World Cup 2018: England come home

WORLD CUP 2018

Preview - Group stage - Knockout stage - Semi final

ENGLAND gave away a golden chance of reaching the World Cup Final for only the second time in history as Croatia sealed a fine comeback win in extra time. 

The Three Lions got off to an ideal start at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow when Dele Alli was fouled by Luka Modric, and the impressive Kieran Trippier swung the free kick into the top corner of the net.

Just five minutes had gone - and the early goal seemed to convince this young England team that they had little to fear from their Croatian opponents.

Indeed, for much of the first half, it looked as if England were not going to settle for just a one-goal lead - and a huge chance came and went on the half hour mark as Jesse Lingard found Harry Kane with a delightful through pass.

The Tottenham Hotspur striker had plenty of space in the left channel, and opened his body for a shot towards the bottom right corner.

Frustratingly, though, Croatia goalkeeper Danijel Subasic was equal to his effort and the post came to the Croatians' rescue on the rebound.

Kane had actually been flagged for offside but replays showed he was level and VAR would have surely intervened to put England 2-0 up if the ball had finished in the back of the net.

It did not, of course - and, after the first half petered out without any further serious action, the game began to turn against Gareth Southgate's men.

Almost immediately from the whistle to signal the start of the second half, it became apparent that Croatia had turned it up a notch - and, midway through the half, they got their reward.

Sime Vrsaljko on the right swung over a dangerous cross and Ivan Perisic nipped in ahead of Kyle Walker to execute a neat finish with his left foot.

The goal had been coming but, with just over 20 minutes left, England were still well in the match.

Unfortunately, by this point, Croatia had completely found their groove and England were struggling to turn the tide.

It looked like panic stations at the back at times - and, after John Stones sent a weak clearance straight to Perisic, the Internazionale man gleefully dashed into the box and got his shot past Jordan Pickford.

Thankfully, on that occasion, the inside of the post came to England's rescue while a relieved Pickford gathered Ante Rebic's shot on the rebound.

England, who had started the contest so brightly, were now barely surviving - but survive they did, as the match headed into extra time.

The Three Lions then had the first big chance of the additional 30-minute period as Trippier found Stones from a corner and, with Subasic beaten, Vrsaljko headed clear from off the line.

By now, though, Croatia are well-versed at playing two-hour football matches.

Both their Last 16 tie and quarter final had also gone into extra time and penalties - but, despite that early chance and all those extra minutes in a set of older legs, the momentum of the game barely shifted.

Pickford saved bravely from Mario Mandzukic at the end of the first half - but, shortly after the teams had turned around for the final time, the Croatian pressure eventually told.

Again, England's problems were largely of their own making. Walker failed to clear decisively and Perisic beat Trippier to drop a header invitingly into the space behind the defence.

In a flash, Mandzukic had latched onto the loose ball and, after evading Stones, the Juventus striker finished convincingly past Pickford.

Only just over 10 minutes remained for England to perform an extraordinary rescue act - and, after Trippier limped off holding his groin, Southgate's side were left chasing the game with just 10 men.

Another foul on Alli provided England with a free kick down the left. Substitute Marcus Rashford duly put the ball into the mixer and Dejan Lovren headed it behind.

Unfortunately, the referee thought the ball had come off Harry Maguire and a goal-kick was given. It just was not to be for England.

This was no hard luck story, however - and, undoubtedly, the more accomplished team has reached the Final, to be played on Sunday at the same venue.

There, Croatia will face France who earned a narrow win over neighbours Belgium in the first semi final through a headed goal in the second half from Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti.

It was actually the Belgians who started more brightly - and Eden Hazard almost put the Red Devils in front, only for his curling effort to be headed over by Raphael Varane.

France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris then had to be lively to push away a thumping shot from Toby Alderweireled which was heading for the top corner.

But, at the end of the first half, France came on strongly and Lloris's opposite number Thibaut Courtois was also called into making a top save from Benjamin Pavard.

In the second half, Didier Deschamps's men picked up where they had left off and made the vital breakthrough just six minutes after the restart.

