A Mackem Slayer Dilemma.

Up in these parts, Sunday sees a fixture which would have been noted by fans of either side as soon as the fixture list was released back in June. To the rest of the world it's us versus them. Geordies versus Mackems. The lads against the unwashed. Good against Evil and any other cliche that slips the mind.


Derbies are horrible games but also have the potential to be the best. Every emotion imaginable can and most likely will happen, they aren't the place for the feint hearted but by god would we be lost without them.
Anyway, enough of the obvious. This Sunday is Newcastle v Sunderland or the other way round to be precise and the fact that this doesn't feature as one of the country's major fixtures is a joke considering the rivalry we have. The rivalry that goes back hundreds of years for reasons that im not going to go into but a rivalry it is. Some would say hostile, whilst others wouldn't be so kind.

Overall history is in our favour with 53 wins to their 44 in all competitions. However, when it comes to the Premier League, we are in a world of our own.

Out of the 20 Premier league games played so far between us, we have lost only 3. Winning 9 and drawing the other 8. Probably the biggest influence on recent derby games is the Mackem Slayer himself. Shola Ameobi. He has scored 7 goals against them in the league and goes in search of number 8. The very mention of his name on Wearside sends shudders down their spines. Alan Pardew has a dilemma. To stick with the double Demba's or to drop one of them to accommodate the Mackem's living nightmare.

Will it be cometh the hour, cometh the Shola? or will a new breed of slayer be born? 6 days and counting to find out.


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