ALS: SAFC Fanzine

ALS: SAFC Fanzine IN PRINT. ONLINE. IN STORE. FANZINE/AWAY TRAVEL/FAN SHOP: ALL @ ALSHQ OPPOSITE SOL. NO 1 INDEPENDENT FAN VENT SINCE 1989. NINE TIMES UK FANZINE OF THE YEAR

Following Sunderland AFC is easy. Being emotionally attached to them is a bloody nightmare. But then, we don’t need to tell you about that because you get it; you’re one of us. We know you’re one of us because you’re supposed to be doing something else now. Obviously, we don’t know what that something else is – we’re not psychic – but whether it’s working, shopping, cleaning, decorating or reinvig

orating that flailing relationship, the point is that you’re not doing it. You’re on here reading stuff about Sunderland, which means you’re all right by us. The world is littered with people like you and us, people whose day to day lives - the bits that happen in between watching the lads – are only made bearable by devoting as much of them as we can get away with talking about, thinking about, reading about and fantasising about a team that last won a major trophy in 1973. We’re all in it for the ride and not the destination, and we’re all on the same side, however tortuous that journey becomes. At the back end of the 1980s, football fanzines began to sweep the country and in 1989 we were presented with a new vehicle on which to enjoy some of this ride – A Love Supreme. ALS was a place we could all go to celebrate and commiserate being a Sunderland fan. Win, lose or draw, the pages of the fanzine became solace for many of us as we stumbled our way through our day to day lives, punctuated by the ups and downs of more match days than any of us care to remember. In the years since its inception, a stupidly ridiculous number of Sunderland fans have expressed their love for God’s own football team in their own way through its pages. Some of it was funny, some of it deadly serious, some of it critical, some of it complimentary, but all of it was heartfelt. Even the most biting, radical, critical stuff, written by fans at the depth of despair comes from the bottom of their heart, no matter how hard it is for many of us to swallow.

Coach travel for the trip to Bournemouth on Saturday February 28th. We leave from the SoL at midnight. Instead of leavin...
04/01/2026

Coach travel for the trip to Bournemouth on Saturday February 28th. We leave from the SoL at midnight. Instead of leaving in the early hours of the morning for this one, we are leaving at midnight to give everyone a bit more time in Bournemouth before the match. This also makes it easier for people to arrive at the SoL via public transport.

RLB PRE SPURSRégis Le Bris met the press ahead of our trip to Tottenham Hotspur and despite the excellent performance ag...
04/01/2026

RLB PRE SPURS

Régis Le Bris met the press ahead of our trip to Tottenham Hotspur and despite the excellent performance against Manchester City, the gaffer knows it won’t be easy…

TOUGH
“We are expecting another tough challenge in a great stadium. It’s exciting for the squad, but we have to recover quickly after Thursday’s game against Manchester City.”

ROTATION?
“At the minute, I don’t know. We will see how people recover.”

SPURS
Thomas Frank is a great manager who has worked at a high level for a long period of time. They have many good players and are well organised, but probably a bit inconsistent. We can’t expect gifts from them, so let’s focus on ourselves. Football is so unpredictable, so the most important thing is for us to play our game.”

MAYENDA
“Eliezer showed he can be at the level in another position. It was totally different from his start to the season when he played as a striker. He played in a hybrid role against Manchester City with important tasks. He has great quality and is still young, so he is learning from different experiences.”

BROBBEY
“Brian was a little bit tight, but at the minute it is not serious.”

OTD: KABOUL BORN Born on this day in 1986 is former Sunderland defender Younes Kaboul, who also played for today’s oppos...
04/01/2026

OTD: KABOUL BORN

Born on this day in 1986 is former Sunderland defender Younes Kaboul, who also played for today’s opposition Tottenham Hotspur during his playing days.

Before coming to Sunderland, the Frenchman had gained a reputation for being a reliable Premier League defender - albeit with a poor injury record, which was probably why we were able to sign him. Dick Advocaat was still in charge during that summer of 2015, coming out of retirement after our fans bought his wife some flowers. Kaboul had been playing in England for eight years with two spells at Spurs and one decent stint at Portsmouth.

