first penalty in 63 years ... or games!
Even if we had drawn I would have been proud of my players, I can't praise them enough, they were fantastic.
You can only pick 11 players and have five on the bench, I had to leave a few out. Stokes had a full game the other night and we felt we'd rest him up and get him ready for next week.
My gut feeling for certain games is to go a certain way and it means players are going to be disappointed.
Barnes is a talented lad. If I'm being overcritical, I'd look at our defending; but you've got to give credit to the lad, it was a top goal.
I still see Derby as favourites to go up. We're the fourth best team in the league at the moment because that's where we are in the table.
We've beaten Derby twice this season and in both games against them we've had a bit of luck.
If we had drawn today we would have slipped down the table to ninth, that's how tight it is - there are a few teams on good runs.
We keep going, we've got a very difficult game again next Saturday but we've got a belief.
I really enjoyed the game, even though there were concerns that we could have lost it. I just thought 'what will be, will be'.
I felt that Grant and Murph would have an influence coming off the bench and they did.
Regards,

Roy Keane
Sunderland 2 Derby County 1Click here to visit the safc.com Match Centre.
Next game: West Brom v Sunderland, Saturday March 3 (3pm).
Next home game: Sunderland v Stoke, Tuesday March 13 (8pm).
Click here to buy tickets online.

SAFC V DERBY

LEADERS DERBY NEXT UP AT THE SoL

Sunderland are looking to continue their seven-match unbeaten run with another strong home performance when top-of-the-table Derby come to the Stadium of Light this weekend.

Roy Keane’s side are currently seven games unbeaten – five of which have been wins – following their 1-1 draw at Birmingham on Tuesday night.

The Black Cats will also be hoping to maintain their impressive home form against the Rams after winning seven out of their last 10 games at the SoL, drawing the other two and losing just one.

They’ve also scored 16 goals in the last 10 home games and conceded just four, keeping five clean sheets.

Sunderland will be looking to continue their promotion push against Billy Davies’ Derby on Saturday, and cash turnstiles will be in operaytion for the game.

Tickets are priced from £8 juniors and £24 adults (£19 in concession areas). Concessionary tickets are not available from the cash turnstiles and must be purchased from the ticket office which will be open from 10am until kick-off.

The following cash turnstiles will be in operation: 7, 8, 39, 40, 47, 48, 55, 56, 63, 64, 65 and 66.

Tickets are available in person from the Stadium of Light ticket office or by calling 0845 671 1973 (local rate number, 24 hours).

Supporters can also purchase match tickets online via the club’s official website, www.safc.com, 24 hours a day.

More Barnsley rules and regulations

Supporters are advised that the Club’s forthcoming fixture against Barnsley will be an all-ticket for both Sunderland and Barnsley fans. There will be no cash turnstiles on the day of the game and supporters not in possession of a valid match ticket should not travel.
There will be no alcohol served to visiting supporters inside Oakwell and supporters are advised by South Yorkshire Poloce not to enter Barnsley town centre as the area may not be able to safely accommodate large numbers of visitors. There are also no designated "away pubs" in Barnsley town centre.
The kick off time has been changed to 1:30pm at the request of South Yorkshire police in order to safely accommodate the large numbers of Sunderland fans who are expected to travel.

Advice to Coaches from South Yorkshire Police:Sunderland coaches should travel via the A1 leading onto the M1. Coaches will be required to line up on the hard shoulder of the Southbound lane of the M1 leading up to J37 of the M1. Coaches should arrive at the above rendezvous point between 11:30am and 12:30pm on 10.03.07. Due to the sheer number of coaches attending, supporters must ensure that they arrive between the times stated above.

Barnsley Away - excellent dayout shagged by the police

Sunderland AFC would like to advise supporters that the Club’s forthcoming game against Barnsley FC at Oakwell on Saturday March 10th will now kick off at 1:30pm, not 3pm as originally scheduled.

The kick off time has been changed at the request of South Yorkshire police in order to safely accommodate the large numbers of Sunderland fans who are expected to travel.

Supporters are also advised that this will be an all-ticket for both Barnsley and Sunderland fans and there will be no cash turnstiles on the day of the game.
There will also be no alcohol served to visiting supporters inside the ground.

Petition to reduce prices at Football grounds

Takes a minute to do. Just a petition someone has set up to try and put pressure on clubs to reduce the cost of match tickets. Can't ever see it happening, but might as well give an opinion.

