Championship against Champions League: The Return of the Wear-Tyne Derby

Local TV Sport

The Third Round of the FA Cup this year has brought Newcastle United and Sunderland back together for the first time since 2016. In this feature preview, Daniel Wales speaks to those associated with their respective clubs, to look ahead to one of the country’s most high anticipated matches.

Transcript

00:00 It's difficult to sum it up in a sentence or so, isn't it?

00:07 It's just about facing off against your local rivals and that sense of pride.

00:14 That historical, long-existing rivalry that's been ingrained into you

00:19 since you started following football, from whatever age you start following,

00:24 there's always a prerequisite.

00:27 There's this derby clash and there's that animosity between the fans.

00:31 The cities are close and geographically the north-east, we are pretty isolated,

00:37 so there's so much that's just focused in on Newcastle and Sunderland

00:42 and Newcastle versus Sunderland when it comes to fan banter and interaction.

00:47 It's the first derby in seven years, which is far too long, isn't it?

00:52 I think it's the beauty of the FA Cup that's brought the game for everybody

00:57 and it's one that everyone in the nation will be watching.

01:01 You join me here at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland,

01:07 where in the FA Cup third round on January 6th, 2024,

01:11 Sunderland will play host to Newcastle United.

01:15 It will be the first meeting of the two sides in the north-east since 2016.

01:19 That game was in the Premier League, when an Alexander Mitrovic goal

01:23 cancelled out an early Jermain Defoe opener.

01:26 Of course, since then, the fortunes of the clubs have differed massively.

01:31 Newcastle were relegated that year, with Sunderland staying up.

01:34 Although Newcastle were able to bounce back quickly and get promoted,

01:38 Sunderland were relegated the subsequent year and then relegated again to League One.

01:43 Newcastle were then taken over in October of 2021 by the consortium

01:49 comprising of the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund.

01:52 Since then, they've enjoyed a trip to Wembley, a fourth place finish in the Premier League

01:57 and Champions League away days.

01:59 Sunderland are currently in the Championship, having been promoted back from League One.

02:04 Last season they made the playoffs but were unable to get to the final,

02:08 losing to Luton in the semi-finals.

02:11 This time though, they meet in the FA Cup.

02:14 We'll start with Sunderland. The Black Cats recently changed their head coach.

02:19 Tony Mowbray was sacked and in came Michael Beale, the former QPR and Rangers boss.

02:25 His start to life on Wearside was not ideal, with a 3-0 home loss against Coventry City.

02:31 Since then though, two wins have steadied the ship, although some supporters

02:35 are still a bit reserved about his appointment.

02:39 He spoke to the media this week about the Weartime Derby, the magnitude of the game

02:44 and just what it means.

02:46 It's a fixture that captivates everybody in the North East, but more than that,

02:52 I think everyone in the country, it's a huge fixture. We love our derbies,

02:56 just in general in English football, but I think in this part of the world,

03:01 as I say, we only have one in the last seven years.

03:04 So it's great to have it. We need to be at our very best.

03:08 There's obviously a difference between the two teams at the moment

03:11 and those seven years have been different for both clubs, haven't they,

03:14 in terms of the ups and downs. So as we arrive into the game, it's intriguing.

03:20 We've got a very young squad, ambitious team going up against a Champions League team

03:24 this season. It's a fantastic game for the neutral as well.

03:29 We're playing against a very good team, first and foremost, but we are playing

03:32 for our fans and for our city. So it's really important that we put that

03:37 into the performance in terms of our focus, our concentration, our quality.

03:41 We know it's going to be a really tough game, but it's at our stadium

03:44 with our fans behind us. There's everything to like about this game.

03:47 Do you feel, I know obviously you've mentioned that Newcastle

03:51 are playing in the Champions League this season at the standard of their player,

03:54 but do you feel you're perhaps getting a good time, given the fact that they've

03:57 lost seven of the last eight and have got quite a few injury problems themselves?

04:01 I think this is the first week where they've had a chance to take a deep breath as well.

04:04 I think they've been playing three games a week, which is different for that squad

04:08 than maybe previous years. So that's took its toll for sure, like it does on many

04:13 a squad that have European football and the domestic stuff off the back of it.

04:18 I think our focus is on ourselves. I think it would be wrong of us to look at the team

04:23 they put out against Liverpool to think it's going to be anything other than a really tough game.

04:27 I then spoke to Ethan Todd, a journalist and Sunderland supporter,

04:32 about expectations going into the game from both sides.

04:36 I think we've under-billed, I think we've played four games in ten days.

04:41 So I don't think he's had too much time on the training pitch to implement the ideas

04:46 that he really wants to instil. But I think there's been, and there's probably a reason

04:53 for that from the higher-ups, there hasn't been too much of a difference in the style

04:57 of play compared to what Tony Mowbray was trying to implement.

05:01 For me personally, I'm just looking forward to the spectacle.

05:06 I think the last derby I went to I was about nine or ten years old,

05:10 so I can't really remember it in too great a detail.

05:13 But I think for the whole club in general, it would be a massive confidence booster

05:18 for Michael Bale because he's pretty much alluded to in his press conferences as well.

05:24 When he joined the club, he knows that some sections of the fans

05:28 that his appointment was met with, quite a lot of vitriol.

05:31 So he knows that there's some sections of the support base that he still needs to win over,

05:37 and I think there's no bigger game and no bigger occasion to win the fans over than a derby.

05:41 The difference in quality on the pitch as well as the finances offered,

05:46 I think that's why I think some more Sunderland fans would argue that it is a free hit

05:53 because of the discrepancy between the two sides.

