Over the past few days Sunderland have been linked with a young Premier League star, and our FA Cup opponent has been confirmed. More importantly though, Gary Bennett has rightly received an MBE for his services to anti-racism in football.
ARCHER TO SAFC?
Sunderland have reportedly made enquiries about Aston Villa's Cameron Archer, who was on loan at Preston North End last season. He had a successful campaign at Deepdale, scoring seven times. But the 20-year-old has struggled for Premier League minutes with the likes of Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings ahead of him at Villa. We saw (and continue to see) the negatives of having just two strikers in the squad, so another young forward in the ranks can only be a good thing come January...
SHREWSBURY AWAY
The FA Cup draw revealed that Sunderland will travel to Shrewsbury in the third round of the competition. We will play against familiar faces in Tom Flanagan and Aiden O'Brien, although Carl Winchester will be ineligible. Former SAFC assistant manager Steve Cotterill is also in charge of the Shrews. The game will be played on January 7, with kickoff commencing at 3pm. Sunderland have won just one FA Cup tie in the last seven seasons- a miserable record which will hopefully be put to bed in this third round.
CONGRATULATIONS BENNO
Gary Bennett met the King on Tuesday to receive the Royal seal of approval. He was was awarded the medal in the New Year's Honour list. Gary, only the second black player to play for SAFC after Roly Gregoire, will be back at the SoL this week to collect an Honorary Degree in recognition of his outstanding achievements as a footballer, coach and anti-racism advocate.
