With the season in full flow, all three of the big sides in the North East are looking to make an impact in their respective leagues.
Middlesbrough celebrate with the trophy after being promoted to the Barclays Premier League
It’s fair to say the North East has seen its fare share of misery over the last decade or so, with relegation being a constant threat for all three sides. However, this season has some more optimism all round as Middlesbrough are celebrating their first year back in the Premier League, Sunderland have welcomed David Moyes as their new manager and Newcastle managed to keep hold of Rafa Benitez.
In short, all three clubs have the same goal – ensure they’re playing in the top flight in 12 months’ time.
Middlesbrough
After an extended absence, Boro are back in the big time and they haven’t wasted any time in bringing in some new reinforcements. Having always been considered the smallest club out of their rivals they’ll feel like they have something to prove, and they’ve got off to a great start having already defeated the Black Cats.
Middlesbrough’s Alvaro Negredo celebrates scoring their first goal
They’ve also managed to bring in some huge names to the Riverside, with the likes of Victor Valdes and Alvaro Negredo now gracing the Premier League with their presence. After a positive opening few games and a stronger squad than some of the sides around them, it seems likely that the Teessiders are set to have relatively successful campaign that ends with survival.
Prediction: 14th
Newcastle United
Relegation wasn’t a new feeling to Newcastle United having experienced it just a few years prior to last season. In fact, the confirmation of their drop down to the second tier was met with some hope for the future as fans yearned for Rafa Benitez to stay at the club. He accepted the offer to stay and from that moment onwards promotion was not only anticipated, but expected.
Newcastle’s Dwight Gayle celebrates scoring their third goal with team mates
With some promising new purchases such as Dwight Gayle and Matt Ritchie, the squad finally contains a mixture of players who actually want to pull on the famous black and white shirt and has a solid depth. With all of the positive energy surrounding St James’ Park, promotion seems well within their reach if they can live up to their potential.
Prediction: 1st
Sunderland
Sunderland are quickly turning into the new Wigan, in the sense that they continually find themselves in dire situations at the bottom of the table before somehow managing to turn things round.
With new manager David Moyes now at the helm, the hope will be that he can turn his fortunes around after poor stints at Manchester United and Real Sociedad.
Sunderland players celebrate at the end of the match
However, a poor start to the season wasn’t helped by Moyes claiming that fans need to “prepare themselves for a relegation battle” as reported by BBC Sport. The additions of players such as Didier N’Dong will certainly help, but it looks like it’ll be another season of struggle for the Black Cats.
Prediction: 17th
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