Newcastle United fans have ranked who they view as the club’s biggest rivals.
Newcastle’s Chancel Mbemba in action with Aston Villa’s Jordan Ayew
The Chronicle asked Geordie fans to rank Newcastle’s ‘biggest’ rivals.
Obviously there was no displacing Sunderland, who were runaway winners with almost twice as many votes as any other side – and it’s fair to say the feeling is mutual.
Aleksandar Mitrovic celebrates after scoring the first goal for Newcastle against Sunderland
Way behind in second was Middlesbrough – and even though the side’s haven’t faced each other in over five years, the local rivalry aspect evidently remains strong between the sides.
Just a few votes behind Boro, however, was Saturday’s opponents Aston Villa. This may seem as somewhat of an odd choice from an outsider’s perspective, but the ‘rivalry’ between the two sides has been growing ever since the Magpies’ relegation at Villa Park in 2009.
During the match, in which Newcastle lost 1-0 thanks to a Damien Duff own goal, Villa fans continually mocked their opponents with numerous banners, chants and jeers before profusely cheering at the full-time whistle as the away side were relegated from the Premier League for the first ever time.
Those events undoubtedly caused some hostility between the two sets of fans – and even though Newcastle quickly got their revenge on their return to the top flight with a 6-0 win over the Villains – an odd rivalry has clearly started to develop.
It’s fair to say Aston Villa fans won’t regard Newcastle as one of their three main rivals – given the number of clubs in close proximity to them – but there’s still a clear level of hostility between the sides.
And when Newcastle came to Villa Park at the back end of last season fighting for Premier League survival, home fans – even though their club had already been relegated – were more than happy to display the mocking banners once again.
Manchester United and Leeds respectively made up the top five – as they probably would for the majority of English sides, particularly those from the north.
Referee Howard Webb, Newcastle United’s Alan Shearer and Manchester United’s Roy Keane
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