Not since Geordie midfielder Lee Clark swapped St James' Park for the newly-built Stadium of Light in 1997 has a player dared to cross the Tyne-Wear divide. Knowing that he's in good company should come as a small crumb of comfort to Jack Colback as he prepares to throw himself into the lions den by completing a dream move to Newcastle from old enemies Sunderland. The 24-year-old will follow a similarly hostile path once trodden by Paul Bracewell and Barry Venison in swapping Wearside for Tyneside with both enjoying huge success at St James' Park as they did their talking on the pitch. Colback is a dyed in the wool Geordie, brought up in Killingworth, and turned down a reported £50,000-a-week deal at West Ham to join his boyhood club on a free transfer this summer so it's clear he's joining Newcastle for the right reasons. Although, to capricious sub-section of Toon fans that simply doesn't wash. Sunderland deserve massive credit for their careful and constructive nurturing of Colback's talent from the moment he was picked up as a 10-year-old after slipping through the net of our youth academy and it's his past allegiances to our Wearside neighbours that is provoking apathy towards his impending arrival. Shushing the crowd after scoring the third goal in Sunderland's 3-0 victory on Tyneside in February, in hindsight, only added more fuel to the fire. Thus it's up to Colback - a technically gifted midfielder - to win over the disgruntled Magpies faithful who feel the Club are intentionally blaspheming by allowing him to wear the black and white shirt. Getting off to a good start is imperative and it would be in his best interests to follow the lead of messrs Bracewell and Venison by emulating the same commitment and gritty determination that made him such a hit in red and white despite his Newcastle lineage. His first Tyne-Wear derby could be make-or-break and he'll need to deliver a performance brimming with passion and loyalty to win over his current detractors. Oh, and a goal wouldn't go a miss either.
