Would all members please note that with effect from Thursday 24th November my
address will be :
Mrs. T. A. Hawkins
42 Norfolk Road
Buntingford
SG9 9AN
Although a redirection service will be in operation by Royal Mail, this can cause
delays so it's better if members use the new address immediately. This also affects
applications for tickets for the Gary Bennett evening as the form you were sent gives the old
address.
My house move also means that, for a while at least, we shall be unable
to provide the Traveline service. Information about future travel will be circulated by
email. Confirmation that bookings have been made will be accepted by an email
to travel@weardownsouth.com but this does not
alter the requirement that postal booking, including a cheque or EFT confirmation, should still
be sent to me prior to the trip.
Whilst writing, will travellers please note that in future it may be necessary for
those seeking the concessionary fare for senior members to show their Senior Railcard to the
Grand Central ticket collector. Cards should therefore be carried on all trips.
Members may have read recently that Grand Central has been bought out by Arriva
Trains. We have received assurances that there will be no immediate change to our group
travel concession but, as has happened with Railcards, there may be some administrative
tweaks.
Tracey,Branch Travel Officer
SPORTS:
***Check out our new GET INVOLVED page in our
sports
section.***
TRAVEL &
TICKETS
Updated 21
January
Travel news: next
travel
Middlesboro 29 Jan (H): Please note that Branch travel
arrangements for the 4th Round F.A. Cup tie against Middlesbrough have now been
confirmed. There will be a overnight trip with Grand Central, travelling up on the 11.20
a.m. (Please note not the 16.48 as has been used on previous such trips) on Saturday 21st
January and returning after the game on the 18.12 from Sunderland on the Sunday. Usual
fare (i.e £38 for Adults, £19 for Senior Railcard holders and Under 16s applies.) If you
wish to join this trip, please email travel@weardownsouth.com as soon as possible and send your
cheque or EFT confirmation to SAFCSA Travel, 42 Norfolk Road, Buntingford SG9 9AN.
Stoke 4 February (A): No organised travel.
Whilst writing, Jeff Scott has a now unwanted set of Advanced Single rail tickets
from Euston to Stoke and back on 4th February (£15 there on the 12.00 train, £11 return on the
18.12). If interested, contact him on itsjeffactually@yahoo.co.uk
WBA 25 February (A): Although there will be no organised
group travel for this game, members are reminded that both Chiltern Railways (from Marylebone)
and Virgin Trains (from Euston) provide regular services with through tickets to The Hawthorns
available at the same price as to Birmingham. There are, at present, no planned engineering
works on either route on 25th February.
Ticket
News:
Our 4th Round Cup game against Middlesbrough has been selected for live
transmission by ITV with a 1.30 p.m. kick-off on Sunday 29th January. Consequently, our
scheduled home Premier League game against Norwich City has been moved onwards to
Wednesday 1st February. It will still be shown live by SkySports with an 8.00 p.m.
kick-off.
Tickets for the Cup-tie will be priced at £20 for Adults and £10 for Over 65s and Under
16s and will be available for general sale from 10.00 a.m. on Friday 13th January.
Season Card holders enrolled for the Home Cup Scheme will have their cards automatically
validated for the Middlesbrough game. Those not enrolled have until 5.00 p.m. on Thursday
19th January to purchase their usual seat after which it will be released for general
sale.
Black Cats Bar tickets are available for £40.
Applications for tickets can be made by using the online system at www.safc.com/page/tickets or by contacting the club on
0191-551 5161. Visa, Mastercard, Delta and Switch cards are accepted. Alternatively,
tickets can be obtained from the Stadium of Light ticket office, by fax on 0191 551 5150 or in
writing to ‘Sales, PO BOX 165, Sunderland SR5 1WF’.
West Bromwich Albion v. Sunderland: Saturday 25th February 2012; kick-off
15.00 hours. Season card holders have until 5.00 pm on Thursday 9th February 2012 to apply. General
sale will commence from 10.00am Wednesday 15th February 2012 – subject to availability.
Prices: Adults: £29; Over 65s and Under 18s : £19; Under 16s : £15
Applications for tickets can be made by using the online system at www.safc.com/page/tickets or by contacting the club on
0191-551 5161. Visa, Mastercard, Delta and Switch cards are accepted. Alternatively,
tickets can be obtained from the Stadium of Light ticket office, by fax on 0191 551 5150 or in
writing to ‘Sales, PO BOX 165, Sunderland SR5 1WF’. Payments should be left blank and the club will
allocate the best seat available at the time of processing.