Although Younes eventually became a fan favourite and a bit of a cult hero on Wearside, his time here got off to a very rocky start. His league debut for us came on the opening day of 2015/16 where we lost 4-2 to Leicester City. At the time, they’d just survived relegation by the skin of their teeth - yet incredibly this was the start of their amazing Premier League-winning year! Kaboul played another 90 minutes the following week, where we were beaten 3-1 by Norwich City on our own turf.

Five games in and we hadn’t won a game yet, with just two points on the board. Up next, we went to the south coast to face Bournemouth. Kaboul was given the captain’s armband as the Black Cats aimed to earn a positive result against Eddie Howe’s Cherries, who at that point had never, ever, won a Premier League game at home. Of course, as was typical of Sunderland during this era, they put two past us in the first ten minutes and cruised to a 2-0 victory (goals coming from future Dirty Mags, Callum Wilson and Matt Ritchie). Kaboul didn’t even finish the match, receiving a second yellow card on 73 minutes for a foul on Wilson. It summed up a clumsy and reckless performance from himself and the team as a whole.

That red card actually put Kaboul in the history books… for the wrong reasons. It was the sixth red card of his career and whilst seven other players have been sent off more times, Kaboul received more reds per match than any other player to have received five or more reds in their career. At the time, he averaged a sending-off every 26 Premier League appearances. For reference, Roy Keane received a red for every 52 appearances!

By the time it got to mid-October, we still hadn’t won a Premier League game. Advocaat was replaced by Big Sam and in just his second game in charge, we beat the Mags 3-0 at the SoL. It was a great day, of course it was, and Kaboul certainly played his part. He’s famous for that marauding run late in the game and an inch-perfect cross for Steven Fletcher. For a centre half to burst down the left wing on 86 minutes, and to produce a first-time ball of such quality, was simply incredible to see. Despite his shaky start to life as a Sunderland player, he was instantly forgiven.

Towards the end of 2015/16 Kaboul was an integral part of Allardyce’s system, with his partnership with Lamine Kone proving to be rock-solid. He played 11 of our last 12 fixtures, overseeing a run where we lost once in 10 of those. This included the famous 3-2 win against Chelsea, one of the loudest atmospheres the SoL had seen, and of course that 3-0 against Everton to keep us up and send the Mags down. Despite his defensive partner Kone scoring twice that day, it was Kaboul who was named Man of the Match due to his monstrous performance in keeping the clean sheet. He cried on the pitch afterwards. Sunderland had given him a chance when many clubs would have been put off by the injuries, and he re-found the form he’d once had at Tottenham. He was a brilliant defender for us and brought the best out of Kone alongside him.

Sadly, Younes only managed one game the following year before it emerged that he would be leaving the club due to personal reasons. SAFC did the right thing by stepping aside and accepting a bid from Watford, to allow Kaboul to move down south. It was a real shame - he was a great leader and his experience was crucial in that side. Without Kaboul, Lamine Kone was never the same player. Once Younes left, it became clear that he had been talking Kone through games and telling him exactly where to be and what to do.

Two years at Watford followed, but he wasn’t able to recapture that form which made him such a favourite in the North East. Not bad for a player whose agent once said: “Younes wouldn’t join Sunderland even if there was an earthquake. We have more interesting options than Sunderland. Don’t even think about it.”

SPURS FAN VIEWAhead of the trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Samuel Johnson from spurs-web.com to find out the...
03/01/2026

SPURS FAN VIEW

Ahead of the trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Samuel Johnson from spurs-web.com to find out the craic…

So, 12th in the table after 19 games. What's been the story of Tottenham's season so far?
There was a lot of promise shown by Tottenham after the opening games of the season, from almost defeating PSG in the Super Cup to conquering Manchester City at the Etihad. However, things went downhill and haven’t picked up since. There’s a real lack of creativity in the side and this seems to be a mentality issue as much as anything. Spurs have been set up to play defensive and that means we’ll pick up a few wins here and there against clubs who don’t have much attacking threat, but we’re not trying to hurt teams the way we should. The 0-0 draw against Brentford tells us everything we need to know. Guglielmo Vicario was booked for time wasting, so clearly a point at the Gtech is viewed as a positive result now.

