So the North-East derby ended with honours even and points shared and, from what I can gather, both Sam Allardyce and Roy Keane were fairly happy with that.
As the home - and for prolonged periods - better team, Sunderland will have more reason to feel aggrieved at failing to secure a famous victory, but that has been the story of their season so far. Decent performances, but a lack of killer instinct in front of goal which means they are drawing games they could win and losing games they could draw.
As for Newcastle, well they were forced to battle and scrap for whatever they could get. The performance wasn’t anything special, a number of players had disappointing games, but through it all, I thought they showed commendable spirit and resilience to come away with a point.
It isn’t what United fans go to bed dreaming of at night, but they are qualities which have too often been lacking, particularly away from home, in the past. After the hammering by Pompey and the rubbish served up at Reading, this was a step back in the right direction.
For me, Saturday’s derby was a fantastic occasion. Alright, so the quality of football wasn’t great, but the atmosphere was. There was an edge to every tackle and aerial duel, and there was fear - the fear of losing - and when you have that, you invariably have plenty of drama.
A lot of Newcastle supporters I’ve spoken to - and a good few of you who have left comments here - say they hate the derby because it is too painful to watch, that there is too much at stake for there to be a good game of football and I could see why on Saturday.
I’m sure most Sunderland fans feel exactly the same way, although, as the underdog and the unfashionable neighbours, there is probably more of a sense of having everything to gain and not as much to lose. So yes, I reckon Sunderland enjoy derby days more than Newcastle, even if they haven’t won one in the last seven years!
I might be wrong, but that was just the feeling I got in the build up to and during Saturday’s game. Newcastle expect to win because they believe they are the bigger and better club, so the fear of losing is more unbearable. Sunderland would love to win and hope to win, but they don’t expect to win. That makes a huge difference if you ask me.
Ultimately, though, Saturday’s clash was a game neither manager could afford to lose. Keane is starting to feel the pressure as a manager for the first time because Sunderland are struggling to pick up points. A win would have given the team a massive confidence boost, but they will still feel like moral victors after the weekend and they have stopped a losing run against their despised rivals.
The Black Cats have key players returning from injury and the point on Saturday kept them out of the bottom three. That still amounts
to progress when you consider the disasters from their previous two Premier League campaigns. In other words, at least they’re not Derby!
As for Newcastle, they didn’t play particularly well, but they did not crumble. There appears to be a resilience in the team which they are going to need over the next few weeks.
If Allardyce had lost on Saturday, whether it is right or wrong, justified or not, he would have been under immense pressure. Sam knew as much, he knows he has been assured about his place in the long term planning of the club by chairman Chris Mort, but he has to provide enough evidence on the pitch to show things are not stagnating. He has to have decent results to buy the time he needs to implement his ideas.
I’m not saying that is right or wrong, but it is the reality of the situation and that will always be the case at Newcastle United, whoever the manager is. When Sir Bobby took over, he didn’t manage a top four finish until his third season, but what he did do was offer enough to suggest things were improving, moving them out of the bottom three, FA Cup semi-finals and so on
A draw is a solid result, it was away from home in difficult circumstances and the Magpies had to come from behind to get it. These are positives.
Those sorts of things please a manager even if the actual performance didn’t. Football is a results driven business, but sometimes those on the front line have to look at other things and I guarantee Sam will use the fightback as a building block, a way to bring the team together in an “us against the world� kind of way.
That is what he had at Bolton and it is what his great pal Sir Alex Ferguson has at Manchester United whenever things are going badly. It is a mentality especially useful when you are trying to make a new set of players gel and I suspect we will see more and more of it in the next few weeks with three tough games ahead, Liverpool, Blackburn Rovers and Arsenal.
I’ve read in some quarters that it is the media who are putting Sam under unfair pressure, but from what I gather, it is the supporters who are booing, complaining about team selections, whining on radio phone-ins and leaving ridiculously harsh comments on texts and so on. There are elements of the media who certainly don’t help - eg Sunday newspaper reports that say Mark Hughes is already been lined up to replace Allardyce - but we are only part of the problem that makes managing Newcastle United such an intense job.
I’m sure not every Newcastle supporter would already like to see Sam’s rather large head on a silver platter, but there are some very vocal ones who do.
For those who do, I disagree, although I do have some concerns, like the fact Habib Beye and Jose Enrique cost nearly £9m between them, but the two full backs were deemed not to be good enough to start against Sunderland.
Geremi, the club captain, has also been dropped after a poor start to the season, Alan Smith has done little more than pick up regular bookings - vital clearance from Grant Leadbitter on Saturday mind - and Joey Barton has been poor in his first three games as well.
And regular readers will know I have major misgivings about the style of football away from home which, for me, is simply too negative.
Yet, foreign signings, particularly defenders, take time to adapt to English football. This doesn’t just take a couple of months, it is normally nearer six and is the same whether you are at Arsenal or Manchester United.
As for the midfield, I hope he sticks with Emre (Newcastle only started to threaten going forward on Sat when he got on the ball and started things in the middle of the pitch) and Barton will get stronger and fitter (as long as he isn’t banned for three games as a result of that ugly tackle on Dickson Etuhu) As for Smith, well hopefully he’ll be on the bench again when Nicky Butt returns from suspension!
This rant has gone on for long enough so I’ll leave you with this idea. Sam is not going to be going anywhere anytime soon so get used to it. Let’s all dig in for the winter and see where this team and their manager find themselves in the spring. Just a thought!
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