The Uncomfortable Truth For Newcastle and Sunderland Fans
There is a very uncomfortable truth for both Newcastle and Sunderland fans.
Despite all the rhetoric and friction, especially around the derby matches, that uncomfortable truth is that the Mackems and Geordies have far more in common than what divides them.
Whether it is industrial heritage, politics, the impact of economic austerity, culture, friendliness and of course most importantly, football supporting.
This doesn’t mean that we should pretend we are best mates all the time, just more of a reality check that we are so much alike, compared to say the Manchester United or Aston Villa fanbases for example.
What we really know deep down is that Sunderland have got great support, not as big a support as Newcastle have, but quite incredible really compared to the rubbish they watch season after season, just like us.
(To feature like Dean, send in your articles for our website to contribute@themag.co.uk)
If you look at the crowd averages so far this season, you see ourselves in the usual number three slot, while the Mackems are sixth, above the likes of Chelsea, Everton and Spurs.
Yes no doubt Chelsea and Spurs could get more fans if they had bigger grounds but still the fact remains that as well as Newcastle, Sunderland are watched week in week out by more people than who watch these clubs that have had massive funds injected on the playing side, while ran in an ambitious way on every level.
Looking further down, Villa are surely the most fickle fans anywhere, they had forty thousand for Arsenal’s visit and then twenty eight thousand when Hull came calling , that game coming straight after they had won at Anfield!
As for Manchester City, ground redevelopment has meant their capacity is temporarily reduced to 46,708 and so I’m not sure how many empty seats there has been with them averaging 45,565.
However, despite buying the Champions League for their fans and injecting a (sovereign state’s) fortune into the playing staff, they were rewarded with a crowd of [intlink id=”48214″ type=”post”]37,509 for Mapou and AS Roma\’s Champions League visit[/intlink] on Tuesday.
There is a lot to be proud of in the north east, despite being at the sharp end of the government’s austerity measures.
Top of the list though is possibly the loyalty to our football clubs and pride in where we’re from.
Sadly in Newcastle United’s case, that very loyalty is the thing that has attracted Mike Ashley and will continue to keep him attached, like a leech sucking the lifeblood out of our great club and City.
Average Home Premier League Attendances 2014/15 (From soccerstats.com)
75,337 Man Utd
59,955 Arsenal
49,720 Newcastle
45,565 Man City
44,645 Liverpool
41,780 Sunderland
41,540 Chelsea
38,822 Everton
36,033 Spurs
34,953 West Ham
32,872 Aston Villa
31,640 Leicester
29,260 Southampton
27,103 Stoke
24,440 West Brom
24,127 Crystal Palace
22,827 Hull
20,608 Burnley
20,493 Swansea
17,232 QPR
If you would like to feature on The Mag, submit your article to contribute@themag.co.uk