Who has been your best/favourite player this campaign?
Micky van de Ven has been Tottenham’s best player this season. He’s the kind of defender who always leaves you knowing exactly how much he’ll contribute to a game. Having a player at the back with his speed is really useful and he was even chipping in with a few goals until his recent dry patch. A lot of rival fans like to claim van de Ven and Romero are overrated, but there’s a reason Real Madrid are rumoured to be interested in the Dutchman.

What are your thoughts on manager Thomas Frank?
Personally, I was never keen on appointing Thomas Frank and this was because his greatest achievement was getting Brentford promoted to the Premier League. Of course, hiring proven winners at the highest level such as Jose Mourninho and Antonio Conte doesn’t always work out, but I didn’t see Frank as someone who would be winning silverware. I must admit that I started viewing him more positively earlier in the season when we were getting some good results, but we’ve been poor for some time now. Frank manages this Tottenham team as if they’re at the same level as Brentford. He’s using last season’s 17th place finish as a measurement for success when we should be aiming for the Champions League spots. Under Ange Postecoglou there were times when we were too brave to the point of naivety, but the problem with Frank is we’ve turned into absolute cowards.

Richarlison is your top scorer with seven, what kind of player is he?
Richarlison is a difficult player to wrap your head around. He’s scoring more than anyone else in the Spurs team and a lot of fans still want him gone at the nearest possible opportunity. As a goalscorer, he’s doing a decent job this season, but he’s a long way off being the complete striker. It would be great to have a combination of Richarlison’s goalscoring ability with Dominic Solanke’s link-up play. That’s what Tottenham need up front.

What have you made of Sunderland's return to life in the top flight?
Even though Sunderland didn’t finish third, I thought they’d have a better chance of staying up than Sheffield United if they got promoted. To be sitting in seventh halfway through the season is impressive and it’s refreshing to see a team make the step up from the Championship and actually compete. Taking points off Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City is some achievement and shows how difficult a team they are to defeat.

Which of our players has caught your eye and worries you the most?
I’m no fan of Granit Xhaka with him being a former Arsenal player, but he has been a big player for Sunderland this season. I was surprised by his move from Bayer Leverkusen that was money well spent. He’s a good creator and helps bring balance and control to the team as well. I don’t have confidence that Tottenham will win the midfield battle on Sunday, especially with all our unavailable players.

Alternatively, who should we be looking out for?
There aren’t really any Spurs players that will be causing opposing teams to worry at the moment if truth be told. We sold Heung-min Son in the summer, while James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski are injured. That’s a significant chuck of our attacking threat gone. If I had to name one player it would probably be Richarlison, simply because he could end up scoring even on a bad day.

What's your score prediction? Who will get the goals?
I can’t come on here representing a Tottenham perspective and predict us to lose. Then again, it’s hard to predict a win based on the way we’re playing, so I’ll go with a 1-1 draw. Brian Brobbey will put Sunderland ahead before Richarlison levels it. I’d be tempted to predict an Archie Gray goal as he scored the winner against Crystal Palace and had another headed chance against Brentford. Mohammed Kudus is another contender. He hasn’t scored in a few games and will surely score again at some point, but Richy is the safest pick.

Where do you think both sides will finish this year?
Sunderland are doing well to grind out results, but they’ve been drawing a lot of matches recently. I don’t see them remaining in the European spots, but a mid-table finish could well be on the cards. Tottenham could end up in a similar position if Frank stays on as manager. We’re not consistent enough to be finishing where we’d like to be.

Finally, where would you recommend for our away following to grab food or drink before the match?
The Bricklayers is the place to be if you’re a Tottenham fan, but for visiting supporters I’d recommend the Antwerp Arms. The Beehive is a decent option too, although it’s a bit further away from the stadium. Alternatively you could just get something at the ground as it’s got a lot more options than your standard arena.

HUUUUUMEBY JACK DODDS Tomorrow marks four years since Trai Hume joined Sunderland for a reported fee of £200,000. From o...
03/01/2026

HUUUUUME
BY JACK DODDS

Tomorrow marks four years since Trai Hume joined Sunderland for a reported fee of £200,000. From only making three appearances in his first season as a Sunderland player to establishing himself as a Premier League regular, the boy from Ballymena has been on some journey.

Hume’s lack of minutes during his early days as a Sunderland player came as a shock to the Sunderland fan base. Despite having to fight with Championship outfits Stoke City and Preston North End, amongst other British clubs, for his signature, Trai only played three times for us between the fourth of January and the end of the season. Lynden Gooch and Carl Wi******er kept him out of the team at right-back.

