Sunderland sees return of golden era Adam Johnson

Adam Johnson. Discuss. A topic much debated on Wearside and not always in a good way. Tonight, it will be debated in a good way.

For the third season running Johnson scored at St James Park and Sunderland won at the home of their old enemy.

Newcastle United's players and fans were utterly devastated by his 90th minute winner. The reaction in red and white, obviously, was very different.

Christmas came early for the Black Cats. Which brings us back to Adam Johnson and the Johnson Conundrum. The oddest part about his late winner was that he was still on the pitch to score it.

Gus Poyet admitted after the game that he was about to bring Johnson off. His assistant had even handed the number 11 to the 4th official.

Then he got in behind the Newcastle defence, twisted, turned and shot wide. He should probably have scored. But that moment was enough to convince Poyet to keep him on.

Too often, Johnson's a substitution waiting to happen once the clock ticks past 60 minutes. Too often he's less than the sum of his parts.

Johnson should be Sunderland's best player. He's clearly the most technically gifted and he clearly possess more attacking talent than his team mates. But he drifts. He flits in and out. He doesn't maximise his potential.

Today he was different though. Today he was "at it". Today he wanted the ball. Today he twisted, turned, probed, and at the end, he pounced.

Today he was golden era Adam Johnson, the player who didn't look out of place among the superstars of Manchester City. Maybe this is his turning point, his roadmap to a more productive future. Maybe he'll continue to frustrate. But he's part of history now.

Sunderland had NEVER won four league derbies in a row against Newcastle. Now they have and Johnson's three-year derby hat-trick means he'll never have to buy a drink on Wearside again.