Photo: Mark Pinder/The Guardian
THROWING GAMES
Going into the first Wear-Tyne derby in eight years, Sunderland fans had every reason to be optimistic about their chances of knocking bitter rivals Newcastle United out of the FA Cup. While their St James' Park neighbors play in the division above them, their record in the league has been quite abysmal over the last twenty years and has not improved in recent seasons under the new ownership regime. While Newcastle may have made a leap into the Premier League since the arrival of their Saudi owners, their FA Cup woes have continued and even under the transformative hand of Eddie Howe they have been twice embarrassed in the third round by opposition from the lower divisions. Given their long skills list and terrible away form, the run of early exits is likely to continue on Saturday when Sunderland welcome them to the Stadium of Light.
And what a warm welcome it would be. A reception so extraordinarily hospitable and unprecedented that even if Sunderland beat their visitors on the pitch, even if Sunderland beat their visitors on the pitch, even if - and it's a giant Hollywood sign the size of an 'IF' with flashing neon lights - any temporary humiliation inflicted on Newcastle will pale into almost total insignificance compared to the long-suffering Mackems have just been subjected to their own club hierarchy. Anyone who has seen the excellent Sunderland Til I Die documentary series will know that fans of the club have had to put up with countless terrible decisions in the boardroom, but that could all have changed with the most recent takeover two years ago. Sadly that's not the case, and now the dumbass who signed off on the utterly insane idea to redesign a corporate bar and dining area at one end of the Stadium of Light with Newcastle's colors and slogans is sure to have a lucrative earned his own Netflix comedy special.
It was confirmed on Thursday that news that Sunderland were preparing to take on their neighbors in such a manner brought understandable glee on Tyneside after circulating as a baseless internet rumor for more than a fortnight, prompting jubilant Mags to say the most generous gift to celebrate. that would be bestowed upon them since a wealthy nation state had taken over their club. If they can stop laughing long enough to step into the coaches taking them to the derby, an army of 6,000 will still stitch their split sides back together when they land near the ground. Given the events of the last few days, they can realistically expect to be greeted with a complimentary bottle of Brown Ale on arrival, all the better to help them enjoy the sight of their team running out for a stirring pre-match rendition of the Blaydon Races. blasting out over the stadium PA.
The story continues
In stark contrast, Sunderland fans have reacted to this embarrassing misstep with such white-hot apoplectic fury that their young billionaire owner, Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, quickly shelved plans to temporarily turn their ground into a Newcastle theme park and launched a dastardly expressed an apology. "Like our supporters, I was outraged and hurt by the photos circulating online of the inappropriate signs that had been torn down," he lamented in an Instachat post that then tacitly suggested the hunt for a scapegoat - each scapegoat - is very much an issue. Whoever ultimately takes the blame for this fiasco, the responsibility for it lies squarely on the presumably black-and-white striped welcome mat outside Louis-Dreyfus's door. If he was truly unaware, as he suggested, of plans to plaster a certain part of the Stadium of Light with branding that made local fanzine A Love Supreme "truly lost for words", it's a damning indictment against the way his club is run, that not a single person among the many locals who work for him felt comfortable enough to declare what an astonishingly stupid idea it was.
"Crazy," said Joanne Youngson, a member of the Sunderland support liaison council and just one of many fans who voiced their dismay. "Honestly, remove everything red and white to minimize damage. But you don't have to decorate the place for them. It's just a shame, their fans will love it - so will we. That's why I wonder if Kyril knows what it means for us. He doesn't understand us or the region at all." Asked about the controversy, Howe played a typically straight bat Friday, even though there were visible traces of a grin hanging around his chops. "These things can happen," he ranted. "It's up to Sunderland what they do with their stadium, it has nothing to do with us." Although Sunderland are understandably less successful and wealthier than their rivals, they have now achieved the almost impossible by somehow losing what passes for moral high ground.
LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE
Join Rob Smyth for exciting FA Cup clock action from 7.15pm GMT, with coverage of Brentford 0-0 Wolves, Fulham 0-0 Rotherham and Tottenham 0-0 Burnley. Don't blame us, it's the forecast lines for Friday night.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"It's my only regret that he's not here to see this right now. It was something he said to me before he died: "Make sure you go and give it a try." I said, 'I will, Dad, when the time is right.' I think he would be proud and you just hope he's looking down somewhere now" - memories of the great Ray Clemence are shared with Ben Fisher as son Stephen prepares his Gillingham team for the visit of Sheffield United.
FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS
Thanks to Sean Dyche. After making his opposition to the winter break clear, he has now avoided one by taking the midway through the FA Cup replay. I think that roughly makes him an innovator" - Phil Russell.
Re: the Undertones and Subbuteo (yesterday's Football Daily letters). Late last year, McTear's - an auction house in Glasgow - organized an auction of a significant amount of football memorabilia belonging to the family of the late and great Bertie Auld. This included a number of signed shirts, both Celtic and opponents, which he had acquired. A particularly attractive lot was the shirt worn by one of Bertie's opponents during the 1967 European Cup semi-final played at Celtic Park. It gave the successful bidder the chance to own an original Dukla Prague away kit. Unfortunately, despite my letter to Santa, no one got it for Christmas. Half human, completely despondent" - Ken Muir.
Like Jürgen Klopp, and apparently 1,057 others, I have also lost my wedding ring (yesterday's letters). I accidentally sacrificed it to Njord, the Scandinavian god of water, to secure safe passage across a treacherous river (well, it sounds more interesting than 'it fell off while whitewater rafting in Iceland', doesn't it? ') James Vortkamp-Tong.
Send your letters to [email protected]. Today's winner of our precious letter of the day is... Phil Russell.