It was our first season back in the Championship, however, when he established himself as a first-team regular. Again, he wasn’t in favour at the beginning of the campaign, only registering 38 minutes of football in our first 15 games. He played a bit-part role until half way through the campaign, at which point he started the final twenty-one games of the season in a row.

We surprised everyone by making the Play-Offs that season, winning 3-0 away at Preston on the last day of the season to do so. Hume played every minute of both the home and away leg to Luton Town, in a back-three which scarily consisted of himself, Luke O’Nien and Lynden Gooch. Despite playing against one of the tallest and most physical teams that the English Football League has seen in recent years, the five foot eleven-inch Hume headed in the winner in the first leg.

Since then, the Northern Ireland captain has gone on to become an integral part of our squad, playing almost every minute of the two Championship campaigns that followed across an array of different positions and under four different managers. His versatility and robustness, along with his extremely high levels of stamina and professionalism are what have solidified him as one of our most important players over the last few seasons and are what has kept him in the side as we take on the Premier League, despite many others having not been granted the same opportunity.

Trai Hume’s future and whether he possessed the quality to play significant minutes in the Premier League divided the fan base. Whilst many believed he’d be good enough and had earned an opportunity to compete for a spot in the starting eleven, there were certainly calls for a more experienced full-back to come in. He started the first twelve league games of the campaign, however, and silenced his critics with stellar performances, also ensuring he didn’t allow VAR to put an end to his ferocious tackles.

He proved that he was more than good enough in those opening fixtures, but has now found himself as the second choice right-back, when all our defenders are fully fit and available. Yet he has still found his way into the team and made himself undroppable whilst we cope without the African Cup of Nations contingent representing their countries. His ability to play a range of positions, come in and out of the team and do whatever is asked of him for a specific game is exceptional and has helped us greatly whilst our options have been depleted, whilst keeping himself in the team.

He added energy to a side that had battled from two behind to help us pick up all three points at home to Bournemouth, coming off the bench, before lining up on the right side of midfield away to Liverpool and being part of a side that picked up a point away at the Premier League champions.

Four days later he was then shifted to left wing back away at Man City, before then being reverted to the bench for the derby. His aggression and tenacity were exactly what we needed as we saw out the game against Newcastle, as well as the outlet that he offered us to relieve the pressure. He also managed to pull off one of his classic sliding tackles on Lewis Hall in the dying moments, which was probably a perfect representation of how each side approached that match.

He most recently lined up on the right side of midfield against Man City, as we kept a clean sheet and took a point off one of the best teams in world football. Le Bris described it as a ‘hybrid role’ with Hume dropping in as a wing back to support Geertruida then getting forward to support Elizer Mayenda. The Spaniard and the Northern Irishman seemed to beat England international Nico O’Reilly every time they went up against him, providing dangerous threat and coming close to scoring. Hume also seemed to be popping up in central midfield at times, especially during the second half, making some crucial interceptions and defensive blocks. Some would argue he was man of the match, which was officially awarded to Nordi Mukiele.

His honest and hard-working playing style, matched with the resilience and discipline required to play the role of a versatility man so well, also makes him the perfect example of a player who represents Sunderland. From the proud working-class history of the area represented in his work ethic and stamina, to our track record of idolising true grafters who love to get stuck in and would run through a brick wall for the badge.

Having been bought for £200,000 whilst we were still in League One, we have to look back at this acquisition as one of the best of the KLD era, and the perfect example of what our model tries to achieve in developing young and hungry players. He has progressed from a League One bench warmer to one of the most valuable and important assets in a side who are currently 7th in the Premier League (at the time of writing). As the Northern Ireland national team captain, he also has the potential to lead his side to their first World Cup since 1986 in the summer. His exemplary attitude to do whatever is needed of him for the team makes him a great example to young players coming through and someone whose absence we’d definitely notice. Having already written his name in Sunderland history, the boy from Ballymena has the potential to become an all-time Sunderland great.

