A hilarious exchange between Newcastle United and Sunderland supporters amplified the tensions ahead of December’s Tyne-Wear derby.
The Tyne-Wear derby is back with a vengeance at Premier League level this season. Hostilities have largely been paused over the past decade due to Sunderland languishing in the lower leagues.
Newcastle United claimed an FA Cup triumph at the Stadium of Light in January 2024, outclassing their local rivals who, at the time, were a Championship club. But an unexpected promotion for the Black Cats in May guaranteed battles between Tyneside and Wearside on a regular basis once again.
To their credit, Sunderland have upset the apple cart in the opening weeks of the campaign. Regis Le Bris has inspired the Black Cats to seventh - nine points above the drop zone.
By contrast, Newcastle have endured a tough start, with defeat to Brighton on Saturday leaving them sitting 13th. The difference between the two clubs has provoked a bitter war of words live on national radio.
Comical talkSPORT exchange
Toon fan Dylan phoned into talkSPORT to discuss Newcastle’s poor showing on the south coast. However, the conversation soon centred around the club’s bitter rivals 14 miles down the road.
This provoked hosts Jamie O’Hara and Jason Cundy to cheekily bring in a Sunderland caller named Jordan. What happened next was a hilarious war of words to remind those across the country how much the Tyne-Wear derby means.
O’Hara and Cundy were in stitches - before eventually agreeing that the rivalry is good for the Premier League. The call ended with Sunderland fan Jordan agreeing to buy Dylan a Chinese takeaway! Roll on December 14…
‘Bring it on’ - Eddie Howe
Eddie Howe relished the prospect of two derbies following Sunderland’s promotion earlier this year. He said: “I’d almost forgot about that (derby games) to be honest in amongst today. But, of course, that was yesterday. Will it make it more difficult?
“I think the derby games are obviously very intense games and they are challenging for both teams - but I think we will have the attitude that we will look forward to it. It’s great for the area and I think it brings more energy and drama to the game so let’s bring it on.”
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Dan Burn relishing Sunderland challenge
Giving his thoughts on Sunderland, Dan Burn said: “I want to play against the best teams, so I'd love to play against Real Madrid, Barcelona. That's why you want to play Champions League football - it'll be exciting.
"It'll be good to even see Sunderland getting back to the Premier League. It's such a weird thing because I'm really excited about it. I shouldn't be, but those were the games when I was a kid. The derby days were the first fixtures I'd look for when they came out, so I wouldn't say that I'm happy for them coming up but I am happy that we get the derbies back."
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