Toon not All Star just yet

ONE of the most provocative answers ahead of a North East derby came from the question of who would get into a combined Newcastle and Sunderland side.

It was October 2012, Newcastle had just finished fifth in the Premier League under Alan Pardew and were playing in Europe.

I asked defender Steven Taylor which Mackem players would get into the Toon side. His answer: None.

Fair play to Taylor (below) for avoiding the boring, cliched answer, and for backing his team-mates. He caused a storm, wasn’t far off the mark, and it was quite amusing in its partisanship, ahead of the game on Wearside, which was drawn 1-1.

It came to mind as fans debated the merits – mooted by Chelsea owner Todd Boehly – of a Premier League All Star Game.

Hardly any players outside of Manchester and Liverpool got a mention for the North team in public votes.

Fair enough, when the two best teams in Europe last season are on the patch.

From the back Ederson, Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk, Dias, Cancelo.

Could Nick Pope break in there for shot-stopping this season? Kieran Trippier to push Alexander-Arnold?

In midfield we have Rodri, Neves, De Bruyne. No Bruno Guimaraes, who was left on the bench but a worthy contender.

Up front there is Salah, Haaland, Foden. Few arguments here too, but by the end of the season Eddie Howe will be hoping £60million Alexander Isak and Allan Saint-Maximin are at least being debated for inclusion.

Newcastle’s mission given their new riches is to bridge that gap over the next couple of years.

Maybe Sunderland can get in on the act too with promotion. Did you see the sublime one-touch passing move that ended with Jack Clarke scoring against Reading on Wednesday? Incredible.