Just wanna say, I’ve got a Man Crush on Omar Alderete. Dream central defender…
03/01/2026

Just wanna say, I’ve got a Man Crush on Omar Alderete. Dream central defender…

We’re not open today but popped down for a snowball fight…
03/01/2026

We’re not open today but popped down for a snowball fight…

OTD: JONNY EVANS BORNOn this day in 1988, former Sunderland centre-back Jonny Evans was born in Belfast. He played for t...
03/01/2026

OTD: JONNY EVANS BORN

On this day in 1988, former Sunderland centre-back Jonny Evans was born in Belfast. He played for the club 35 times across two different loan spells from Manchester United, scoring once and helping us to the Championship title in 2007.

Evans began his career at Man United, featuring for them in pre-season of the 2006/07 campaign before being loaned out to Royal Antwerp in Belgium. He played 14 times for his temporary club, making his senior debut in a 2-0 home win over KAS Eupen in the Belgian Second Division in August 2006 and then netting his first senior goal in a 2-1 defeat to KV Oostende the following month. In total, he scored three times for Antwerp - not bad for a defender. In the same month as his first senior goal, he earned his first cap for Northern Ireland in a notable 3-2 win on home soil against eventual European champions Spain in a qualifier for the European Championship.

In the January transfer window, he made the switch to Sunderland on a loan deal until the end of the season. His first game for the Lads was in a 1-0 loss to Preston North End in the FA Cup. Evans’ first league game however was more successful, as he helped us to a clean sheet at home to Ipswich Town, with us winning 1-0. He contributed to eight clean sheets in 19 games in his first spell with the club, helping us push up from mid-table to champions of the second tier. His only goal for Sunderland came via a header in a 2-0 win against Hull City, with Evans scoring the opening goal just three minutes after kick-off.

Our manager, Roy Keane, wanted to re-sign him in the summer 2007 transfer window but Alex Ferguson elected to keep him at United to let him fight for a place. He made just three appearances in the next half-season, although two of those did come in the Champions League. His debut for his parent club came in a defeat to Coventry City in the League Cup in September.

So, he was back to the North East with SAFC on loan to get himself more game time. Unfortunately, his second debut for the club was one to forget, as his mistake caused Wigan Athletic's second goal in their 3-0 triumph over us in the FA Cup. Mirroring his first period at the club though, he was back stronger in the league, helping us to a clean sheet against Portsmouth as we won 2-0 on his Premier League debut.. This time around, he was involved in five clean sheets out of 16 matches. We were in the relegation zone when he rejoined but we mustered up a 15th-placed finish to keep us up.

The Northern Ireland international would go on to play 198 games and score seven goals for Man U before he left in 2015, winning three Premier League titles, two League Cups, four Community Shields, one Champions League and one Club World Cup along the way. After this multitude of trophies he continued his career in the English top flight with West Bromwich Albion, making just under 100 appearances in three seasons. Evans wasn’t able to keep them in the top flight though, as they were relegated in last place in 2018.

Leicester City rescued him from playing outside of the top league however and he’d feature in over 150 games for them, most notably helping them to an FA Cup in 2021. He was back playing in Europe too, in the form of the Europa League and Europa Conference League. It ended on a sour note again though, as City were relegated to the Championship in 2023.

He concluded his career where it all began on the red side of Manchester, donning their shirt another 43 times in two seasons and getting himself an FA Cup winners’ medal too in 2024. By winning that trophy, he got his hands on the only major domestic trophy in England that he hadn’t won with Manchester United yet but he also prevented Newcastle United getting Europe by winning it. Nice one, Jonny. He probably didn’t expect to feature so heavily at that stage of his career, but a United injury crisis meant he was actually one of their most crucial and competent defenders.

Internationally, he earned 107 caps for Northern Ireland, scoring six goals from the heart of defence. He represented Norn Iron at Euro 2016, playing in all four of their matches. His brother, Corry, also played for Sunderland, captaining the Lads to promotion via the play-offs out of League One in 2022. The Northern Irishman was also awarded an MBE in 2023.

Happy 22nd birthday to Sunderland's record signing Habib Diarra! 🎂
03/01/2026

Happy 22nd birthday to Sunderland's record signing Habib Diarra! 🎂

PEP ON SAFC DRAWPep Guardiola admitted he was happy with a draw against Sunderland given how hard it is for opposition t...
02/01/2026

PEP ON SAFC DRAW

Pep Guardiola admitted he was happy with a draw against Sunderland given how hard it is for opposition teams to come to the Stadium of Light and get a result.

