I saw our friends from the Stadium of Light on TV last week, not very good was it? Another unwanted record for the bold boys, worst start ever evidently. Still, don’t despair, with that lot you just never know. I was going to consider the relative strength of the teams they have played this season, starting from the premise that nobody gets relegated by getting beat off Arsenal, so I went to look at the SAFC website. I don’t say it’s impossible to find results on the website, but I couldn’t find them. I did notice however that the five headings on the first page are Buy Tickets, Buy Kit, Buy Merchandise, Book Hospitality, and Book Hotel Room. And then there’s a little logo in Chinese, which is helpful. Entertaining and revealing when people give themselves away unconsciously isn’t it? Don’t ask us how we are doing, just spend money and get on with it.
Still, there are more important matters. Mister Trump continues his outlandish bid to become President of the USA, and might be getting closer. A frightening thought is President Trump, although I think Hillary will still make it. Americans are amazed that we are so interested in their politics evidently, as they have no interest in ours. But then we aren’t likely to blow them all up. Then again it is supposedly true that a random selection of Americans asked to point out Britain on a map usually pick Japan. And most Americans don’t have a passport, and maybe as few as 10% ever travel overseas. Which you would think should give them time to think about their own affairs with more care.
That’s enough of contentious matters outside of my remit. More importantly next week is Vase week. Finally Vase week in our case. This exemption lark is a bit of a two-edged sword, November seems like a long time to wait to play. But you will want my predictions. Hopefully we will go all the way, but leaving that to one side, who do I, or the bookmakers, fancy? Well, no doubt the Northern League will be strong again. Next week’s opponents Stockton Town have been really upholding the honour of the NL Second Division with three wins to date, as have Billingham Town, very well done to both already. I can’t hope that Stockton will go further, although I am sure it will be a real tough game for us, and they will be confident they have every chance of turning us over, but between Morpeth, the two Shields, Shildon and one or two others there is no doubt someone will go close again this season. Those four are in fact the bookmakers’ favourites, with South Shields as short as 7/2, which I don’t think is value. From Down South Peterborough Sports, Westfields FC, who are from Hereford, and Team Solent, who are attached to Southampton Solent University, I guess in much the same way as our own Team Northumbria, are the shortest priced. They all sound like a canny trip out anyway. But I will stay loyal and vote for an NL team to do it again. But who might it be?