No member of the Toon Army, as supporters of Newcastle United like to be called, will thank me for drawing wider attention to tomorrow's centenary of one of the most momentous league games in English football history.
But then, since I follow their north-eastern rivals Sunderland, Newcastle fans would probably feel disinclined to thank me for anything.
All the same, duty obliges me to record that 100 years ago tomorrow, having made the short journey to Newcastle, Sunderland did not so much beat the Magpies as pulverise them
Newcastle 1 Sunderland 9. That was how it finished, in front of 56,000 fans with many more locked out. And it remains the joint biggest away victory in the English top flight, what we now call the Premier League (Cardiff City were walloped by the same score at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1955).
Back on Saturday Dec 5 1908, when the whistle blew for half-time in the Tyne-Wear derby, no one could have guessed the outcome. The two teams were level at 1-1.
The 28-minute spell during which Sunderland scored their hatful of second half goals is another record: the quickest time for a top division team to score eight times.
And it is possible that Sunderland's performance was motivated by a deep sense of injustice. Contemporary reports suggest they were riled by a controversial penalty award giving Newcastle an unmerited equaliser on the stroke of half-time.
The final score was all the more remarkable because the trounced home team actually recovered to win that season's championship.
It was all a long while ago, and I would not dream of rubbing salt in wounds. Let it simply be recorded that it was barely 20 years later that Newcastle last claimed the title. There was an FA Cup final victory as recently as 1955, but that means it is now 53 years since they collected a serious trophy; even the Toon Army find it hard to keep straight faces when citing the Inter-City Fairs Cup, in 1969, as serious.
But how did the visitors from Wearside triumph so comprehensively at St James' Park a century ago? Basic records show that the damage was inflicted by Billy Hogg and George Holley, each scoring a hat-trick, Arthur Bridgett, who found the net twice, and Jackie Mordue with one goal.
For more detail, I am indebted to my younger daughter, herself a football fan (though, shamefully, she has failed her father and supports Liverpool). Her last birthday present to me was a book on the history of Sunderland AFC compiled using cuttings from the Daily Mirror.
The Mirror reported the match in fairly understated tones, especially considering that the scoreline amounted, as the headline put it, to a "sensational victory". Imagine the hyperbole the tabloids of today would wheel out for a comparable home defeat suffered by Chelsea or Manchester United. The Mirror's 1908 story, rounding up the day's results, began soberly: "There were many unexpected happenings in Saturday's football, more than usual, perhaps."
It went on to describe the 9-1 victory as the "surprise of years", with Sunderland producing, in the second half, "a bewildering exposition of the game".
"They usually win at Newcastle," observed "Citizen", which was as near as the writer came to being identified, "but the score is a staggerer."
Indeed, it is one that continues to stagger. Among those who voted in a recent poll conducted by the Sunderland club website, one supporter in seven nominated the 1908 achievement as the "best moment" in the history of Sunderland-Newcastle derbies.
crandall@thenational.ae
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
Results
2.15pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,950m
Winner: Hello, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ali Rashid Al Raihi (trainer).
2.45pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,800m
Winner: Right Flank, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
3.15pm: Handicap Dh115,000 1,000m
Winner: Leading Spirit, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
3.45pm: Jebel Ali Mile Group 3 Dh575,000 1,600m
Winner: Chiefdom, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
4.15pm: Handicap Dh105,000 1,400m
Winner: Ode To Autumn, Patrick Cosgrave, Satish Seemar.
4.45pm: Shadwell Farm Conditions Dh125,000 1,200m
Winner: Last Surprise, James Doyle, Simon Crisford.
5.15pm: Handicap Dh85,000 1,200m
Winner: Daltrey, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihi.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
Karwaan
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala
Director: Akarsh Khurana
Starring: Irrfan Khan, Dulquer Salmaan, Mithila Palkar
Rating: 4/5
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast
Company%20Profile
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