TAKE THE POINT
“I’ll take the point against this team at this stadium. It was a really good game. The guys are a bit head down but we have to be heads up in three days when we have a difficult game against Chelsea.”

SAFC HARD TO BEAT
“Sunderland are really good, they are so strong, so physical. It’s a tough place to come. In the first half we struggled against their pressing. Then Rodri came on and broke their lines and the second half was excellent. I was very pleased with the performance but we could not convert our chances in the six-yard box. We just missed a finishing touch. It’s a mystery that we could not score.”

PROUD OF THE TEAM
"I am so proud and delighted with the way we played at this difficult stadium against a difficult opponent. We did everything to win but in the end we couldn't do it."

FRUSTRATION?
"No. I'm old enough not to get frustrated by a result in football."

RODRI CAME ON AT HALF TIME
"He proved in 45 minutes that he is the best in his position. Football is about the players. In the build-up, they struggled in the first half and then with Rodri they struggled less. We broke the lines, were more fluid and were better. When we are without him we miss him a lot, so hopefully he can stay fit because he makes us a better team."

DONNARUMMA VS LO9
"This sometimes happens in football. It's nothing important, nobody was hurt. Nothing happened!"

CHANCE CREATION
"They were really good, it was a surprise. But we created a lot. I don't know another team who is able to come here and create what we created. Even in the first half the goal was marginally offside."

RLB POST CITYRegis Le Bris praised his squad after a hard-fought draw against Manchester City, singling out Eliezer Maye...
02/01/2026

RLB POST CITY

Regis Le Bris praised his squad after a hard-fought draw against Manchester City, singling out Eliezer Mayenda in his return to the starting 11. He gave a brief fitness update on Brian Brobbey who limped straight down the tunnel after coming off, and also spoke about Man City's title race and how they compare to Arsenal...

CITY V ARSENAL
"They are really good. It will be a question of consistency, it’s always the case. They are a bit different, but I think they are competitive for the title. I think probably in a few words, I would say Arsenal are a bit more clinical, a bit more direct with their ability to score, even if it’s not pass, pass, pass. Here, we can feel the identity of Pep Guardiola. Even if Mikel Arteta is Spanish as well, I think Guardiola is impressive in the way he can build up the play."

MAYENDA DID WELL
“I'm really happy for Eli, for example, because he started the season, then struggled a bit for different reasons, and he stayed connected with the squad. I told the lads in the dressing room that even if you don't play, it shows that when you have your opportunity, if you train properly, if you stay positive, you will have this opportunity and it will be good when you start."

TACTICALLY FLEXIBLE
"He showed today that he can be at the level in another position. It was totally different from the start of the season when he played as a striker. Here he played in a hybrid role with important defensive tasks in the deep block, for example. I'm really confident with him because he has great quality and he's still really young. He's learning from different experiences and he's probably a bit more versatile as well, which is really important for a manager.”

DESERVED AT LEAST A POINT
“One more good point against one of the best teams in Europe. With many threats, they can score from everywhere, from different phases. I think we defended well. We were bold to press high, a bit more consistent in the midblock, I think. In the defensive third, we were consistent. It was like a hybrid system. we used this system at Liverpool once. I thought it was a good option today, because if you drop too early in your back five, you can't face, over the full game, their ability to manage the ball and create chances. I think it went well. With the ball, I think we showed many good things as well."

REVERSE FIXTURE
“We struggled when we played away against City to escape their counter-press, they were impressive. They were good again today, but I think we were better this time. I think this point helped us to manage the ball and to breathe, because it's important to have the ball. We created chances as well. Our low build-up was good, especially during the first half.”

SQUAD DEPTH
"I told you before the AFCON that we don't have to set a limit before because I think we have many good players. Obviously, they have to learn, they have to show their quality on the pitch. But what we see every day on the training pitch, they have good profiles and if you give them the structure, the confidence, great leaders, I think they can play well. For example, Dennis, Eli today were good."

BROBBEY SHOULD BE FINE
"He was feeling tight but I don't think at the moment that it is anything serious."

