Roy Keane hasn’t done much wrong since he became Sunderland’s manager, but he must take a large amount of the blame for their Tyne-Wear derby defeat.
Damningly, even the Newcastle fans I have spoken to could not believe how poor their local rivals were last Sunday. Okay, so they were generally more interested in laughing at the demise of the Black Cats than expressing any sort of sympathy, but they had a point.
The scoreline may have been just 2-0 but Sunderland were just as bad in that game as they were in the 4-1 defeat at the Stadium of Light two years ago - and that really is saying something.
With that in mind, the derby loss is a nasty stain on Keane’s managerial career, in the same way that a blue biro exploding in the pocket of your suit trousers is. It doesn’t how many times you wash it, it doesn’t matter how hard you scrub, it ain’t coming out in a hurry.
The tubby lad Andy Reid playing behind a lone striker? Grant Leadbitter, local lad, Sunderland through and through, left out of the side in favour of Liam Miller, a player Keane threw on to the transfer list as he couldn’t manage to turn up to training on time and who hasn’t played a first team game since February?
Then there was the formation? 4-5-1 to protect the back four, which is fair enough I suppose when you consider how prolific Newcastle have been with their three-man strikeforce, but why did he stick with it in the second half when they were already 2-0 down?
And then there is Michael Chopra. I have to be honest, I felt a little sorry for Chops when he came on as a late substitute and was booed so passionately by Newcastle’s fans.
This would have been the one game he would have been desperate to play in, but he gets left on the bench by his stubborn manager and then finds out that he is hated by his fellow Newcastle fans as well.
Not a happy day for the lad. Wonder if he’s got his bags packed for a return to Cardiff yet! At least he might actually get to play up front for a change!
Which brings me back to Keane. I get the impression he has reached the end of his tether with a lot of the players in his squad. They know he plans to sign better players in the summer and a lot of them will suspect their days are numbered at the Stadium of Light, which is never likely to bring out the best in any side.
However, as safety has not been guaranteed yet - I’d still be very surprised if either Sunderland or Middlesbrough went down - it will be a challenge for Keane to make sure his side do rather better in another derby against the Smoggies on Saturday. It will also give him the chance to redeem himself a little after Sunday’s demoralising defeat.
In contrast, all that is left for Newcastle fans is to enjoy the satisfying glow that comes from the knowledge that you have given your fiercest rivals another good shafting. Cigarette anyone?
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