It may have been a pulsating six-goal thriller at St James’s Park on Sunday yet human rights activists labelled it the Sportswashing Derby.
On Monday, the natives may have been ecstatic at Old Trafford as their detested rivals Liverpool were crushed by Manchester United but their real hatred was reserved for the hedge fund cowboys who have taken an alleged £1.6 billion out of their club.
Millions in England may soon have to choose between warmth and food but Premier League clubs (some of whom not that long ago claimed to be so skint they furloughed workers) have spent more than £1.5 billion on transfers during this record-smashing summer.