Antoine Griezmann floated in an excellent corner and Umtiti impressively beat Marouane Fellani in the air to make it 1-0.

It could have been two just moments later when some wonderful interplay from Blaise Matuidi and Kylian Mbappe set up Olivier Giroud with only his club team mate Courtois to beat.

Courtois saved well but time was beginning to run out for Roberto Martinez's men.

Eventually, the Belgians pushed for the equaliser as Fellani headed wide and Axel Witsel brought out another good save from Lloris with his strike from range.

It was France, though, who dominated the six minutes of stoppage time and substitute Corentin Tolisso also could have made it 2-0 but for another save from Courtois.

France had never played in a World Cup Final before 1998 but they have now made it to three in the last 20 years. Croatia, meanwhile, will become the 13th different team to play in football's blue ribbon event when they take to the field on Sunday.

Of course, the previous biggest match in Croatian football history came 20 years ago in France, against the French, as they lost a World Cup semi final in Saint-Denis.

Already then the Vatreni have gone one better this time. However, France will undoubtedly start the Final as the odds-on favourites.

England and Belgium, meanwhile, face each other for the second time in the tournament in the third-place playoff on Saturday - and, just like the soporific group game earlier, there will be little riding on the outcome.

Expect some of the squad players to be given another run out although striker Kane may request to be involved so that he can keep his lead in the race for the Golden Boot.

Certainly, though, the 24-year-old will need to be far less isolated than he has been in the games against Sweden and Croatia.

Indeed, since the group phase, and his brave leading of the line against Colombia, this has been a tournament of decreasing returns for the Spurs man.

It is difficult, though, to be too critical of this England side - and, although the draw opened up quite favourably, few would have predicted before the tournament that they would reach the semi finals.

Refreshingly, the Three Lions arrived in Russia with a plan and, for better or worse, actually stuck to it. Along the way, they also played some good football and scored some cracking goals.

True, there was a reliance on set pieces at times - but, in this World Cup in particular, that is hardly something which has been the preserve of England only.

Perhaps the most comforting aspect to take from the last few weeks is the vibrant youthfulness of a squad which was the youngest and least capped of the 32 participants in Russia.

Add in the stonking recent successes of the youth teams in their major tournaments and it looks as if these are going to be exciting times to follow the national team.

It is easy to forget that, just two years ago, England crashed out of Euro 2016 in humiliating fashion against Iceland and then appointed Sam Allardyce as head coach.

Now, a freshened-up squad and a respected coach have reached only the Three Lions' third World Cup semi final in history.

And maybe, just maybe, the match against Croatia is not just the end of the road for England in Russia but also the start of something much bigger. 

WORLD CUP SEMI FINALS

TUESDAY 10 JULY - 19:00 - BBC
France 1 Umtiti 51
Belgium 0

France Lloris - Pavard, Umtiti, Varane, Hernandez - Kante, Pogba, Matuidi (Tolisso 86) - Mbappe, Griezmann, Giroud (N'Zonzi 85) Booked Kante, Mbappe
Belgium Courtois - Chadli (Batshuayi 90+1), Alderweireld, Kompany, Vertonghen - Witsel, Dembele (Mertens 60), De Bruyne, Fellani (Carrasco 80) - E Hazard, Lukaku Booked Alderweireld, Vertonghen, E Hazard
Referee Andres Cunha (Uruguay) Attendance 64,286

 
WEDNESDAY 11 JULY - 19:00 - ITV
Croatia 2 Perisic 68, Mandzukic 109
England 1 Trippier 5

Croatia Subasic - Vrsaljko, Lovren, Vidi, Strinic (Pivaric 95) - Brozovic, Rebic (Kramaric 101), Modric (Badelj 119), Rakitic, Perisic - Mandzukic (Corluka 115) Booked Rebic, Mandzukic
England Pickford - Trippier, Walker (Vardy 112), Stones, Maguire, Young (Rose 90) - Henderson (Dier 97), Lingard, Alli, Sterling (Rashford 74) - Kane Booked Walker
Referee Cuneyt Cakir (Turkey) Attendance 78,011

