Wayne Rooney has explained how Newcastle United let him down in the Tyne-Wear derby against Sunderland.
Newcastle United lost 1-0 to Sunderland on Sunday, putting in a limp performance in the first Premier League meeting between the two clubs since March 2016.
It was an awful performance from Newcastle United, who approached the game in completely the wrong way.
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The Tyne-Wear derby is a full-blooded affair which often has more passion than quality, but the Magpies had neither of those things at the Stadium of Light.
Sunderland were not particularly good themselves, but they did enough. Most importantly, they got the temperament of the game spot on. They were up for the fight, whereas Eddie Howe’s side were timid.
Wayne Rooney questions Newcastle United’s lack of tackles against Sunderland
You found yourself screaming at the Newcastle United players to put a tackle in. It felt as if they were scared coming up against their fiercest rivals.
That is summed up by Sandro Tonali becoming the first Newcastle player to get booked in the 57th minute. And that wasn’t even for a bad challenge, it was merely a cynical pull of the shirt.
Newcastle United easily lost the physical battle against Sunderland, with Wayne Rooney shocked by the lack of tackles from Eddie Howe’s players.
“It felt like a game from the 90s,” he said via his podcast on YouTube.
“The quality wasn’t as high as we see today, but you knew the passion, fight and drive was there. That’s why I enjoyed it, not so much for the quality.
“There wasn’t many [tackles] from Newcastle. Tonali was the first one to get booked.
“I was thinking there is definitely going to be a red card. Then it didn’t erupt. It didn’t have to for Sunderland. It didn’t erupt until the last minute when the game was gone for Newcastle.”
Simple question, has Eddie Howe taken Newcastle United as far as he can? 👀
Newcastle United were ‘unrecognisable’ against Sunderland
Over the past year, it has been easy to criticise Newcastle United for getting up for the big games but not the smaller games.
Now a situation has emerged where they could not get up for one of their biggest fixtures. To almost treat Sunderland like just another game was a massive mistake. For many, it is unforgivable.
We have seen Howe’s Newcastle be horrible to play against, but that could not have been further from the case on Sunday. It was a pathetic performance, with Rooney admitting that the Magpies were ‘unrecognisable’.
“Newcastle have been brilliant over the last couple of years,” he said.
“That performance was unrecognisable to what you’ve seen with Newcastle in the last few years.
“I was really surprised, both tactically and physically. Sunderland were so much better than them in every department.”
Newcastle’s tactics were wrong, and so was their attitude. It was an unacceptable display at the Stadium of Light, with Rooney completely right to slam Eddie Howe and his players.
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