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Greetings, you Toon faithful. We are cresting the hill and will soon be hurtling downhill to the derby with all appropriate speed. If you have anything that you would like to say about our neighbors to the southeast, I certainly do encourage you to do so through the use of the comments here, the fanpost or the fanshot features. There was this great little tidbit from johnjahafanclub:
statistic for the derby
in the past 40 years sunderland fans have seen their team relegated more times than they have seen them win against Newcastle.
A good start, to be sure! Let's get the news of the day and carry on with all appropriate derby week feelings.
Tyne and Wear derby encounter is a tough - Waddle - NUFC News - Newcastle United - ChronicleLive
The Magpies are in with a chance of their highest Premier League finish since 2004 when they earned a UEFA Cup spot, while Sunderland are six points behind their best-ever finish of seventh place, a feat only achieved twice in the history of the Prem for the Wearsiders. O’Neill’s troops go into the game 10 points behind Alan Pardew’s side, but Waddle feels the spectacle can only be a good thing for the region.
Chris Waddle said a lot of good things in this article... but this section of the article jumped out at me for some reason. #foreverinourshadow
Pardew confident Tiote and Cabaye will come good - NUFC News - Newcastle United - ChronicleLive
"That might have been down to the fact they haven’t played a Premier League game for a while, Cheick for about eight weeks, or whatever it’s been, and Yohan for three and a half." Pardew’s troops are unbeaten at St James’ Park in 2012 with four wins and a draw in all competitions. Sunderland will arrive at Gallowgate looking for their first win in 12 years on Tyneside.
I don't like excuses, but I expect that there is a certain amount of recognition that needs to happen with regard to the fact that the Tiote/Cabaye synergy from day one was a bit of good luck as much as it was a verification of their sheer quality. At least they've got all week to work together to get on the same pa... oh, yeah.
Hatem Ben Arfa can't wait for first Tyne-Wear derby - NUFC News - Newcastle United - ChronicleLive
Ben Arfa has spent enough time in the city to realise what the rivalry is all about and has even ventured to watch Gateshead FC matches since arriving from Marseille to get a feel for Tyneside and the public he is playing for. Yet when asked if ever visits Sunderland, he said in tongue-and-cheek manner: "I don’t, perhaps because there is nothing there?"
This amused me greatly. I would like to say that between this quip and Davide's "I have never seen a makem in Milan, no" we have had some great derby quotes from relatively new players.
Newcastle move would be ‘dream come true’ for French star - Newcastle United - Shields Gazette
"Newcastle are a fantastic club and to play for them would be a dream come true, but nothing is done as yet. Let’s wait and see what happens." Amalfitano has played almost 50 games for Ligue 2 Reims after joining them from Evian. His older brother, Morgan, is also a midfielder, and plays for French giants Marseille. He was available on a free transfer last summer after leaving Lorient, and former Sunderland boss Steve Bruce tried to bring him to Wearside, only to miss out on the schemer.
Messr. Amalfitano is back in the news, and this time northeast papers are talking to him... it must be serious. Oh, and the scum tried to sign his brother but couldn't... so that's fun too. Also- Benjamin Corgnet is back in the rumor mill as well.
Lebanese Woman Joins Newcastle Football Club — Naharnet
"It’s a great pleasure to welcome Myriam to NUWFC. Her experience will be an asset to the club and she is already very much part of the squad," NUWFC Chairman Phil Eadon said. Myriam was the team captain of al-Ansar Women Football Club and played for the Lebanese Women’s National Team.
Speaking of new players, the Newcastle United WFC have signed a new player, a Lebanon full international. Be sure to hop over to http://www.nuwfc.co.uk to see the full story!