Index 2016

POLITICS AND NEWS
Brexit
25.02 The EU: Should we stay or should we go?
19.03 IDS brings down shapeshifter Osborne's house of cards
13.07 The Brexit month of political May-hem
US Presidential election
11.02 Year of the outsiders
02.03 Trump towers over his rivals on Super Tuesday
08.11 Preview: Clinton on a knife-edge
10.11 Triumphant Trump beats complacent Clinton
Other
05.05 Election 2016: the full results

RIO 2016 OLYMPICS AND PARALYMPICS
Olympics
06.08 Great expectations for Team GB
06.08 Sport-by-sport guide
08.08 Team GB roll of honour
Paralympics
07.09 On a level... aren't they?
08.09 Paralympics GB roll of honour

FOOTBALL
Season 2015/16
02.01 Arsenal lead Leicester at the halfway stage
07.05 Leicester City - from 5000/1 to number one
02.06 For the record
Euro 2016 and England aftermath
10.06 The Guide
22.06 Complete results sheet
10.07 Final: Éder strikes as Portugal break their duck
30.07 50 years of hurt
01.10 Grubby Allardyce got what he deserved
NUFC 
03.04 Touching Distance
05.08 ¡Viva La Rafalution!
20.10 The greatest day at Gallowgate
FIFA
27.02 FIFA looks to turn a fresh leaf under Infantino

OTHER SPORT
Cricket
26.01 Improving England left with lessons still to learn
16.03 Shouldn't T20 cricket be solely a franchise sport?
09.10 On the demise of Durham
Cycling
24.07 Froome completes Tour de France hat-trick 
Golf
05.10 Americans end their Ryder Cup pain
Horse Racing
10.04 Grand National: Teenage kicks Rule The World
Rugby Union
06.02 Six Nations shared between BBC and ITV
Tennis
11.07 Dominant Murray produces a masterclass at Wimbledon
World Snooker Championship
17.04 The O'Sullivan paradox 
01.05 Selby seals second Crucible title

MISCELLANEOUS
14.05 Eurovision finds its way back home
09.06 An annotated guide to the Blaydon Races
31.12 Index 2016

Grubby Allardyce got what he deserved

GREEDY Sam Allardyce made history this week by resigning as England manager after just 67 days and one match.

Unsurprisingly, that makes it the shortest ever reign of any Three Lions head coach.

Allardyce, of course, was left with little choice, and he jumped before he was set to be pushed out by the Football Association following damaging revelations released as part of a wider series of investigations into football corruption by the Daily Telegraph.

In an undercover interview, Allardyce was caught on camera giving advice to reporters posing as Far East businessmen on how to “get round rules” about third-party ownership of players.

He added that it was “not a problem” to bypass the rules introduced by the FA in 2008, and told the reporters he knew of certain agents “doing it all the time".

But, perhaps most critically of all, Allardyce was seen to be chasing money.

On the tape, filmed at some time between his appointment and his first match, the 61-year-old clearly offers to fly out to Asia four times a year to address investors in a firm that wanted to buy footballers.

For this, he appears to agree a fee of £400,000 a year - despite the fact that he had already signed a contract worth £3m-a-year with the FA. It was hardly as if he needed the extra cash.

The Telegraph released its story late on Monday night with the FA immediately requesting a full transcript of the secret recordings. By the end of Tuesday night, Allardyce had left his post by "mutual agreement".

Frankly, anything short of that outcome would have left the FA in an extremely hypocritical position.

After all, it was the FA - maybe more than any other body in world football - which had called on FIFA to ban the third-party ownership of players, something which the world governing body eventually did last year.

Unabashed, Allardyce has since defended himself, claiming "entrapment has won" - and, incredibly, it is a view which appears to have garnered some sympathy for him in some quarters.

True, Allardyce did not break any laws - and the undercover means used by the Telegraph to obtain their information will always cause some people discomfort.

But it is surely better to have an active investigative media exposing corruption - rather than one which placidly acquiesces.

