Rafa can win game of risk
A Tyne-Wear game has never been as important but Spaniard can end Sunderland’s run
IT seems that we say this every time they meet, but today’s Tyne-Wear derby really is the biggest ever.
With the finances that will become available for Premier League teams from next season, there is much more than just North East pride at stake for Newcastle United and Sunderland at St James’ Park.
I played in this derby and I know what it means to the people of the region. Incredibly, Sunderland have won six on the bounce and I cannot imagine the pain Newcastle fans have been going through.
Now it looks like one of them will go down with Norwich and Aston Villa, so this really is the derby neither side can afford to lose and both need to win. And it will probably end in a draw…
The introduction of Rafa Benitez makes things very interesting, and harder for Sam Allardyce. It is certainly a surprise that he has ended up at Newcastle just a couple of months after leaving Real Madrid and it seems a huge drop.
But when you consider his career and the fact he lives in England, while teams like Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal are not going to hire him now, the next tier down is the likes of Newcastle or Sunderland.
It’s a chance to rebuild a club — and his reputation — but he is taking a big risk, even with a release clause if he is unable to rescue them from relegation.
You could see his impact already in his first game at Leicester on Monday.
Newcastle looked more organised, they were cautious, went direct at times and were tighter at the back.
The most noticeable difference was in the two full-backs. Daryl Janmaat is a good footballer, but he can’t defend. His instinct is to pass the ball forward and automatically bomb on and make runs, often ending up beyond his own strikers.
Benitez spent most of the first-half, when Janmaat was on his side, screaming at him to make sure he stayed back in position to protect the back line. He did the same to Jack Colback in the second half.
Not that Colback is going to bomb forward at every opportunity.
He is not a left-back, and as I found towards the end of my career when I was put there, you tend to play behind the game and be overly cautious because you are constantly worried about being exposed.
How many times have you seen Fabricio Coloccini or Steven Taylor throw themselves at shots because the Newcastle back four are wide open? A positive sign for Newcastle is that that hardly happened against Leicester.
The only problem scoring goals, and that will be a concern for Benitez going forward.
Aleksandar Mitrovic doesn’t look like scoring, although he can make himself a nuisance.
MOUSSA SISSOKO is a player who infuriates me because he has so much ability, pace and power but whether through laziness or an indifferent attitude, he doesn’t produce enough.
Georginio Wijnaldum has never struck me as the kind of player who you could rely on in a battle, and has only scored at St James’ Park but he worked hard at Leicester.
Had Steve McClaren still been in charge on Tyneside, I think Newcastle would have been set up to go out and try and win the game, which would have suited a Big Sam team.
But a Benitez side, even in the redhot atmosphere of the derby, will be more cautious and it promises to be a tetchy and nervy game when set plays will be the key, and no doubt decide the game.
No matter what McClaren’s limitations as Newcastle manager, and many felt it was a wrong fit in the first place, the way the club handled his departure was appalling.
There is a way to deal with sacking your manager and bringing in his replacement. And Newcastle United did the exact opposite and showed McClaren absolutely no respect, and he did not deserve that.
But did we expect anything else from the Newcastle United of today? The way they treat their supporters, even the visiting media, shows little or no morals.
And it is particularly sad at Newcastle because it is such a great club, with good, fanatical supporters who deserve so much better.
As for Sunderland, under Big Sam, they have definitely improved and they look capable of scoring, which is largely down to Jermain Defoe.
You can tell the players are playing for him but his frustration must be that they still concede easily and should have picked up more points.
I would imagine conceding the late equaliser at Southampton last month was particularly galling. It was so unlike an Allardyce team.
I know from personal experience how difficult this game is, and it will feel it is magnified a million times for the players because of the importance in yet another North East relegation fight.
There will be mistakes throughout and even the most experienced players will be edgy and it is all about how they will handle the occasion and cope with those key moments.
It probably won’t be a classic, which is usually the case with this great fixture, but the result has never been more important.