Premier League Betting: Difficult to understand why North-East clubs feel so superior

Premier League / Tareq Quiroz / 13 April 2009 / 1 Comments

Tareq Quiroz wonders whether the likes of Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesbrough can justify considering themselves big clubs based on their relative and not-so-recent success...

Just over a month to go now and all the sweat and toil of the last few months will be over. There will be more losers than winners and within weeks everyone will have forgotten just what pain they went through during the last ten months. The summer will bring fresh optimism amongst all clubs and ideas beyond their wildest dreams about what the new season will bring. For some, expectations will far outweigh any real justification.

When we talk about unrealistic expectations the one club that immediately comes to mind is Newcastle. There is no doubting that this is a great club with a tremendous following but surely they get their hopes up far too much. Football is a way of life in the North East and many other clubs would love to have the spirit around the club that Newcastle have. However, getting 50, 000 people in every game does not mean success will automatically follow.

The Toon Army talk about being a cup team but haven't actually won the FA cup since 1955. They didn't win the league in 1996 or 1997 despite coming so close and they need to get over that. The facts are this club hasn't won the league since 1927. I think clubs have every right to state their history and it does matter what a club did a hundred years ago. But we must be clear that whilst this gives teams a standing in history, it does not entitle them to success in the present.

There is also this propensity to hail the club's top players as icons. Shearer is undoubtedly a great but he is not a god. Apparently the messiah has come to save them from the disaster of relegation but as far as I can see it is just the club setting themselves up for another big fall. They are an average team with largely average players that are in the relegation zone. They deserve to be there and I think that the [1.95] to be relegated is pretty good value.

Newcastle has a fierce rivalry with their North East rivals Sunderland. The Mackems are also sadly guilty of falling into the same trap as their neighbours. Six league titles does have them right up there in the top echelons of successful clubs but the last one was in 1936. They will point to an FA Cup success in 1973 as a one up on Newcastle but that is all it is. I don't get the same feeling of deserving league success at Sunderland as I do at Newcastle but there is a definite feeling of superiority.

Sunderland have no divine right to be in the top flight and despite their best efforts to jazz up the club, no top player with any aspirations would go there. They will breed the odd good player who will move on and they will buy players that nobody else wants. This is it for Sunderland and they need to set their expectations accordingly. Stop thinking about building a team that can challenge for Europe and realise that staying in the top flight for four or five consecutive seasons would be a big achievement.

Consolidation is something concrete they can build upon instead of living in a pipe dream. They are just two points ahead of Newcastle at the moment and I think they may just stay ahead of them but it won't be pretty. The Season Match Bet between the two sides is very interesting and Sunderland are favourites to edge that at current odds of [1.6].

In contrast to their North East rivals Middlesbrough don't even have any decent history to reminisce about. I don't have much time for Boro and I would much rather see other teams in the top flight but you cannot knock the desire of the Chairman Steve Gibson. He has taken the club from the brink of folding to a decent Premier League stint and almost an amazing UEFA Cup win.

However, the club isn't well supported and far too often there are thousands of empty seats. They have a rivalry with Newcastle and Sunderland but nobody really cares. It is a little like West Brom claiming they have a rivalry with Villa but in truth it's only West Brom who care about it. They are a poor team and one I think the Premier League will be better off without. Current odds of [1.58] in the Relegation market suggest we are about to find out.

Clearly it is not just North East clubs with expectations beyond any real justification but as these three clubs are all in the bottom four in the league I think they are fair game. We will lose one if not two of them from the Premier League this season and maybe that will give them the reality check that has been a long time in the making. Somehow I don't think it will though.

Comments (1)

1. Mike | 13 April 2009

   I feel that, as a loyal Middlesbrough supporter, I must defend the club in response to what TQ has said.

   Most of what TQ says are his own opinions and are therefore unlikely to change. However, in response to his belief that Middlesbrough Football Club 'isn't well supported' I would urge him to explain how he came to this conclusion.

   For the record, there are eight teams in the Premier League currently with a lower average attendance than Middlesbrough - this despite the club having a poor season both results and entertainment wise. Statistically speaking, when you consider that the town of Middlesbrough has a population of just 142,000, then for the football club to average an attendance of 28,000 is not at all bad.

   You can't say the club is a poorly supported one simply because the stadium capacity is bigger than the average attendance (hence the empty seats). If TQ is going to use this as the basis of his argument then Barcelona are one of the worst supported clubs in the world.

   On the basis of Middlesbrough's rivalry with Newcastle and Sunderland TQ is correct to point out that nobody really cares. It is the media that hype up these games as North East derbies and certainly not the club or fans 'claiming' to have a rivalry with Newcastle/Sunderland. It isn't Middlesbrough's fault that there isn't a serious rival within 30 miles of the club.

   It's quite disappointing to read TQ say things like Middlesbrough are a poor team and that the Premier League would be better off without them. Surely any club that gets into and maintains their Premier League status deserves to be there, and as long as there are twenty clubs in the division, competing week in week out to achieve the best they can, then how can you say the league would be better off without a certain team?

   I would like to point out to TQ that success is relative. Middlesbrough have been to five major cup finals in the last twelve years (more than any other club outside of the big four) and to us Boro fans, this is success. Middlesbrough have also accumulated more points in the last ten years against the big four than any other Premier League club, a statistic that highlights the enjoyment the club has given to us fans and the 'relative' success they've achieved against the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United.

   I'm not saying Middlesbrough is the greatest club in the world, but it is a much better one than what is generally perceived by many - especially people from the South.

   The club has a fantastic stadium, tremendous training facilities, has a brilliant youth academy and is financially secure. Compare that to some of the clubs that I'm sure TQ would rather see in the Premier League - Leeds United for example.