Derby Day Countdown

This is a countdown to the first Tyne-Wear Derby in two seasons as the Lads travel to St' James on Hallowe'en. It is particularly nerve wracking for me as I work with an office full of Mags and the in-laws are all Mags too! Over the next two weeks or so, I will chronicle the nerves as they build and the banter as it develops at work & home.

Are you beginning to feel the early nerves yet? I think I am. The dreams haven't started yet but they'll come. No banter yet here at work but this is normal. People seem to have the 'safety zone' of other matches to worry about before the Derby game..it's usually only once the final game beforehand is out of the way that the tension begins to mount.

I seem more nervous about this one than most in the past. Previously we half expected to lose most times, so accepted defeat was likely. This time though, we have a real chance of being the better side from the outset given our performances in our other big games this season. Somehow this makes us more nervous. Expectation is a funny thing.

The biggest worry at the moment concerns Darren Bent. We are awaiting news on his groin/abductor injury. It shouldn't be bad enough to keep him out for three weeks but i'm nervous. We always have £13M man Asamoah Gyan to rely on as backup but is he good enough to lead the line in a game like this so early in his Sunderland career? Not sure.

T-18Days

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