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/ticketprices/sign

SAFC V STOKE CITY

Sunderland’s forthcoming game against Stoke City at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday March 13th 2007 has been selected for live transmission by Sky TV.

The game was originally scheduled to kick off at 7:45pm and has now been switched to 8pm.

The Zoo Incident

What a carry on, to, a) get into this blog for a start. (whats Google playing at?) and b) Saturday night.

Alcohol , it's an evil drug, but hey man, this is rock n roll.

Was nowt to it really, drummer gets pissed, can't keep the rythmn as he sit with a grin on his face ( you know the sort I mean, one of them hey man I'm pissed grins). Bass player can't work without a drummer in time, puts his instrument and the drummer down and walks off.

Front man saves the day with a virtuoso performance that has the crowd baying for more.

Both lads apologetic afterwards.

Check it out on Youtube. The links in the thread title.

There a re some others on YouTube from the night too.

HH

Last Night in Coxa Club

Last week me and MrsG went to Kella Club for a change and it was like a zoo.
Last night we returned back to our patch downstairs in Coxa club only to hear of the Zoo event upstairs and the drummer getting zonked from the drink and from the bass player. Huyton was there and posted a bit on You Tube but lets have a written rendition Huyton reckon when it was a solo performance the night went down well? Not too much excitment downstairs the lights and amps went off about 10.45 and for once I was innocent! The singer kicked fuck out her tape machine as it was drunk and out of tune.

Let's hear from you Huyton.

Message from Roy as our £2m man hits the net.

Dear Coxhoe Branch,
It meant Plymouth had to come at us a bit more and they were going to leave gaps, and with the quality we have, especially going forward, and the quality of players we have on the bench, we knew we could cause them problems going the other way.
But first and foremost we had to be solid, and I think generally we were. Stokesey has had a hectic couple of months, he’s been away with Ireland and it’s great he got his first cap and he got on today.
He gives us plenty of options. He’s the kind of player we can bring from the bench and that could be the difference at the end of the season.
I think Marton (Fulop) made a very important save at the beginning of the first half, a very good save, and it changes the course of the game. If they’d have scored that and with their fans behind them it would have been difficult – even towards the end they were pushing and they had one or two chances in the last five minutes, but Marton looked very solid.
I’m delighted with Marton, he’s been patient. He’s been away playing for his country this week and Wardy didn’t recover from his hamstring, so it gives me great pleasure in terms of lads coming in and doing a job for the team.
Danny (Simpson) has just come off with a bit of cramp, but he hasn’t played a lot of football.He’s had a couple of weeks training and we’ve been looking to get Deano back into midfield, he and Yorkie have got experience in the middle of the park and they showed that today.
I won’t be too bothered about the league tables until May. But I’ve said before I think we have a very difficult run-in, but we just keep going and keep our heads down.
We had some great support today, 1,600 fans and they were right behind us, and we’re giving ourselves a chance.
Regards,

Roy Keane
Plymouth 0 Sunderland 2Click here to visit the match centre
Next game:Sunderland v Southend UnitedSaturday, February 17 (3pm)
Click here to buy tickets online

Message from Keano ..... not good but 3 points in the bag.

Dear Coxhoe Branch,
I’m delighted with the win – a clean sheet, three points, and we move on.
The performance was OK. We can play better, but we’ve played better in other games and we’ve not really got anything, so that’s football, as they say.
Yorkie is different class, he has been the last few games. His performances have been good and he’s knocked in a few goals in the last few games, so I’m delighted with Yorkie, I have to say.
We’ve had to chop and change it again, we picked up a few injuries in traning, so Stern (John) came straight in, Stan (Varga) came back into the fold and it was nice to see Danny get on, I thought he looked very comfortable.
In the middle of the park he (Yorke) is a vital addition to any team, just to keep their head, keep the ball and try to dictate the pace of the game, it’s vital.
It was a great goal (Edwards) and his work-rate is never in question, we saw that when he was at Luton and he’s the type of player I like, he works his socks off for the team, and he’s scored a couple of goals in the last few weeks so we’ve got plenty of options in midfield, and we need that.
David Connolly got a nasty knock in training on Thursday. He saw a specialist on Thursday and Friday and he’s been told to rest for a few days, I gave him the weekend off. His face is very, very badly swollen, there’s a lot of bleeding around the eye area and we have to monitor him over the next few days, so it was a straight-forward decision to rest him today, it’s a very nasty injury.
Credit to Coventry they came with the extra man in the middle of the park, the fact that we scored in the first 20 minutes meant they had to come at us a little bit, obviously different to the other night (Palace), so they came and you look at the saves Wardy has made, we’ve kept a clean sheet and especially in the second half when they were bombing on and gambling, we got people in the way.
I thought Danny Collins did very well again, Nuggsy, big Stan, Danny when he came on, Deano – and again, clean sheets are very nice and I’m sure the defenders will get a lot of credit for that.
All the best,

