The Evening Chronicle ran a front page with the headline It Doesnt Get Any Worse Than This in the aftermath of this defeat and Ruud Gullit lost his grip on the Newcastle managers job as a result. Gullits team sheet was later compared to a suicide note after he benched star strikers Alan Shearer and Duncan Ferguson with youngster Paul Robinson chosen to lead the Magpies attack. Undoubtedly it was the nadir of his short incumbency at St James. When we got Newcastles team news I didnt need to give a team talk, former Black Cats boss Peter Reid said to the Telegraph. Hed left their two best players on the bench and we were delighted. As expected it backfired for the Dutchman as Sunderland came from behind to record a famous victory in the torrential rain, made all the more iconic by Kevin Phillips stunning lobbed winner that came just two minutes after Gullit had finally bowed down to pressure from the stands to introduce Shearer. He resigned the next day much to the relief of everyone on Tyneside.
