Blyth Spartans Are The Only Tonic
The bottom fell out of North East football over the weekend, like your guts after 12 pints of lager, two cheeky Vimtos and a dodgy back street curry. There was a tonic to our ills, though, and it came in the unlikely form of Blyth Spartans.
As Newcastle and Sunderland both fell back into the bottom three with frustrating defeats to Fulham and Portsmouth, the part-timers from Blyth were writing a new chapter in the club's FA Cup history with a sensational 3-1 win over Shrewsbury Town.
William Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew is a comedy - well it's vaguely amusing which is apparently enough when good old Will is concerned - but Blyth's version was a classic FA Cup tale, full of action, drama and, of course, romance. This was a giant killing Jack himself would have been proud of.
Thirty years ago, Blyth Spartans reached the fifth round of the FA Cup and played in front of nearly 45,000 people at St James's Park. Three decades later and having struggled to live with that reputation ever since, Harry Dunn's side have created a little piece of history for themselves.
They say the magic of the cup is dead, but it can still cast the occasional spell. Blyth did not just knock Shrewsbury, promotion contenders in League Two, out of the competition with a battling and dogged display, they beat them comprehensively and fully deserve their trip to Bournemouth in the second round.
I'm just sorry I will not be able to travel down with them for the big day as I'll be on holiday, a busman's holiday as it turns out as the draw has thrown up the opportunity for me to watch Leyton Orient at Bradford City in the second round.
Blyth would have had more chance of reaching the third round had they been given another home tie - the pitch at Croft Park is a wonderful leveler - but it will be fantastic for the players and staff to visit a league ground. And, given the quality of their display against the Shrews, I wouldn't rule out another upset just yet.
As for our Premier League millionaires, both will feel a little aggrieved by the results over the weekend and will have to console themselves on the fact they are still just three points off tenth place such is the congested nature of the Premier League with a third of the season almost gone.
Sunderland should have killed Portsmouth off long before El-Hadji Diouf - a major disappointment so far this season - gave away a penalty in stoppage time but they didn't and, whether Keane likes it or not, three successive defeats mean he is under pressure for the first time at the Stadium of Light.
The Black Cats have two games against Blackburn Rovers this week, one in the Carling Cup and one in the league and he needs to win at least one of them. Which one will depend on the mindset of the supporter. Cup glory or league position, which is more important at this stage of the season?
As for Newcastle, they did enough to beat Fulham and were almost completely dominant in the second half, but they didn't take their chances and were sloppy at the back.
Joe Kinnear had his first real cause to tear into the players after the game and it will be interesting too see how they react to a bollocking from an interim manager who might be out the door in a few weeks. It's a big test for him if he seriously wants to be considered for the job on a permanent basis.
Joe may have taken the defeat personally, but this was classic Newcastle. Two impressive home wins let down by a poor result away from home against opposition they should really be beating more often than not. United fans have seen it time and time again. The thing consistent about Newcastle is their inconsistency.
Finally, if you have any questions you would like to put to me about Blyth, Newcastle or Sunderland, I will be holding another live web chat from 12:30pm on Monday. Just follow the links from the Journal Live website.
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Luke Edwards - is Chief Sports Writer of The Journal and uses his blog to give a unique and entertaining insight into events at Newcastle United and Sunderland.
Joe Kinnear is doing OK for us as interim manager. And I admire his courage for taking the job on in the first place - especially when there were apparently plenty other, bigger 'name' managers found to be seriously lacking in the testicle department when Fat Ashley picked up the phone to them. That said, Kinnear had absolutely nothing lose, did he?
My point being, Joe Kinnear is no more the future of Newcastle United than Fat Ashley is. He is a stop gap. Nowt else.
The sooner Ashley is gone, the better. Then we can really move forward. And the first step MUST be the appointment of a high-pedigree manager for the long-term.
Joe can move on to another club and take our best wishes with him. But, move on he must.