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Why Sunderland's Checkatrade Trophy match with Newcastle's U21s makes for a strange Tyne-Wear derby
It is the derby game nobody seems to want to take seriously, the one everybody insists they are not excited about, but there is no such thing as a meaningless game between Sunderland and Newcastle.
More than 20,000 people will be at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday night for a Checkatrade Trophy knockout tie that would normally attract a crowd a tenth of that size, at best.
For Sunderland, as one prominent podcaster admitted privately last month, there is nothing to gain. If they win, Newcastle will point out they were playing their youth team. But if they lose to their local rivals for the first time since 2011, all the League One promotion chasers will hear is the sound of laughter emanating from Tyneside.
Yet, although Newcastle supporters might be keen to use the fixture to mock their neighbours, to snigger at the fact they are being forced to send out a senior team, against their development squad, in a much-derided competition, a defeat would still sting.
If it does not matter, why will so many people be there to watch? If it is all a bit of fun, why did Newcastle ask for their allocation of 2800 tickets to be increased?
That request was rejected, on the advice of Northumberland police, by Sunderland owner Stewart Donald, a man riding a wave of popularity on Wearside in the wake of his summer takeover.
Donald has enjoyed several exchanges with Newcastle supporters on social media since he took control and even thanked them for spending £15 on a ticket for Tuesday night’s game, extra profit he intends to pass on to Sunderland fans.
It was amusing rather than spiteful, but this will also be the new owner’s first experience of a Wear-Tyne derby and it is not one he will want to lose, no matter how much everyone tries to pretend they do not really care if they go through or not.
That was the careful message transmitted by Sunderland manager Jack Ross, another getting his first experience of this most intense of rivalries. The Scot is adamant it is not a fixture that has caused him any stress.
“Been drawn against an Under-21s side, irrespective of Newcastle, is the ideal draw for anyone,” said Ross, who has been calm and considered in everything he has done since arriving from St Mirren in June. “I think everyone would agree with that.
“It is a no-win situation. Because it is Newcastle that doesn’t make it any different, but it is easier if you are playing against another senior team. It makes it more normal if you like.
“I would never shy away from the fact my prime responsibility is to get us back in a position where we are playing against Newcastle in a derby league game, ideally in the Premier League.
“That’s a task I was given. I would love the opportunity to do that. No matter how anyone tries to dress this up, it’s not [a proper derby]. That’s the reality. This isn’t a derby as everybody would want it.
“We have not spoken a huge amount about the game. The actual occasion, not really, genuinely for me it is just another Checkatrade trophy match. It falls between two important league games. The whole club is looking at it like that [as the priority].”
It is a similar scenario for his Newcastle counterpart Rafa Benitez, who will not even be in the dugout at the Stadium of Light.
Furthermore, the Spaniard is unlikely to offer Under-21s manager, Ben Dawson, any key senior players to help the youngsters – Premier League clubs are allowed to select two over age players in the competition – because of the FA Cup replay against Blackburn Rovers next week.
“We are quite busy, I won’t change too much of what we were going to do with the first team,” said Benitez, who will watch the game from the stands.
“We have to decide who can cope with playing games, we have a lot of games. One or two can play, but we will have to decide if it is important for them, for us.”