SOBS: MCFCThe Lads successfully defended our unbeaten home record as the Sky Blue visitors became the first side this se...
02/01/2026

SOBS: MCFC

The Lads successfully defended our unbeaten home record as the Sky Blue visitors became the first side this season to prevent us scoring a home goal in as entertaining a 0-0 as you're likely to see. There was no Ballard to s***f out Haaland this time, so Mukiele and Alderete took 45 minutes each, but unlike the reverse fixture, we also picked up City's other players. A cunning plan.

After an early arrival in town where there was a heady mix of match-goers and New Year's Eve leftovers, it was across the bridge and in early to ensure my presence for the memorial bit - so many names, so many recognised. It's only a game, as Pos used to say to wind up my kids, and it's a term Judith still uses now to bring us back down to earth.

It seldom works.

Two up top, potentially, as we lined up...
Roefs
Hume Mukiele Alderete Cirkin
Xhaka (c) Geertruida
Le Fee Adingra
Brobbey Mayenda.. and a bench of Patterson, Neil, O'Nien, Isidor, Mundle, Rigg, Hjelde, Jones (H), and Tuiterov.

We faced north and they kicked off, with it being so cold that Xhaka wore long sleeves. Alderete didn't. With two up top, Regis had obviously decided that we'd be better off giving their defence something extra to worry about, and we look more positive for that set-up. Mind, at the back it seemed to be a sort of three plus a wandering role for Hume. We were only a few minutes in when Ake went down with their first tactical "injury" - if the game's not going exactly how they want it to, down someone goes, off the other ten go for a drink and a bit of coaching, up goes the fourth official's board to indicate a substitution, at City's request, then up they get. Job done.

Anyway, with Gerty on the left of midfield and Enzo to the right, we were seeing a fair amount of the ball and were getting some joy down either flank, with Adingra showing his pace - but they had the ball in the net, only to be (rightly) denied a goal for offside. When it fell nicely to Haaland, Roefs saved quite comfortably, then Brobbey showed his strength to hold off his chaser and blast it goalwards, only for the keeper to be in the way. Hume skied a cut-back from the edge after we'd burst down the left - what he was doing in those positions is anyone's guess, but it seemed to flummox our opponents a bit. Cherki was next to earn his side a breather with a sit down, and then Donnarumma did his bit just before the half hour. Can the officials not see what's going on?

Five added minutes were announced, that man Hume popped up in the box again, only to flick his header over the bar.

No goal at the break, which was fair enough, but City did their best to spoil our night by bringing on Rodri for the second half, then five minutes later bringing Doku on. Hopefully he'd have one of those games where he runs round in circles and tries to beat his man four times. He caused us problems, but we packed the area in front of Roefs, with Mukiele clearing with his face and then Alderete heading the ball to the safety of the North Stand. On came Issy for Brobbey to swap muscle for pace, and Wilson chased at their defenders like a lunatic. Roefs saved a header, then Adingra fired one in from a narrow angle that was palmed away at the front post after good work by Mayenda. When Eli was fouled soon after as he tried to turn towards goal, Gerty saw something in the challenge that I didn't and gave the City lad a right mouthful.

A couple of blatant pushes out on our left from Donnarumma clearances went unpunished, then a cracking Hume tackle was deemed a foul as the ref did his best to give the Blues the advantage - making no comment when they had two men, with a ball each, shaping to take a throw yards apart. Who do we mark?

Mundle came on for Adingra for the final twenty or so, and he showed some good touches going forward and in defence, so they brought on Rudolph the Reijnders (fancy having a bench that strong?) but we stood firm. I was expecting a few more than the four added minutes that were announced, but we played them out anyway.

A cracking game, a brilliant, battling performance that saw several of our Lads fall to the turf in exhaustion at the final whistle. While the others celebrated, Luke managed to rile their keeper (perhaps it was his not giving them the ball for a throw? Job as a ball-boy when he retires, I think) who had to be pulled away - the lanky streak.

Man of the Match? Wow. A dozen or more contenders, as every one of them worked their socks - and boots - off. Xhaka organised things, Le Fee sprayed it about, Hume was everywhere, but I think it's between the two central defenders, Alderete and Mukiele. I think I'll give it to Alderete for that challenge where he put his head where most players would fear to put their foot. That should please his family, who were in the 76 Yards area to watch Omar wear his heart on his sleeve.

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