Moreover, it is hardly as if investigating corruption in football is a new topic for this particular newspaper, as a spokesman for the Telegraph pointed out.

"We began looking into corruption in English football last year after receiving information about specific managers, officials and agents - before Allardyce was appointed England manager."

The spokesman added: "We have an obligation to investigate important stories that are clearly within the public interest and adhere to our industry codes of practice in doing so."

Remember also that, while there is no suggestion that Allardyce acted against any of the laws of the land, he did totally undermine his employer in greedy act of gross stupidity.

After all, undercover reporters posing as shadowy businessmen is hardly a new watershed for the world of journalism.

Indeed, on that basis, this whole episode - going right back to when England were dumped out of Euro 2016 and subsequently appointed Allardyce - has been pretty baffling.

Having expressed my fears for the future of English football just over two months ago on the 50th anniversary of the 1966 World Cup Final, Allardyce's ego may have - by chance - pointed the team in the right direction.

First, though, Gareth Southgate has been made caretaker for at least four games to the end of the calendar year, evidence seemingly of the existence of the Peter principle.

The Peter principle is a concept which concludes that an employee who stays long enough at an organisation will eventually be promoted to a station above their ideas or competence.

However, in fairness to the FA on this occasion, there were very few valid alternative options for the short-term. Instead, it is the next decision which is the vital one for the FA.

With Southgate seemingly willing to remain in place for as long as the process takes, England could do a lot worse than call on Arsene Wenger at the end of his Arsenal contract next summer.

Coincidentally, Wenger today celebrates exactly 20 years in charge of the Gunners - but, to the disgruntlement of some of their fans, he seems to have fallen into a comfort zone there.

Nevertheless, Wenger's principled approach is exactly what England need after this damaging period - and it surely should not matter that he is a foreigner given his vast knowledge of the English game.

A highly technical coach, he would possibly even eliminate the fear felt by players by giving them genuine confidence on the ball.

Consequently, England might therefore even stand a chance of genuinely challenging again at major tournament finals.

Of course, the problems in football are far more widespread than just the England job. As the Telegraph continues slowly to leak its stories, the view that greed is endemic at the top-level of the game is simply unavoidably reinforced.

And yet, in a world where Premier League television rights were sold for a record £5.14bn, it seems inevitable that good money and bad will continue to slosh around the game, regardless of how many more newspaper articles there are for now.

No doubt then this topic will be revisited by the media in the years to come, which is all the more reason for the FA to complete due diligence ahead of any of its future appointments.

Curiously, Allardyce will surely be the only permanent England manager ever to hold a 100% record at the end of his tenure.

But, having failed even once to lead the Three Lions out at Wembley and destroyed for himself what was supposedly his dream job, it will always be a shameful record.

It was a shameful appointment in the first place.

PERMANENT ENGLAND MANAGERS

	Year	P	W	D	L	Win %
Walter WINTERBOTTOM	(1946-1962)	139	78	33	28	56.1%
Alf RAMSEY	(1963-1974)	113	69	27	17	61.1%
Don REVIE	(1974-1977)	29	14	8	7	48.3%
Ron GREENWOOD	(1977-1982)	55	33	12	10	60.0%
Bobby ROBSON	(1982-1990)	95	47	30	18	49.5%
Graham TAYLOR	(1990-1993)	38	18	13	7	47.4%
Terry VENABLES	(1994-1996)	23	11	11	1	47.8%
Glenn HODDLE	(1996-1999)	28	17	6	5	60.7%
Kevin KEEGAN	(1999-2000)	18	7	7	4	38.9%
Sven-Göran ERIKSSON	(2001-2006)	67	40	17	10	59.7%
Steve McCLAREN	(2006-2007)	18	9	4	5	50.0%
Fabio CAPELLO	(2008-2012)	42	28	8	6	66.7%
Roy HODGSON	(2012-2016)	56	33	15	8	58.9%
Sam ALLARDYCE	(2016)	1	1	0	0	100.0%

50 years of hurt

WORLD CUP FINAL

Saturday 30 July 1966

 
England 4 Hurst 18, 101, 120, Peters 78
West Germany 2 Haller 12, Weber 89
After extra time

England Banks - Cohen, J Charlton, Moore (c), Wilson - Stiles, Ball, R Charlton, Peters - Hurst, Hunt. Booked Peters Manager Alf Ramsey
West Germany Tilkowski - Höttges, Schulz, Weber, Schnellinger - Beckenbauer, Overath - Haller, Seeler (c), Held, Emmerich Manager Helmut Schön
Attendance 96,924 at Wembley Stadium, London Referee Gottfried Dienst (Switzerland)
Kick-off 3pm BST. Live on BBC and ITV.

