Martin O’Neill at Sunderland – A Geordie’s View!
Posted on January 12th, 2012 | 59 Comments |
Of course there is massive rivalry between Newcastle and Sunderland, so it takes a lot for a Newcastle fan to say something like that. But rivalry and competition manifest themselves in every walk of life. Being better than others at school, in your job, sibling rivalry at home, my car’s faster than your car, my dad’s bigger than your dad – the examples are endless. It’s part of life and something we have to deal with every day.
When it comes to football however, rivalry can often get out of hand to the point of bigotry and violence. “Local Derby” rivalry has existed since football began, and no matter what anyone says, there is no bigger derby and no bigger rivalry in football than that between Newcastle United and Sunderland. The rivalry between the two modern-day cities can be traced back to the 1600s and linked to them supporting different sides in the English civil war! But sometimes it’s important to remember that these days it’s mainly about football, and whether we like it or not, there are bigger issues in life and basically people are pretty much the same wherever they come from.
Growing up as a Newcastle United fan I was told by the older lads around me that Sunderland were “the enemy”, somehow inferior to us and we needed to beat them on and off the football field every time we met. In my early teens, being fed this sort of stuff, I became a bit bigoted about them, something I’m not particularly proud of today. The problem with having that shoved at you from an early age is that the messages stay with us, either consciously or subconsciously, and can influence our thinking as we (hopefully) mature and enter adulthood. The point about being an adult though, actually one of the things which separates us from the animal kingdom, is our ability to use reason.
When I left school and started work years ago, for the first time I worked alongside people who actually came from and supported Sunderland. This was a new experience for me – I’d never met and mixed with anyone from “that place” to any great degree before, but I found that they were mostly canny people just like us! Contrary to what I’d been told, they didn’t seem to eat babies after all, they just ate chips at the canteen like the rest of us and being a young lad I couldn’t help noticing that some of the lasses were quite bonny! I also learned that they were just as passionate about their football team as I was about mine.
The other thing I learned at quite an early age is that the North East of England always has a fight on it’s hands to be recognised and given credit on the national UK stage. The government is a long way away in London and our perception is that it doesn’t always seem to care about our issues or problems. There are also lots of people, for example politicians and folk in the media only too willing to take every opportunity to put us down and stereotype us. So it’s great when our region does something positive and shows that we’re just as good as anyone else.
That’s one of the reasons why I was actually very pleased recently when Sunderland managed to get Martin O’Neill in place of “Agent Bruce”. Whenever a manager is sacked at a big-ish club, and the media interview fans about who they would like to see take over, it’s not surprising that the words “we’d like Martin O’Neill” tend to come out. Why? Because O’Neill is one of those rare football managers who is capable of breathing life into an ailing club wherever he goes. He has a track record of success, turning things around and winning. He’s what the americans would call “The Real Deal”. If you don’t know much about the man, you can check out his achievements on Wikipedia
So why would I, as a Newcastle United fan, be pleased with Sunderland’s capture of a truly top-class manager? Basically, because It will be good for the region, my region. It means Sunderland will get their act together – actually Martin O’Neill has already had a series of cracking results since he joined them in December. The North East with two teams in the top ten, or top 6 even, would be much more interesting for all of us in terms of our local rivalry – and would help put the region on the national map.
I know many United fans won’t agree with me but personally I’d rather see both Newcastle United and Sunderland up there at the top of the Premier League than teams (and their crowing fans) from London, Liverpool or Manchester. When we were 3rd and 4th in the Premier League for a long time earlier this season, the media were making a point of actively ignoring us. The “let’s have a look at the top of the Premiership” discussions would talk about the teams above and below us and we became “Invisible United”. When we did get mentioned on the odd occasion it was to write us off – “yes but they haven’t played anybody yet”. I got just as annoyed as anybody else about that treatment, but it was just another symptom of the way the North East is treated in general.
That’s why I was well chuffed when a Martin O’Neill inspired Sunderland beat moneybags Manchester City 1-0 and this was followed up by Newcastle United stuffing Man U 3-0 (see…I managed to mention that one more time!). Sound of jaws hitting the floor in the Sky studio. Results like that stick it to the folk who dare to write us off, as individual clubs or as a region. I want to see more results like that from both clubs. I hope Martin O’Neill does a great job at Sunderland, I’m sure he will. I hope the North East has two teams near the top of the Premier League in the next few years, and they both regularly beat the media’s so-called “big teams”.
I also hope we stuff Sunderland at St James’ Park on March 3rd – Just to remind them who’s the best!
NUFCBlog Author: UTD111
UTD111 has written 59 articles on this blog.
Great article, I as a Sunderland fan love my club but I work in Newcastle and have many friends who support the old enemy. I totally agree with the point of seeing both teams doing well, however we all want our respective north east team to be slightly better than the other. Healthy rivalry and healthy banter is the way it should be!