Non season ticket holders wishing to apply for tickets through the Branch for this game should
do so no later than Tuesday 31st January. A blank cheque payable to SAFCSA
(London Branch) and stamped addressed envelope should be sent to : Mrs. T.A. Hawkins, 42 Norfolk
Road, BUNTINGFORD, Herts. SG9 9AN. The envelope will be used to return the match
ticket/s if successful or the cheque if not.
ON THE
BOX
Our 4th Round Cup game against Middlesbrough has been selected for live
transmission by ITV with a 1.30 p.m. kick-off on Sunday 29th January. Consequently, our
scheduled home Premier League game against Norwich City has been moved onwards to
Wednesday 1st February. It will still be shown live by SkySports with an 8.00 p.m.
kick-off.
GET YOUR
FOOTBALL ECHO
DELIVERED
Sunderland is now almost alone in England in still producing a Saturday evening paper dedicated to
football and we must hope the Echo continues to thrive. It may be of particular interest to those
who only occasionally get to see games as its full match reports, player interviews and a thriving
letters column keep readers well informed about goings-on at the club and also in local senior and
junior sport.
A season-long subscription, starting on 6th August until the final week-end in May 2012, costs £50.
For a further £15 subscribers will also receive midweek editions of the Sunderland Echo which
contain match reports of games played at other times than on a Saturday.
Payment can be by cheque to Northeast Press Ltd. or by credit card to :
Subscriptions
Northeast Press Ltd.
Echo House
Pennywell
Sunderland
SR4 9ER
Six of Sunderland’s Barclays Premier League fixtures during the festive
period – against Wolves, Blackburn, Tottenham, QPR, Man City and Wigan – have been rescheduled,
with three selected for live broadcast by Sky Sports.
The Wolves game, originally scheduled for 3pm on Saturday 3rd December, has
now been switched to a televised 4.00pm start on Sunday 4th December.
A week later the home game against Blackburn Rovers has also been moved from
its original Saturday date to a 1:30pm kick-off on Sunday 11th December also for Skytv.
As previously foreshadowed to members, due to Tottenham's Europa Cup
commitments, our away game against them has been moved to Sunday 18th December but still at 3.00
p.m. This in turn has necessitated our away game against Queens Park Rangers moving to an
8.00 p.m. kick-off on Wednesday 21st December. This match will not now be
televised.
Sky will however now be televising our home game against Manchester City,
necessitating a move from New Year's Eve to a 3.00 p.m. kick-off on New Year’s Day.
This then means our away game against Wigan Athletic, originally scheduled
for a 3.00 pm kick-off Monday 2nd January, will now be played on Tuesday 3rd January with a
7.45 p.m. kick-off.
.
BOOK OFFER:
Branch Members have the opportunity to purchase Mark Metcalf's new book "In
Search of the Double" about the 1912/13 Sunderland side at a reduced cost. Click here to read the foreword by Gary Rowell.
Branch members can get a copy of the book for £10 instead of £12.99. Look out for the
flyer with your next issue of Wear Down South or order by phone (0161 872 3319) or online at
www.EMPIRE-UK.com
LONDON BRANCH POLL
The last poll asked you which summer signing you were most excited about -
and altho' it's not been the best start for any player really, the vote was cast quite wide. 1/3 of
respondents means that Connor Wickham topped the poll, more than double cast for your second
choice, Seb Larsson. 3 of you were not excited by any signing and 5 thought the best was yet to
come... We'll revisit in the spring to see how your views have changed.
Now for your Bah Humbug chance to appraise Mr Bruce's
reign...
From the
club...
08 November 2011
SOUTH STAND - WE WANT YOUR VIEWS
The location of away supporters at the Stadium of Light has been the subject of much debate over
the years. The South Stand seats currently afforded to visitors are located directly behind the
goal and when a team brings only a few hundred supporters lead to swaths of empty seats in view of
the fans, players and millions of viewers around the world.
After a number of supporter consultation exercises identified this as a real issue to fans, the
club promised that it would look at the feasibility of moving visiting fans to an alternative
location.
The North stand Upper area has since been identified as the most suitable area for relocation
and work will be carried out over the summer, leading to away fans being moved for the 2012-13
season.
As a result, the club is giving careful consideration as to how to best utilise the South Stand
area and is keen for supporters to have their say. A special survey has been set up on safc.com,
the club’s official website, for supporters to give their views on they would like to see the South
Stand used -www.safc.com/southstand. This will be live until Wednesday 16 November and the club
will share the findings with supporters after this time.
Feedback so far shows an overwhelming desire for the creation of a lively singing area,
reminiscent of the old Fulwell End at Roker Park.
SAFC chief executive Margaret Byrne said: “This is a great opportunity for our supporters to
help shape a major decision for the club. Their feedback will be invaluable for us on this issue
and I’d urge as many fans as possible to have their say.”
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