ENGLAND won the World Cup on this day 50 years ago, beating stubborn West Germany 4-2 at Wembley after extra time.

Geoff Hurst scored a famous hat-trick, Martin Peters got the other goal and thus ensured a third West Ham United man, captain Bobby Moore, lifted the Jules Rimet trophy.

The Germans were a good but not yet a great team. Aged 20, future star Franz Beckenbauer was still just a youngster.

Nevertheless, the visitors gave England a scare by taking an early lead and then, much later, equalising with seconds left from a set-piece.

In between, England played generally well - Hurst scored his first with a glancing header from a floated Moore free-kick before Peters looked to have won it with a low half-volley from eight yards in the 78th minute.

It was never going to be that easy, though. Germany equalised - and yet, far from deflating the English players, the late German goal actually seemed to galvanise Alf Ramsey's men.

Of course, the controversy over Hurst's second goal to make it 3-2 goes on to this day.

So it was a good job then that he added his third and England's fourth in comprehensive fashion, made especially famous by Kenneth Wolstenholme's line: "They think it's all over. It is now."

Sadly, that is as good as it has ever got for English football.

By contrast, for Germany, the 1966 Final was just a starting point. The Germans - either as West Germany or as a unified team - have since won the World Cup three times in 1974, 1990 and 2014, having previously won it in 1954.

Additionally, the Nationalmannschaft have also been European Championship winners in 1972, 1980 and on English soil in 1996.

Moreover, their overall record is superb - they have reached at least the semi finals of the World Cup on 10 occasions and at least the semi finals of the Euros on nine occasions in the last 50 years, including a run of the last six consecutive tournaments under Joachim Löw.

In short, if anything, Germany are guilty of not having won even more.

England, of course, have won nothing in that timeframe, and have only made three semi final appearances in the last 50 years - in 1968, 1990 and 1996.

Now, if anything, the Three Lions are getting further away - at least in those painful 1990s shootout defeats to Germany, there was genuine hope that it might be different next time.

The mood in those days was perfectly summed up by the bittersweet refrain of Three Lions by Frank Skinner, David Baddiel and the Lightning Seeds: "Thirty years of hurt, never stopped me dreaming".

However, no matter how many times England fans closed their eyes to dream, no trophy ever arrived.

As a reaction, in the early 2000s, the Football Association (FA) took a step to change the years of failure but courted controversy by appointing a foreigner in the role of head coach for the first time.

Sven-Göran Eriksson's tenure lasted five years - and, while he ended up generating as many stories about his lurid private life as anything on the pitch, his record was at least respectable.

The Swede oversaw three successive quarter finals with England only beaten by eventual winners Brazil in 2002 before two more shootout defeats, both to Portugal, in 2004 and 2006.

Even this relatively modest level now appears difficult for England to achieve on a consistent basis.

In the last 10 years, there has been only one run to the last eight of a tournament - that came in 2012 and was somewhat unexpected given that Roy Hodgson had just taken over.

England failed to qualify for Euro 2008 under the instruction of the wally with the brolley, Steve McClaren.

Meanwhile, the 2010 and 2014 World Cup campaigns also both ended badly - the first with a 4-1 reverse to Germany in Bloemfontein, and the latter with a first group stage exit since 1958.

Such a thorough lack of achievement is branded "a national disgrace" by Daily Telegraph writer Henry Winter in the introduction of his excellent book, also called Fifty Years of Hurt.

