It’s time to be honest - Sunderland defeat exposed Newcastle United’s takeover project
Sunderland - of all teams - dealt Newcastle United a brutal reality check of where the Saudi-backed project‘s current state.
Newcastle United, trailing to their bitter rivals Sunderland on 59 minutes, made a triple substitution.
For the previous hour, Sunderland had been all over the Magpies. And not through guile or skill, but by the pure desire to convey, on the field, what the Tyne-Wear derby meant to the thousands of fans in attendance.
Nick Woltemade headed into his own net and Newcastle were up against it. United needed a half-time change - but Eddie Howe delayed action until his team were trailing and two of his three substitutions were a telling reminder of where the takeover project is at.
Harvey Barnes was a welcome addition - he is one of Newcastle United’s most in-form forwards who likely felt hard done by not being in the starting line-up. But let us have a show of hands for those on October 7, 2021, who would have expected Jacob Murphy and Joe Willock to be the rescue act four years into the Saudi-backed era.
Both players have done their bit for Newcastle. This is not to single them out - they were not the architects of the latest derby downfall - but their introduction was an indictment of where the PIF masterplan currently lies.
New CEO David Hopkinson set the bar high 10 days ago - he vowed that Newcastle would be among the world’s best by 2030. A penny for his thoughts as Sunderland - the team the Magpies aim to be trumping more than any other - bulldozed their war through a meek Magpies outfit.
The PSR excuses can only wear so thin. Granted, Newcastle have not been allowed the luxury that Chelsea and Manchester City were afforded to unload a bucketload of cash onto the Premier League, but come on.
Anthony Elanga, Jacob Ramsey and Yoane Wissa cost £150million over the summer - the price of a private island. Neither have contributed a dime in return to the Newcastle season that is now unravelling before our very eyes.
As for Sunderland, they cobbled together a team of strangers who somehow harboured more Tyne-Wear passion than Newcastle’s Champions League regulars. City pride was on the line yesterday - Eddie Howe mentioned so in his pre-match briefing - but the Toon contingent’s weak derby showing leaves black-and-white flags flying at half mast on Monday morning.
This was a reality check. It was a throwback to the Joe Kinnear, John Carver, Steve McClaren et al era who regularly sent a never-up-for-the-fight Newcastle side into battle. The Geordie critics have awakened - just speak to any Newcastle fan in the aftermath of this defeat. It should not have taken a defeat to the bitterest rivals of all to lay the post-takeover truths bare.