There's a song the people of Newcastle used to sing in the 17th century.
Incredibly it's an anti- Sunderland song and perhaps it offers a clue as to when the Tyne-Wear rivalry first began.
'Ride through Sandgate, up and doon / There you'll see the gallants fighting for the croon / And all the cull cuckolds in Sunderland toon / With there bonny blew caps cannot pull them doon.'
To explain, the song was popular during the Civil War. Newcastle was loyal to King Charles I, while Sunderland sided with the Parliamentarians.
Reasons for this go back as far as the 13th century and the era of King John, when Newcastle fought to secure the monopoly on coal export. By the 1600s the Tyne was shipping 20 times more coal than the Wear. King Charles awarded the city an exclusive royal charter for coal export which had serious economic ramifications for Sunderland and the surrounding area. It goes some way to explaining why the two cities fell down on either side of the Civil War battle.
As author Paul Brown explains in his Newcastle United history book 'All With Smiling Faces', "In effect, both towns were fighting for their livelihoods".
Sunderland supported the Scots as they attempted to attack Newcastle. Wearside became a supply base during the ongoing siege and locals adopted 'bonny blew' caps of the Scottish army in support, as per the song. Newcastle eventually fell to the Scots, the nine year Civil War ended, Charles I was executed and Newcastle's first coal monopoly ended.
You could probably chalk it up as the first Sunderland victory over Newcastle.
The cities clashed in a footballing context for the first time some 250 years later on Christmas Eve 1898. Newcastle won that one 3-2 and there's been 154 Tyne-Wear derbies since. Both clubs have recorded 53 wins each, with 49 draws.
With Newcastle famously trophy-less since 1969 and Sunderland's cabinet undisturbed by major honours since 1973, the derby has effectively become both club's cup final. But has the lack of Tyne-Wear derby since 2016 dampened the rivalry, or intensified it?
Our 'League of Love and Hate' is an annual supporters' survey carried out by tens of thousands of fans across the country.
Not only can fans nominate the club at the top of their rivalry list, in the spirit of balance and goodwill, supporters are invited to also select up to five clubs they look out for other than their main team.
Use the tool below to register your feelings of love and hate:
