Tyne & Wear Derby 14th April 2013

In a previous post (http://wp.me/p26N3N-2n) at a time before Di Canio had been appointed, a fan poll suggested a near 40% of SAFC supporters were ambivalent about his appointment. This was clearly well before yesterdays game where, if the poll was re run, a significantly different perspective would be obvious. Such is the fickle nature of success starved supporters.Reading todays press and fans response on Twitter, it appears the Newcastle supporters are devastated about the loss. Why is this?, well, it’s partly because it was ‘the Derby’ and on that day nothing else matters but the frustration is also because Newcastle are not the  team  they were last year.

Until yesterdays match they were 17 points worse of than the same point in the season last year. The European campaign will have had a big affect on the performances this season but it was a distraction. Premier League success is the yardstick that most supporters want to see. It guarantees significant TV rights which is the vehicle for paying  high wages  for    players which in turn guarantees better players and hopefully consistent success. Consistency isn’t something Newcastle have had this season as against last years campaign. The 17 point difference is immense and will be worrying for many Geordie fans – has it been the Euro journey or was it simply that last year was one of these freak seasons like Ipswich had recently where they punched above their weight but were not able to sustain the level of football.

The derby yesterday was more than two North East rivals slugging it out. It was a survival battle for Sunderland and for Newcastle, it was another frustrating loss which would have been unthinkable last season. Now the Geordie faithful are looking over their shoulders at the bottom of the table. Although they are two points ahead of their rivals, Newcastle’s run in to the end of the season looks pretty tough with two tricky and away games they have a really tough game on their visit to West Brom who have had a great season. If they lose on Saturday, with a significantly inferior goal difference to their local neighbours, it will be another worrying issue for the Geordie faithful. If yesterdays disturbances in Newcastle were due to local fan frustration, its unthinkable what the fans will do to their town if they slump to a relegation spot.

New vacancy at SAFC

An ex Sunderland player thinks Ellis Short was wrong to sack Martin O’Neill at a critical point in the season. Thousands of fans now begin the speculation game as to who will get the Black Cats get out of the hole they have dug for themselves.

How different the picture looks now when compared to O’Neill’s arrival when he inspired the team to a great return from his first 10 games. What he and the fans would have given for the team to have that same points haul after the last 10.

One of the names touted for the role has already ruled himself out. Steve McClaren’s agent  is quoted as saying, “It’s obviously a nice position for Steve, but as I understand Sunderland have already got somebody in place,” Colin Gordon told BBC Sport. This suggests the post is already filled only hours after O’Neill’s departure. One fan’s forum seems to be suggesting a strong majority of fans favoring Paulo Di Canio to take up the helm. If this is to be the next appointment for Sunderland, it will be a controversial one as is the way with Di Canio.

At the time of writing, a small poll suggests a majority in favour but there is an undercurrent of discomfort suggested by the near 40% that would not be happy with the appointment http://www.rokerreport.com/2013/3/31/4167396/poll-would-you-be-happy-if-we-appointed-paolo-di-canio/in/3930833

Di Canio is a formidable character and nothing appears smooth running with him. He was a fiery player and he appears to have lost none of that self belief and drive, judging by his most recent dabble with management at Swindon. He is known as a difficult guy to get along with, with questionable ‘man management’ skills. With Di Canio it’s definitely ‘my way or the highway’ so he won’t suffer fools gladly. If Ellis Short feels shock tactics are what’s required, he’s will have the right guy in Paulo.

How ironic would it be if Sunderland go down as their former manager and the principle architect of the current Sunderland team, passes them on the way up to the Premier League by being promoted with Hull City!

If Sunderland pull of Premiership survival then Short’s intervention will be seen as a master stroke. If however, relegation results, then there will be no rejoicing from the Sunderland faithful. One imagines that wherever Martin O’Neill is watching the final game of the season, he won’t be rejoicing in Sunderland’s demise. The only rejoicing will be a few miles up the coast where the Geordie’s will no doubt be in raptures.

That’s assuming they don’t suffer the same fate!

What a strange game football is!

The North East’s football teams are suffering mixed fortunes at this point in the season when comparing this season with last season. Who would have predicted that in terms of current form, that Middlesbrough are arguably in the best shape! Based on last season’s performances it was always going to be a tough ask for Sunderland to get a good start given they couldn’t and still cant score enough goals. The acquisitions of Stephen Fletcher and Louis Saha provided some hope that this season would be more positive. Apart from the result at Fulham which was largely helped by a sending off for the home team, Sunderland still do not score enough goals. Its hard to see how another relegation dogfight can be avoided. 

If the fans at the Stadium of light started the season with some trepidation, imagine how the Newcastle fans must have been feeling about the new campaign. By anybody’s assessment, NUFC had  an outstanding season last year, culminating in a lofty league position with the reward of European football this year too. Many Geordie fans expressed the view that this was a ‘poison chalice’ as it would risk the team losing Premier League focus. Additionally, could it be that Newcastle could have another season like the last? The God of ‘footballing injuries’ smiled kindly on them last season. Newcastle didn’t pay the price of a spate of injuries to key players, as a result they were able to put out a consistent team with players who were in form and kept their form right through the season. However, this season is different with an injury list extending to 11 senior players is causing a problem for last seasons North East top dogs. Todays loss to a Southampton team who are lacking on confidence and form, will be worrying for all Geordie fans. This is not what they are used to and will come as a shock to many fans. Last seasons campaign seems a long time ago now. It will be key to get senior players back in the team and back  in form or else the magic that was last season will vanish into a very ordinary season.

Was last season a fluke? Time will tell!

Opening weekend of 2012/12 season

The opening day of the new season was anything but mundane. With Liverpool getting humped by West Brom and Swansea knocking five in against Mark Hughe’s QPR – this was as big a surprise as Joey Barton thinking he could get around his ban for last seasons idiotic sending off by serving his sentence in a non league club. Newcastle got a great win at home and no doubt will reignite the belief, amongst the geordie faithful, that last season was no fluke. A lot of people will be watching the ‘toon’ to see if they can repeat their 2011/12 achievement.

Sunderland v Arsenal FA Cup 18th February 2012

The ITV commentator, Peter Dury told me after the match that this game ‘was all about Arsenal’. He was apologetic about the comment but as a journalist he was expressing what he thought was a bigger story, i.e. the demise of Arsenal. This may be true but it undervalues what was for Sunderland, a very good performance. Martin O’Neil quite fairly pointed out that Sunderland had the benefit of no mid- week game unlike Arsenal. However, to dwell on this point would be a travesty because Sunderland were very good value for their win. Martin O’Neil continues his transformation of the legacy left behind by Steve Bruce. It’s interesting to notes that the recent improvement of Sunderland’s fortunes are all with the players brought in by Bruce. Reading a few Arsenal blogs this morning the true fans view of the nights events are contested by many others there at the game. The predominant view is that Arsenal were unlucky. Unlucky because they had ‘clear’ penalty decision’s go against them (Arsene  Wenger post match) . Here we assume it’s the Van Persie incident he means. Van Persie himself didn’t raise an eyebrow at the decision because he knew the defender got the ball. Van Persie himself is not normally known to be a ‘shrinking violet’ when it comes to complaining to referees.

The game itself was played out in front of a lowly 26,042. The Arsenal contingent probably made up 3,000 or so. It seems Wearside can’t get its fans out on a cold February night despite the revival prompted by O’Neil.  The consolation for Sunderland’s biggest rivals across the Tyne was that the stadium was ‘empty’ demonstrating the fickleness of the Sunderland fan base (as they see it) Whatever the reasons for the turnout, those missing dipped out on a great atmosphere and a valuable win for the home team.  The marauding Sessegnon was always a problem for the away defence and it seemed only a matter of time before the pressure paid off. It was Richardson who broke the deadlock in the first half with a McLean inspired own goal from Alex Oxlade Chamberlain I the second and it was game over. The delight of the Sunderland supporters was evident with the hope of a decent home tie in the draw that takes place today. They will be hoping their ex Manager, Peter Reid will conjure up a decent tie for them. What of Arsenal and the increasingly pressurised Wenger? Wenger was the now typical picture of frustration with arms raised in a holy gesture every two minutes and his berating of the fourth official. How the they must ‘love’ going to Arsenal where they know they will need ear defenders for 90 minutes to protect them self from Wenger. Arsenal supporters might have expected a big performance from their team after the mid-week capitulation in Milan. Some of the travelling faithful at the Stadium of Light would have travelled to Milan and seen a weak performance, hoping for amends last night. Sadly for them, this was not be. Too many of their ‘big players’ were too happy spraying ‘safe’ balls just inside the opposition’s half with no real result. Arteta in particular was guilty of this with the Arsenal supporters wondering when his quality would show. Arsenal were limp whilst the resurgent Sunderland were right up for this match. The result was fair on the night as Sunderland’s revival continues. Back to Peter Dury’s post match comment about the game being ‘all about Arsenal’. I am sure the 20,000 fans that did turn out at the Stadium of Light would like to disagree. For them it was definitely all about Sunderland and Martin O’Neil.

Newcastle keep rolling on 5th February V Aston Villa

Newcastle played a great game in overcoming Aston Villa today at St James Park. The win moves them into 5th place in the Premier League. What price would the bookies have given for this to be the case in February? Most pundits (and a lot of fans outside of Newcastle) wouldn’t have believed that Alan Pardew would have created a team that has withstood most challenges that have been thrown at them. The loss of  Ba and  Tiote was thought by many to be the real test of Newcastle’s resolve. The team coped admirably without two key players and added to their squad with Cisse and what a purchase this was from Pardew. The largest transfer fee in the January window appears to have been an inspired piece of  transfer activity in the window.

The game today was marred by what looks like a serious injury to the popular Ryan Taylor. No news has emerged as yet as to his injury but lets hope it looked worse than it actually was. So the Toon bandwagon rolls on to who knows where. You can see some fans dreaming of Europe. Can their season continue at the level that they are playing to at the moment?

Bolton V Liverpool 21st January

Liverpools stop start season continued with a demoralising defeat to Bolton Wanderers. Liverpool’s season is in danger of petering out to mediocrity of they cant get some consistancy in their performances. Inconsistancy is blighting the season for the Reds – with 7 draws and too many dropped points like today will mean a very ordinary season for the Reds fans. Kenny Dalgleish was rightly critical of his team complaining that they fell short of his expectations.

Newcastle V QPR 15th Jan 2012

What will be the effect of the loss of Demba Ba and  Cheick Tiote to the Africa Cup of Nations competition? Now we will find out. QPR will be looking for the same ‘bounce factor’ that Sunderland achieved with Martin O’Neil. Unlike Newcastle, QPR have struggled to score goals in this campaign so far (20) Mark Hughes seems to be able to get the best out of players but this is probably a little early for him to make a difference. If the loss of the two most important players in Newcastle’s season so far, doesnt disrupt them too much, a Newcastle win is surely on the cards. Our prediction, 2-0

FA Cup Derby

The Sunderland V Middlesbrough game should be a sell out. It’s not often that these two teams meet each other nowadays. Tickets will be hard to get. Keep your eyes open for the release date. Let us know and we will post it here too.

Warnock out Hughes in?

The shocking sacking of Neil Warnock after only two years in post has created an opening for a new manager. What price for a return to footy management for Mark Hughes?