Sam Allardyce and Niall Quinn both talked today about the upcoming Newcastle Sunderland derbies – which are always very special for the region.
With Niall Quinn now Chairman of Sunderland and Roy Keane and Sam Allardyce – who know each other well – now managers at the two clubs – the derbies this coming season will be special ones to look forward to.
Niall Quinn and Sam Allardyce
Here’s what Quinn and Allardyce said today about these special games.
First off is Big Sam:
“I’m aware of what the Sunderland-Newcastle game means to the region. The Middlesbrough one is earlier, which is another local derby, but it’s not as close. When we get to that fixture we need to make sure we’ve already had a very good start to the season. We don’t want to be under any more pressure than we will be anyway to win a local derby.
The fans will expect it will be a victory because they’re our local rivals, but it doesn’t always work out like that. The players will know what sort of pressure they will be under in that game. Nobody wants to be on the losing side in a local derby. It will be good to see Niall Quinn, knowing him as well as I do.
Obviously I also know Roy Keane, I tried to sign him when he went to Celtic after leaving Manchester United, but I’ve not spoken to him since I came up here. I’ve not had the opportunity to speak to him because my time is not spent talking to other managers at the moment. He’ll be more than welcome for a cup of tea, it will be nice to see him. Our paths will cross somewhere down the line.”
Niall Quinn of course has been involved in the derbies as a player. He mentions the game that Sunderland won 2-1 on a rain drenched night at St. James’s Park. That was the night Alan Shearer had been dropped by Ruud Gullit and of course after the game Guillit offered his resignation which Chairman Shepherd accepted.
When it became a battle of egos between Gullit and Shearer – Gullit lost.
This is what Chairman Quinn (who has done a great job at Sunderland by keeping a hands off approach with Roy Keane – yet supporting him all the way) said about the derby games today:
“I played a lot of derbies in Manchester and had not much luck in those ones at all, and I played in Arsenal v Spurs derbies as a younger player.
“But the Newcastle v Sunderland derby, the place goes ga-ga for about three weeks beforehand and then, depending on how you have done, if you have been lucky enough to win, your place stays ga-ga and the other place goes a little bit depressed.
“It is just colossal. To me, the first time we beat Newcastle over there and Ruud Gullit was the manager, we did not have many fans in the stadium that night, but I just could not believe the aftermath days later.
“People were writing songs about it here in Sunderland, it was amazing. You just feel this is so important to the people.
“Regardless of the outcome, the rivalry now that we have with Newcastle is a different kind of rivalry these days.
“Football has changed, there are new people involved at both clubs and I think it can become the leading sporting event of the region.
“Maybe the Great North Run organisers might not agree with that, but I just think it might be an opportunity for us now to make this derby bigger to everybody else.
“We all know what it’s like in this region but, perhaps with Sam Allardyce and Roy Keane involved, we will hopefully show the rest of the footballing world how big it actually is.
“It is something colossal to look forward to.”
Well these games are going to be massive next season – and of course we’d expect to win both of them.
Comments are welcome – even from Sunderland fans.   😀
10 comments so far
Soren
Jun 15, 2007 at 10:10 AM
Comment #1These games are going to cracking good games, and with 2 shouting managers on the sideline, and fans roaring from the stands. ofcourse we are going to beat the mackems twice this year.
Todd
Jun 15, 2007 at 10:15 AM
Comment #2As a Sunderland fan all I can hope for is two cracking games, much like the one at yours two years ago. Just hope we’re on the winning end two times this season 😉
Walesy
Jun 15, 2007 at 10:46 AM
Comment #3Sounds like Big Sam is worried about the result before the season even starts, i believe we will struggle unless we take advantage of the easier games we start with, the mackems look to be very much up for it as they always are and in Keane have a very exciting managerial prospect, i honestly believe they will finish higher than us if we underachieve like we have done for years now, which was disguised by qualifying for europe through any back door available. Hopefully without this distraction i might be proved wrong.
Ed Harrison
Jun 15, 2007 at 11:23 AM
Comment #4We think Keane is destined to be a better manager than he was a player – and that’s saying something. The question is will he stay at Sunderland – but if ManU offer him the job in a couple of years it may be hard for them to turn then down – but I understand he is being given a better – and extended contract by Quinn.
Ed Harrison
Jun 15, 2007 at 11:24 AM
Comment #5Todd – they should be two great games – played by two very good sides – hopefully.
john75
Jun 15, 2007 at 12:15 PM
Comment #6Should be brilliant games. Not only do we hopefully Stuff the Mackems twice, but we also get the added bonus of hopefully wiping the smug look from Roy Keanes face and watching his blood boil. Hopefully his head will explode in a fit of rage and make the world a slightly better place to be. That’s if he hasn’t pi**ed back off to Manure by then.
Walesy
Jun 15, 2007 at 4:41 PM
Comment #7I think John75 is hopefully, hopefully asking for a lot, lets not forget he wiped the smile off our prodigal sons face before, and if anything its our new saviour who is known for his blood vessel’s bursting in the dug-out, not the commendable counter-part down the road. Even if Man Utd do take him away, they would only do so having brought them some success, which we havnt had for a long time. Must confess i wish we had him and they had ours (obviously not the biggest fan of Allardyce). So get real John75 and get out of the KK era its history.
LewDavies
Jun 15, 2007 at 10:25 PM
Comment #8Ed – what do you base the statement that RK will be a better manager than player on? One good season in the chumpionship? This season will really be the proof , and I think he will find it a lot harder than you think. In saying that I think they will avoid relegation ok, just. Still think 6 points to the TOON this season. Love these proper Derby games, Boro doesnt count and besides they are going DOWN this season. LOL. Great banter at work before and after.
Cathal
Jun 15, 2007 at 11:02 PM
Comment #9rk is a brill manager but i reckon its still sunderland and boro to go down this yr! derby will join them!
Ed Harrison
Jun 16, 2007 at 12:26 AM
Comment #10Lew – not much. Just if you look back on some of the great managers like Brian Clough and Ferguson – they had immediate success with the players they had. It’s a hunch that’s all – we’ll see – and yes it will be much harder for him next season but I expect Quinn and Keane to get some good players in this summer. Given what happened to them the season before last they will not want to repeat that.