Can you believe it has been seven years since the last Tyne-Wear derby?
When a shirtless Aleksandar Mitrovic exploded at St James’ Park, celebrating a last-gasp equaliser with a supporter to end Sunderland’s six-game winning run, few would have expected the hostilities to simmer.
However, there has been a truce between the two camps in recent times, with the fixture not being contested for almost a decade.
The new Saudi-backed owners have made no secret of their desire to transform Newcastle United into a European powerhouse. With the Black Cats languishing in the Championship - after a considerable spell in League One - and the Magpies aiming for stardom, a piece of North East heritage could fade into obscurity.
The Geordies and the Black Cats share a long-standing rivalry stemming back to the English Civil War when resentment over perceived favouritism towards Royalist Newcastle led to Sunderland becoming a staunch Parliamentarian stronghold.
Both settlements found themselves at loggerheads again 150 years later when Sunderland sided with the Stuarts and Newcastle with the House of Hanover during the Jacobite risings. This rivalry, literally, runs a lot deeper than football.
But what does it stand for today?
“The whole rivalry, for me, comes from Newcastle fans believing their city is a better place, has better people and is more notable,” a Sunderland season-ticket holder tells ChronicleLive. “Sunderland built a 48,000 seater stadium, Newcastle upgraded to 52,000. It's a constant struggle between Newcastle believing it is better than Sunderland and Sunderland having a constant chip on its shoulder over it.
“The airport is called Newcastle Airport when we pay for it too. BBC Radio Newcastle covers Sunderland as well but it's called BBC Radio Newcastle. Look North is based in Newcastle… It’s continually perpetuated by Geordies that they are better because they get all these things and that's kind of what the rivalry is to me.”
For both regions, the Tyne-Wear derby used to be a landmark day on the calendar. Pubs opened earlier and even those who are not fervent football fans would be out in force, kitted out in their city’s colours. It was synonymous with being a Geordie or a Mackem.
“It used to be one of the biggest matches of the season,” Natasha, long-serving season ticket holder and NUFC Blog contributor, tells ChronicleLive. “No matter when the game was, you'd be out early doors for it and it would be a messy night - regardless of the result.
“A few seasons ago, I was living in Sunderland. Until we started losing it was great for bragging rights and I loved wearing my Newcastle shirt around town the next day. Thankfully, by the time I left university, we'd only lost the first one out of the six!”
Ah, the six-in-a-row. Neither club had managed six straight Tyne-Wear derby wins until Sunderland embarrassed their bitter rivals on each occasion from April 2013 to October 2015.
There were several hidings among those wins, too. Three 3-0 victories - with two of them at St James’ Park - flipped the inferiority complex on its head. Before this run, the Magpies oozed confidence in the derby, boasting a 13-year unbeaten streak on home soil.
In fact, the poor form and lengthy hiatus means Newcastle have not beaten the Black Cats since the 1-0 win on Wearside in August 2011. The scars still cut deep, with Toon supporters not as keen to see the fiercely-contested fixtures return.
Natasha added: “No (whether she misses the derby). Mainly because we were chronically losing them for a while! I don't see us losing many if Sunderland were to come back up soon.
“When choosing between getting derbies back and Sunderland staying down, I'd rather the latter - that's funnier than the wins! A lot of younger supporters won't have experienced many but, as soon as that next one comes around, it'll be just as huge as it ever was.”
But given the polarising situations of the two clubs, will the derby ever be the same again? Part of the allure was that, aside from the mid-90s to early 00s, Newcastle and Sunderland were evenly matched.
The 50/50 element was conducive to the occasion, heightening the nerves and making victory that little bit sweeter. Connor Bromley, former host of the Roker Rapport podcast, fears the derby may lose its appeal.
“It is seven years since the last Tyne-Wear derby and, if we reflect on that game now, the two clubs are in a very different shape,” he tells ChronicleLive. “If you recall, this derby was a 1-1 draw and the season ended with Newcastle being relegated and Sunderland surviving before falling into the abyss 12 months later and eventually into League One.
“If it happened in the Premier League in the next few years, there would of course be excitement around the game. What concerns me is, if Newcastle spend billions, we will turn up to St James’ Park and the fixtures would become a non-event. Newcastle fans having the bragging rights on a derby day will become less so if you spend a billion quid on your team and we have a bunch of cloggers, where are the bragging rights there?
“I remember Man City beating Man Utd 4-1 before their takeover, with Shaun Goater scoring. That win would have meant so much more than if Man United nicked it 1-0, and that’s what the Tyne-Wear derby risks becoming. If Newcastle maintain their current trajectory and become the next Man City, then the derby will likely become more akin to Barcelona v Espanyol. It isn’t going to have the same attraction it once had. ”
While on-field malevolence has halted, there is still evidence of the two fanbases locking horns. Last month, a clip went viral of a Newcastle away bus passing a Sunderland one, presumably on the A1. As expected, the rival coaches gestured obscenities and abuse at one another.
The Magpies were en route to Wembley for a Carabao Cup final whereas Sunderland fans travelled to Coventry City, a sad reflection of both clubs’ contrasting situations. Connor, unable to resist a swipe at his black-and-white adversaries, insisted the old Newcastle is “dead” due to their Saudi-backed ownership model.
“Newcastle have become the villains of the Premier League due to their ownership, while Sunderland seem to be praised for their current recruitment and use of academy stars.
“The dynamic has shifted in the sense that the neutral supporter looks at Newcastle far less favourably than they would have a decade ago. I certainly know that, if my Toon supporting friends were trying to brag, I would point at their transfer spend and owners.
And how did Natasha, the St James' Park season ticket holder, respond?
“It's more nuanced than that. he club is pumping money into the community, so it's having an impact on the city, not just football, and it's clear it's our owners making decisions, not the Saudi state. Funding is where it gets dicey - not ownership. The same finance funds Disney, Twitter and all sorts. It's just highlighted more because of how prominent football is.”
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