Winter adds: "Wembley stands as part-shrine to 1966 and part-monument to catastrophe."

Now Winter's book was released prior to this summer's finals in France where England undoubtedly recorded the worst result in their finals history since the infamous 1-0 defeat to the United States at the 1950 World Cup.

There can be no doubt about it - that humiliating 2-1 loss to Iceland, just over four weeks ago, was so laughably terrible that it deserves to be ranked alongside the defeat to the Americans.

It should therefore also be seen as a watershed moment.

Already, though, the actions of the FA directors suggest they are content again with just muddling through and hoping for the best.

Indeed, outside of the fact that he is an Englishman, the appointment of the self-styled Big Sam Allardyce - that purveyor of a soul-destroying, long-ball game - makes no sense at all.

As a Newcastle United fan, it would be fair to say that this correspondent does not have an unbiased opinion of the Dudley-born 61-year-old.

However, I do write from a position of having experienced Allardyce as the manager of the club which I support, albeit for a thankfully short period of six months.

In that time, Newcastle found themselves 3-0 down to Portsmouth at home in eight minutes - and, a few weeks later, failed to have a single shot on target or a corner in a meek surrender to Liverpool at home.

The final score was 3-0 to the Reds but it was a result which could have been doubled at least.

Then, in January, the Magpies played for a 0-0 draw away at then-Championship Stoke City in the FA Cup. It was to be Allardyce's final game at the club.

Nevertheless, his reign at Newcastle will be most remembered on Tyneside for the two games against Derby County.

Derby were the worst team which the top flight of English football has even seen, collecting 11 points all season. Four of them came from Newcastle.

The first three came in a 1-0 away defeat on a bitterly cold September night in Derby. Kenny Miller scored the winner as the Rams' recorded their only win of the season.

Then, in the return game in December at St James Park, Newcastle twice had to battle from a goal down to rescue a point. Mark Viduka struck the second equaliser with three minutes left.

So, in 180 minutes of football against the worst side ever in the Premier League, Allardyce and his team were ahead for precisely none of them. The disbelief lingers even now.

All of that was almost 10 years ago - so, to be fairer to him, let us take a look at his more recent managerial spells.

At West Ham, he failed ever to win the backing of the majority of supporters even when he had guided the team into the top four at Christmas in 2014-15.

Hammers fans knew the form could not be sustained - and, following a run of only three league wins and 11 defeats after the turn of the year, the Londoners finished 12th. It was time for Allardyce to go.

Happily for him, he was not out of work long as a struggling Sunderland side turned to him salvation.

Allardyce achieved his goal of keeping the Black Cats in the Premier League, something for which he has been lauded.

But safety for the Wearsiders only came in the final week of the season, despite him having been in charge for 30 of the 38 league games. They ultimately finished 17th having won nine games.

Is that really enough even to be considered for what is meant to be the top football job in the country?

Apparently it is - but the appointment of Allardyce will do nothing to resolve England's inherent weaknesses.

As proven by the performances of many of the players in the Premier League, the national team does not lack in ability.

It does, however, lack bottle in that it fears taking risks on the field and, worst of all, outright panics at the slightest hint of a setback.

The second half headless chicken chasing in the Iceland match was perhaps the biggest example of this but there have been countless others over the years.

Brash Allardyce - with all of his bravado - may seem, on the surface, to be the ideal character to help England overcome their psychological barriers.

But hitting long passes into channels and sitting deep only ever provides a thin veneer of bravery. Eventually it will crumble.

It perhaps explains why Glenn Hoddle is still curiously admired by many England fans, notwithstanding his clearly questionable personal beliefs.

In football terms, though, Hoddle knew his stuff. His rearguard tactics away to Italy in the 1998 World Cup qualifiers and against Argentina with 10 men in the finals themselves were both notable for the way England never stopped trying to play passing football.

Hoddle, however, has been out of the game for too long now - and then there are those inescapably unacceptable views on the disabled.

Nevertheless, someone like Hoddle - a coach who would eliminate the fear felt by players by giving them genuine confidence on the ball - is who England should have been looking at.

