On the odd event, a fixture within the soccer calendar has a story that has zero impression on the pitch – and this sport was one of many greatest examples.
That is very true when the media is driving a relationship between two personalities, and when Sunderland travelled to the West Midlands to tackle Wolverhampton Wanderers on today in 2006, the media was in its aspect.
Commercial
It had been over 4 years since Saipan – and should you’re not conscious of the occasions through the 2002 World Cup regarding the Republic of Eire squad, both learn extra or await the film to be launched in January – and the 2 males on the coronary heart of all of it had moved on, even when most different folks hadn’t.
In these 4 years, Sunderland had performed an enormous half in what got here subsequent for each Mick McCarthy and Roy Keane.
After McCarthy had been relieved of his duties by the FAI and after taking a short get away of the sport, the previous Millwall and Celtic defender would return to the sport with the simple activity of taking on on the Stadium of Gentle after Howard Wilkinson. The duty at hand was such a troublesome gig that the actual fact he misplaced his first eleven league video games in cost – spanning two separate seasons in two totally different leagues – didn’t appear all that bizarre.
Barnsley-born McCarthy managed to show it round, nevertheless, and stopped the slide to the extent the place it solely took two years to get Sunderland again into the Premier League on a shoestring price range. He would finally lose his job when the purse strings remained tight within the prime flight and we ended up in the identical place as we did when he first took the job. He would obtain the chop at Sunderland in early-2006 and it wasn’t shocking that in the summertime of the identical yr, he would return to the sport as supervisor of Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Roy Keane continued to be the power that drove Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United on the pitch and added one other Premier League title to his identify – his seventh and ultimate league title – in addition to including a fourth FA Cup win to his checklist of accolades. After his time at United got here to a controversial finish and a spell at Celtic was hampered by damage, Keane hung up his boots and contemplated what was subsequent.
Commercial
In the meantime, one other character from Saipan, Niall Quinn, had taken over as chairman of Sunderland and regardless of being on the mistaken finish of some particularly directed phrases from the Cork-born Keane, knew he was the very best man to guide his Sunderland facet. After initially turning down the provide, Keane accepted the decision and took his place within the dugout for the primary time at Sunderland, the place he changed McCarthy on the ninth of September 2006.
Simply over two months later, having taken Sunderland off the underside of the Coca-Cola Championship and as much as sixteenth within the desk, Keane’s Sunderland have been to journey to Molineux to tackle McCarthy’s Wolves, who had hopes of being promoted to the Premier League.
The Night Herald and the Irish Unbiased gave it a full week of build-up, with headlines comparable to “Keane versus McCarthy”, “It’s Time For The Rematch” and “Fireworks To Observe After Make-Up Handshake”; it was clear we have been in full media circus territory.
However as Keane described in his e-book, The Second Half, assembly McCarthy forward of kick-off wouldn’t be an enormous deal after they’d beforehand talked initially in regards to the mortgage signing of Neill Collins:
I feel it was Mick who instructed that we meet up for a chat; we each thought it was a good suggestion. We met on the 4 Seasons Lodge, close to Manchester Airport, and it was a bit just like the assembly with Niall, a pleasant anticlimax. I stated I used to be sorry about what occurred in Saipan. I’m undecided I had something to apologise for. However you try to transfer on. However you try to transfer on.
However the fixture was moved to a Friday night in entrance of the Sky cameras, and the query within the week main as much as the sport was whether or not or not the 2 would shake palms forward of kick-off – as they’d stored it to themselves that they’d already completed so.
Commercial
So, surrounded by cameras and blinded by the fixed flashing lights, they shook palms, and seemingly to the media’s annoyance, there have been no fireworks, and the soccer may start.
To Keane’s frustration, the primary half was all Wolves, and Darren Ward was conserving his facet within the sport, particularly pulling off saves from former Sunderland defender Jody Craddock. It was a minor miracle that it took the house facet till a few minutes earlier than the break to take the lead, and when it got here, it required a 25-yard screamer from Jemal Johnson to beat Ward.
Keane had phrases at half-time, which probably included kicking the techniques board, and his facet picked up within the second half. However it wasn’t till the introduction of Graham Kavanagh that the away facet stepped up and with ten minutes left on the clock, Stephen Elliott – a participant McCarthy signed for Sunderland – equalised with the assistance of a deflection to place one other level on the board to maintain Keane’s revival on monitor.
ChampionshipMolineuxWolves 1-1 Sunderland[Johnson 43’ – Elliott 80’]
Sunderland: Ward, Whitehead, Collins, Varga, Nyatanga, Miller (Kavanagh), Leadbitter, Yorke (Hysen), Wallace (Nosworthy), Stephen Elliott, Connolly Subs Not Used: Carson, Caldwell
Wolverhampton Wanderers: Murray, Little, Breen, Craddock, Clapham, Gobern, Olofinjana, Henry, Jones, Bothroyd (Clarke), Johnson (Davies) Subs Not Used: Ikeme, Collins, Potter.
Attendance: 27,203