Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse for Newcastle United...
Their top scorer quits when his transfer fee is finally matched by the European champions of all teams.
Their talismanic captain threatens to follow him out of the door because he needs to get back to South America pronto, just as their most creative player starts making silly noises about his love for Paris Saint-Germain.
And then their number one target, who looked all sealed up as a present at Christmas, turns them down to join a team at the bottom of the Premier League who look doomed.
Newcastle and Alan Pardew have had better weeks and 2013 could not have got off to a worse start. Although at least they didn’t lose at Norwich City, and they do play Reading and Aston Villa next.
The loss of Demba Ba in this particular transfer window looked inevitable, and although he continued scoring goals until his departure, the Senegal hitman clearly wanted to leave. And the uncertainty surrounding his future cannot have been helpful in the dressing room.
His departure puts the onus on Papiss Cisse to start scoring goals, and for Hatem Ben Arfa to create them when he is fit again.
Wantaway: Fabricio Coloccini (left) hopes for a move back to Argentina and Hatem Ben Arfa (right) has spoken of his childhood dream to sign for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-GermainIt might also be helpful if Ben Arfa could stop going to watch PSG and keep his mouth shut if he does so. It would help avoid any confusion about his future for all of us.
As for Fabricio Coloccini, there is clearly much negotiating, understanding and patience needed to clarify his Newcastle future. His problems have little to do with football, although Newcastle’s precarious Premier League position can’t be helpful, and Newcastle need him.
There are few captains or centre-backs like him, as he demonstrated under extreme pressure, at Carrow Road.
But there may come a point when football will not be the deciding factor in his future.
And football cannot have been the number one priority for Loic Remy and his advisers.
The small matter of a substantial hike in wages, even compared to what Newcastle were offering, and the lure of London no doubt helped the French striker make up his mind. His defection to Loftus Road is a huge blow to Newcastle.
Pastures new: Demba Ba left the Tyneside club this transfer window for Chelsea Lone star: The onus is on Papiss Cisse (right) to take up the goalscoring duties since Ba's departureNewcastle’s recent transfer policy has been one of the successes of the Mike Ashley era. Eight year contracts were bandied about and a whole host of lethal, young and cheap talent unearthed.
But chief scout Graham Carr and the club have never faced a more testing fortnight if they are to keep Remy and QPR at arm’s length (and if that happens, don’t rule Newcastle count of signing him when he becomes available).
It was hard to avoid the images of 1973 at the Stadium of Light at the weekend.
On the big screen before kick-off, there was Monty’s saves, Porterfield’s winner, Kerr lifting the trophy and of course Stokoe’s manic run across the Wembley turf to celebrate Sunderland’s shock win over Leeds United.
In the club programme, an advert to sell tickets for a fiver to kids for tonight’s third round replay with Bolton Wanderers didn’t use Steven Fletcher, Adam Johnson or Stephane Sessegnon.
Instead there was a beaming Monty again, proudly sitting astride the great trophy. Unlike other images in the award-winning programme, Jim Montgomery, now the silver-haired club ambassador and ex-players’ contact, the photo on the advert is in black and white.
Remember this? Mike Horswill (left) and Ian Porterfield celebrated their shock FA Cup win against Leeds in 1973 Sealed: Porterfield scored the winner past David Harvey to secure the Wembley victoryIt will take more than a few memories, and the 40th year anniversary of Sunderland’s last FA Cup triumph to instil the feeling that this could be Sunderland’s year in the great competition again.
Indeed, as manager Martin O’Neill conceded in the run-up to the vital replay against Bolton, his team looked as good as out of the competition just three minutes into the second-half at the Reebok Stadium.
The afternoon had not started well. Carlos Cuellar played the most ridiculous pass seen for quite a while by any schoolboy, never mind Sunderland defender – and he will have had some good competition over the years – to gift Chung-Young Lee Bolton’s opener.
The defending wasn’t much better when Marvin Sordell nodded home the second.
Comeback kid: Connor Wickham (right) helped to force a replay at the Stadium of Light
But with Connor Wickham unleashed, and Sunderland determined to fare better in front of the impressive 5,000-plus following to the North West, they pulled off their comeback, courtesy of Wickham’s first of the season and another unstoppable shot from Craig Gardner.
O’Neill certainly felt Sunderland took that energy and drive into the West Ham game and although Sam Allardyce’s side were surprisingly poor at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, Sunderland made themselves difficult to live with.
They will need that again to advance against a Bolton side likely to include Stuart Holden and David Wheater.
The Sunderland manager’s perseverance with the likes of Sessegnon, Johnson and McClean in particular has paid off.
And his best midfielder in the last two games has been David Vaughan, who has come in from the cold to dismiss talk of a loan move and reunion with former Blackpool boss Ian Holloway at Crystal Palace.
If Sunderland do overcome Bolton at the Stadium of Light tonight, they face the unenviable task of meeting Everton in the fourth round. Forty years, Wembley, and all that, will still be a long way.
Perseverance: Martin O'Neill has moulded Stephane Sessegnon (left) into a dangerous playerIncredibly it is 20 games and 12 years since Sunderland beat Everton in any competition and of course they not only knocked them out of the FA Cup last season, but ended the season too.
They will need to be at their very best to end that hoodoo, but will be delighted to get the opportunity in the first place with a win tonight.
Sunderland host a reunion with the surviving players of 1973 at the Stadium of Light on May 5. Now if the present squad and their manager were looking forward to the FA Cup Final six days later...
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