For that is real bravery in football - wanting the ball and then expressing yourself with it, actually enjoying the occasion and the challenge rather than worrying about what people might think.

Of course, with no obvious Englishman meeting that criteria expect perhaps for the hugely inexperienced Eddie Howe at Bournemouth, that would obviously have meant another foreign-born coach.

Unlike Fabio Capello, it would have needed to be a coach who knew about English football - but, like Capello, someone who has also been a winner.

Even set against those requirements, there were still a few valid candidates - former Manchester City coach Manuel Pellegrini or, better still, an audacious attempt could have been made to pull Arsene Wenger out of his comfort zone at Arsenal.

Instead, shamefully and indeed shamelessly, the FA has made another pathetically short-sighted decision.

Allardyce - unless he fails massively like McClaren - will no doubt do enough to scrape England to the finals.

But qualification will be secured amid a set of uninspiring performances, with perhaps a couple of dodgy away results thrown in for good measure.

Once at the finals, the Three Lions will revert to their usual fearful selves, either losing a game they should win or by meekly ceding the ball to a superior team.

Certainly, it does not feel as if the 50 years of hurt are going to end any time soon. Never stopped me dreaming? Pah.

English football - for all the riches of its top division - is now enduring a living nightmare.

Can Newcastle United banish their derby woes?

PREMIER League stragglers Newcastle United and Sunderland face each other tomorrow at noon in the most important and eagerly anticipated Wear-Tyne derby in years.

The bottom-placed Black Cats, on three points, are without a league win all season while Steve McClaren's visiting Magpies are only slightly better off on six points.

Newcastle did get off the mark in some style last weekend, however - beating Norwich City 6-2 at St James Park thanks to four goals from Georginio Wijnaldum. Nevertheless, this derby match will surely be a different sort of game to that open encounter.

Undoubtedly adding further spice to the proceedings is the recent appointment to the hot-seat at the Stadium of Light of Sam Allardyce.

The self-styled Big Sam - who played on Wearside in the 1980-81 season - actually becomes Sunderland's fourth 'permanent' appointment in 30 months.

Previously, of course, Allardyce also managed Newcastle for an eighth-month period in 2007 and 2008.

But he was dismissed from Gallowgate when a run of poor results could no longer absolve his horrendous style of football - so it is fair to say there is plenty of recent history then.

Moreover, Allardyce would love to extend the bizarre sequence in this fixture which has seen Sunderland, despite all their instability, reel off their all-time best run of five wins in a row.

Most recently, the Mackems prevailed on Easter Sunday this year when Jermain Defoe scored the only goal with a fine volley just before half time.

Yes, that victory equalled the all-time record held by Newcastle when the black-and-whites had the fortune of taking on two embarrassingly poor teams from Wearside between 2002 and 2006.

This time, on home turf - and with a potential new manager bounce - bookmakers' favourites Sunderland will strongly favour themselves to break the record.

For there can be no doubt that a new manager has assisted the Black Cats in their recent run of derby success.

Incredibly, Allardyce's predecessors Paulo di Canio, Gus Poyet, and Dick Advocaat all beat Newcastle in only their second respective games in charge of Sunderland - and this will also be Allardyce's second match.

A proud man - though many would say an equally vainglorious one - he would dearly love to be added to that list, and use it as a springboard to guide Sunderland to safety.

After all, he has his own record to protect - that of having never been relegated in more than 20 years of management.

Indeed, he retains a very high opinion of himself, claiming he still envisages himself one day taking charge of England, a position which was denied to him in 2006.

Coincidentally, it was McClaren who got the nod as national team boss instead - though his reign ended in defeat and humiliation, with a failure to qualify for Euro 2008.

Now, McClaren - via Holland, Germany, Nottingham Forest, Holland again, and Derby County - has arrived at Newcastle and prepared for his first Wear-Tyne derby by sending an email to supporters.

"I don't need reminding that we have lost the last five derbies and for everyone associated with the club that is simply unbearable," McClaren wrote. 

"It wasn't so long ago that we won five in row and we are desperately keen and hugely motivated to turn the tide and bring the points back to Tyneside. 

