Having just recently moved back to the North East after some time away, I’ve been enjoying catching up with old friends over the last month or so.
I was sharing a couple of pints with my best mate the other evening when he suddenly said to me, “Mind, your timing is absolutely rubbish.” (He actually used a stronger word than ‘rubbish’, but you get the gist!)
“What do you mean?” I asked him, worried that I’d done something wrong or offended him in some way.
“Well,” he said, “you live in London for years, and then when it finally looks like Sunderland might get to Wembley you move back up here!… If we get through I’m gonna have to book into a Travelodge now!”
We talked a bit about SAFC’s current form, the MON Effect, and our chances in the cup. The big stumbling block regards getting to Wembley is, of course, our draw away to Everton.
I’m not a massive follower of footy, to be honest, but while I was living away I would keep an eye on the results, hoping for a win for our teams; it was a much-needed connection with home soil while I wrestled with life in the big smoke. I would get to a pub with a big screen whenever I could – especially when we were playing against a team that any of my friends or colleagues down there supported.
Which got me to thinking… Everton. I’ve got a good mate who supports Everton. What’s more, he certainly is a football fan, and a pretty knowledgeable one at that. So I thought it would be interesting to have a chat with him about the draw. You can hear it by clicking the link to YouTube here – including our predictions for the match!…