05:56 But there's no saying that that discrepancy means that Sunderland can't reach

06:01 Newcastle's level eventually in the future, but it's evident that Newcastle,

06:05 they're a top six side at least, depending on where they finish this season.

06:10 Here on Tyneside, things in the Premier League have not been going too well

06:15 for Newcastle United of late.

06:17 Seven losses in their last eight games has seen them slip to ninth in the table.

06:21 And so given all of that, I want to know going into this, we at Tynes Derby,

06:26 have the nerves increased slightly?

06:28 Are Newcastle United fans and other members associated with the club

06:33 getting a little bit tense before the game?

06:36 I spoke to Matthew Raisbeck of BBC Radio Newcastle and Andrew Musgrove of The Chronicle

06:41 to find out more from a journalistic point of view.

06:44 There's more pressure on Newcastle now, I think because of their bad run

06:48 and because of the way the squad has been over the last two months

06:51 than there would have been had this match been played in the League Cup in September,

06:57 for instance, when Newcastle were pretty much fully fit

07:00 and they hadn't hit this shaky spell.

07:02 This is the perfect way and the perfect time for them to get out of it,

07:05 and you could argue that there's probably no better fixture and better place

07:09 for them to give themselves such a lift and a boost.

07:11 But they will be going into the match with still several key players unavailable.

07:15 We're not talking about fringe players necessarily,

07:18 these are players who could and would start,

07:20 who are not available for this game and who have not been available for the last six weeks.

07:25 I don't think it's increased the tension, I think it's maybe changed the expectation.

07:30 I think Newcastle will come to this in good form with a host of players,

07:34 then the expectation would be for Newcastle United to win,

07:38 but I think it's totally changed now.

07:40 They're on their own, missing nine or ten first-team players.

07:44 I think there's maybe a little bit of dread,

07:47 I think the pressure was always going to be on Newcastle anyway,

07:50 and then you throw in the mixture of everything we've just mentioned there,

07:53 the injuries, the form, I think there's a little bit of fear, if I'm being honest.

07:57 Anyhow, it's going to have a task of making sure that doesn't creep into the dressing room,

08:01 but I definitely think there'll be nerves anyway,

08:03 but the nervousness will be a little bit higher just because of everything that's gone on

08:07 over the last month to six weeks, and the fanbase will definitely be twitching,

08:12 I think, from midday, 12.30pm on Saturday.

08:16 Both teams have had a lot of matches that they've been focusing on,

08:20 but everything ramps up in the days before the derby, leading up to match day itself,

08:25 when everything's big and feels big, and there's that buzz in the air.

08:30 You can sense the anxiety, whichever stadium it's at, because it really matters,

08:36 and it's huge for supporters, it's huge for us in the media, we go big on the radio,

08:42 and it's a match that's going to be shown all around the world.

08:46 It's interesting, it's been that long since we've had one,

08:50 it's quite interesting to try and put a plan together.

08:54 I don't think too much will really change, I think you'll cover it as the next game.

08:59 Obviously it's a huge game, you'll look back on the derby clashes of late,

09:05 you'll look back on the form and the injuries going into this game,

09:08 but I think you'll cover it first and foremost like any other game,

09:11 and then of course on match day it's all about being there, being within it,

09:15 and capturing the moment and hopefully capturing a Newcastle United win.

09:19 I also wanted to speak to supporters, I spoke to Aaron Pearson and Dylan Brett,

09:23 who are two lifelong Newcastle United supporters,

09:26 to find out just what this derby means to them, and what they're expecting from it.

09:31 We've got to win, don't we?

09:34 Loads of people have been saying it, all the pressure's on us,

09:38 they've got nothing to lose, essentially.

09:41 It's a win-win situation for them, they're going into the game expecting to get battered,

09:45 and really just want to put a few more of our players out,

09:48 but we've got to win at the end of the day.

09:51 I'm buzzing that the derby is finally here,

09:53 I was at St James' Park the last time we played, all the way back in 2016.

09:58 This will actually be my eighth derby I've been to,

10:01 I've never seen Newcastle win a single one, so it has to be the one this Saturday,

10:05 especially where both teams are now, Newcastle have got no excuses,

10:08 we've got such a more expensive, superior team at the moment,

10:12 if we lose in our point of view, we're not going to hear the end of it.

10:15 So we've got to do our job at the stadium right after what's been a poor few games.

10:19 It's just them lot, isn't it?

10:21 You can argue all you like that we don't care about them, they don't care about us,

10:26 but we do care about each other, that's what makes the derby so special.

10:30 Every week without fail, even at this place, when they're losing a half-time,

10:34 the PA announce they'll put up their result and everyone cheers straight away.

10:37 It's just them lot, there's no other way of explaining it.

10:40 I think it's the hatred behind Newcastle and Sutton fans, just hatred.

10:44 Even me, for example, I go on social media, they hate me whenever I go to Sutton,

10:47 it's one of those things where there's so much weight behind it,

10:50 it's went back for hundreds of years now, it's such a huge fixture.

10:53 I think the fact it's been gone for so long makes it feel more special,

10:56 it's already going back to what is such a big game,

10:59 and both sides will be up for it, I can't wait for it, it's going to be such a thriller.

11:03 And so, come 12.45 on Saturday 6th January, who knows what will happen.

11:10 One thing is for certain, the atmosphere will be charged up,

11:13 it will be hostile from both sets of supporters.

11:16 After that, it's down to the players and the staff.

11:19 This is the first Realtime Derby since 2016, and I'm sure many are looking forward to it.

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