"The atmosphere is always incredible and I think unique to the North East and we have to go there, stand up and be counted. There’s no question that our players understand what it means to win the derby."

Of course, McClaren has been able to approach the build-up to this match from an unfamiliar position of strength following the performance last Sunday.

For, while the three points against the Canaries did not take Newcastle out of the bottom three, the six goals tempered a swirling sense of discontent which a winless run inevitably brings. 

Additionally, McClaren seems to be settling on a more consistent selection, particularly up front where new signing Aleksandr Mitrovic and Spanish whizz-kid Ayoze Perez look a troublesome pairing. 

Indeed, Mitrovic could end up being the most important player on the pitch - but only provided he stays on it, of course. 

Unfortunately, for Newcastle, there can be no guarantee of that especially if the Serbian is as easily wound up in a hostile atmosphere as he was in his first few games in England which included a sending off against Arsenal. 

He has given his assurances, though - and so Sunderland may have to look elsewhere if they are to damage Newcastle 

That will likely mean targeting a shaky defence with Allardyce-style direct play - for, even in the fine win against Norwich, the Magpies' rearguard struggled at times. 

Also, Dutch keeper Tim Krul has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a severe knee injury sustained on international duty leaving Rob Elliott between the sticks. 

But, equally, Sunderland have struggled at the back this term, both teams having conceded 19 times in their nine games so far. 

Goals should be expected then - however, this will surely be a tighter, scrappier affair with the winning team, if there is one, succeeding only by a single goal.

It promises, as ever, to be a tense - though hopefully trouble-free - couple of hours.

ALL-TIME RECORD

Goals		Draws		Goals
224	Sunderland 50	49	53 Newcastle United	222

AT SUNDERLAND

Goals		Draws		Goals
104	Sunderland 25	28	21 Newcastle United	97

FIVE IN A ROW

	SUNDERLAND					NEWCASTLE UNITED
14-Apr-2013	won 3-0 (a) (Sessegnon, Johnson, Vaughan)				24-Feb-2002	won 1-0 (a) (Dabizas)
27-Oct-2013	won 2-1 (h) (Fletcher, Borini)				21-Sep-2002	won 2-0 (h) (Bellamy, Shearer)
01-Feb-2014	won 3-0 (a) (Borini (p), Johnson, Colback)				26-Apr-2003	won 1-0 (a) (Solano (p))
21-Dec-2014	won 1-0 (a) (Johnson)				23-Oct-2005	won 3-2 (h) (Ameobi 2, Emre)
05-Apr-2015	won 1-0 (h) (Defoe)				17-Apr-2006	won 4-1 (a) (Chopra, Shearer (p), N'Zgobia, Luque)

SEASON 2015/2016 SO FAR

	SUNDERLAND P9 W0 D3 L6 F8 A19 Pts 3 Top scorer: Defoe, Fletcher, Lens (2)					NEWCASTLE UNITED P9 W1 D3 L5 F12 A19 Pts 6 Top scorer: Wijnaldum (6)
08-Aug	Leicester City (A)	2-4	19th		09-Aug	Southampton (H)	2-2	7th
15-Aug	Norwich City (H)	1-3	20th		15-Aug	Swansea City (A)	0-2	15th
22-Aug	Swansea City (H)	1-1	20th		22-Aug	Manchester United (A)	0-0	16th
29-Aug	Aston Villa (A)	2-2	20th		29-Aug	Arsenal (H)	0-1	18th
13-Sep	Tottenham Hotspur (H)	0-1	20th		14-Sep	West Ham United (A)	0-2	20th
19-Sep	AFC Bournemouth (A)	0-2	20th		19-Sep	Watford (H)	1-2	19th
26-Sep	Manchester United (A)	0-3	20th		26-Sep	Chelsea (H)	2-2	19th
03-Oct	West Ham United (H)	2-2	19th		03-Oct	Manchester City (A)	1-6	20th
17-Oct	West Bromwich Albion (A)	0-1	20th		18-Oct	Norwich City (H)	6-2	18th