Roy Keane
Sunderland 2 Coventry City 0Click here to visit the match centre
Next match:Plymouth Argle v SunderlandSaturday, February 10 (3pm)
Next home game:Sunderland v Southend UnitedSaturday, February 17 (3pm)
Click here to buy tickets online

Fixtures and Tickets

COCA COLA CHAMPIONSHIP
Plymouth Argyle
Home Park
Saturday 10th February 2007
Kick Off 3.00pm

General Sale
Tickets are on general sale now.

Prices
Adults £22. U16 £6 Senior citizen £15, Full time student £15 (Proof at time of purchase and on the turnstile required).

COCA COLA CHAMPIONSHIP
Birmingham City
St Andrews
Tuesday 20th February 2007
Kick Off 7.45pm

General Sale
General sale will commence from 10am Thursday 8th February 2007.

Prices
Adults £27, OAP, *Student, U16 £15 U12 £7.50
· proof of full time student concession required at time of purchase and on the turnstiles

COCA COLA CHAMPIONSHIP
West Bromwich Albion
The Hawthorns
Saturday 3rd March 2007
Kick Off 3.00pm

Season Ticket Holders
Season ticket holders have until 3.00pm Saturday 17th February 2007 to apply – voucher 45 required.

General Sale
General sale will commence from 10am Thursday 22nd February 2007.

Prices
Adults £23, OAP and U18 £14, U16 £11

COCA COLA CHAMPIONSHIP
Barnsley
Oakwell
Saturday 10th March 2007
Kick Off 3.00pm

Season Ticket Holders
Season ticket holders have until 3.00pm Saturday 24th February 2007 to apply – voucher 46 required.

General Sale
General sale will commence from 10am Thursday 1st March 2007.

Prices
Adults £20, OAP and U18 £12, U11 £6

Nearly United

"...Sky news have just reported that Freddie Shepherd gave a statement to the stock exchange this morning at 9.18 am regarding Newcastle UTD PLC nearly signing David Beckham, Dirk Kuyt, Tevez and Mark Viduka. The statement was greeted with astonishment and then a deathly hush descended on the floor as the fat Geordie Chairman proudly pronounced the shock transfers who he nearly signed for the club. Newcastle UTD shares rocketed to £1.81 on hearing the news of these near signings.

Jose Mourinho was quick to reply on Sky Sports News about the statement.He said "how can Chelsea complete with Newcastle on these terms, they are nearly buying all the top players, I see reports on TV that they nearly signed David Beckham and then only 24 hours later Fat Freddy tells the stock exchange that they nearly bought Dirk Kuyt in the summer, It is just spoiling game!.

Sir Alex Ferguson was also quick to comment "this is just ridiculous that Newcastle are once again nearly signing all the top players available, they nearly signed Wayne Rooney and they nearly signed Ronaldo!..the whole thing needs sorting out or else Newcastle Utd nearly signing players policy will ruin our beautiful game!. A spokesman from Newcastle UTD PLC said these words in retaliation "I have heard Jose mourinhos and Alex Fergusons comments, just because we are actively nearly signing the top players in the world does not mean that we are spoiling the game, just raising the standards of nearly signing players, these players were nearly signed but remember we nearly signed Wayne Rooney, Ronaldinho, Zidedine Zidane, Ronaldo.

Outside St James park a crowd of 4 gathered on hearing the shock news, one fan called Keegan Beardsley who had just paid £33 for a shirt worth £2 and the words "nearly Beckham! proudly displayed on the back, had this to say via an interpreter (no one could understand him)! Arl reet dee yee smerk tarbs? Wore gannin pleeces this cloob...wore nearly gannin to get Christiano Ronaldo next week like!..."