Back where we belong: The North East’s rise to the top

With Sunderland successfully returning to the Premier League and Newcastle competing in the Champions League, can Middlesbrough be the third north-east club to return to the promised land. It’s been 17 years since the clubs where all in the topflight together.

All three clubs have had good years so far such as Newcastle making it to the round of 16 in the Champions League, Sunderland cementing themselves back in the Premier League and could even still get European football.

Middlesbrough have been flying in the Championship currently out of form but with a strong manager and club identity you can see them making their way to the top could we see all three clubs back in the Premier League.

I was able to talk to Journalist Craig Johns of Teesside live and A Love Supreme Writer and Editor Dan McCallum who gave me their opinions and knowledge on this piece.

Newcastle have had one of the strongest transformations in the league. A club that spent years struggling, threatened by the drop, and a build-up of frustration around the club they have been jolted into life by structural change and a renewed ambition.

The sense of possibility flows through Newcastle. European nights have returned to Tyneside, leading to a connection between the club and the fans a feeling that was once lost. Three is a believe at St James’ a feeling that they can reach the very top.

Thomas Thirkell, Stadium of Light, Walk way to the ground.

Focusing purely on Newcastle would miss the broader picture, because 12 miles down the road, Sunderland are writing a very different, but exciting chapter.

Their recent past has been defined by pain, back-to-back relegations, to a long spell in League One, and a loss of identity which felt at times existential. The rebuild has been strong. Youth-focused recruitment, a commitment to a strong style of play, and a demanding focus on the reshape of the club.

As Craig puts it: “There was a club there that was so desperate to stay in the Premier League that they did not really have any long-term thinking.” Adding that “the same cycle would repeat and repeat.”

That short-terminism, he suggests, ultimately led to Sunderland’s fall, but also gave them the opportunity to change and rise back up in a controlled situation.

There are however questions about how far this current model can take them. Dan believes there may be a ceiling: “A recruitment style like Sunderland will 100% have a ceiling. If you look at Brighton, for example, they have gotten Europe once but tend to have a ceiling of finishing around mid-table most years.”

Sunderland resurgence is far from complete. In a region that demands resilience and passion above all else, that matters The Mackem’s have shown that through the ‘till the end’ campaign last year leading to their promotion back to the top flight.

The final of the three is Middlesbrough they might be slightly apart to the clubs geographically but not culturally. Currently in the Championship, their trajectory has been less dramatic, but has no less significance. The Boro have been consistently competitive in the Championship; they have leaned into a model built on intelligent recruitment and tactical clarity from both Kieran Scott and Kim Hellberg.

Their rebuild, as Johns explains, has been shaped by necessity as much as desire. “It was in 2021 that they hired Kieran Scott… and he’s slowly but surely been rebuilding Middlesbrough… to recruit well, recruit sensibly and in a way that allows them to be better off the pitch financially as well” After years of mistakes and stepping backwards, the shift toward sustainability has become an important factor to their change of business.

There is a pragmatism to Middlesbrough’s rise, less noise, fewer headlines, but building up in the background. If Newcastle are to represent the possibility, Sunderland represent renewal, Middlesbrough defiantly represent persistence. What binds these clubs together is not simply proximity. It is a shared sense of home.

The north-east of football has a passion and desire unlike anywhere else in the country. Places where family can connect and generations overlap. This is why the regions rivalries cut so deep.

The Tyne and Wear derby between Newcastle and Sunderland remains amongst the most fierce and passionate in English Football. These are not nice derbies; they are expressions of identity. There is also a sense that however unspoken it is the clubs’ fortunes are interconnected.

Craig acknowledges this balance between rivalry and regional pride, but also the reality of modern football differences. “Theres a realism… that when you get a state like Saudi Arabia backing Newcastle United, financially, Middlesbrough are just not going to be able to compete with that.” Instead, clubs like Middlesbrough must punch, “punch with their weight and do as much as they can with what they do have.”

This duality, fierce competition, and this shared identity is what makes the north-east unique.

Alamy, St James Park, Shearer statue with fans celebrating Saudi takeover.

Financially the footballing world is changing with owners such as Todd Boehly, and the Saudis, the spending of the Premier League has been drastic and does create struggles for most when they are promoted pushing them into needing to spend money to even stand a chance of staying up.

Newcastle’s financial backing has altered the equation at the top end, but Sunderland and Middlesbrough offer alternative models, proof that strategic planning, recruitment, and identity still matters. Pulling it all together is the support from the fans.

“The passion for those football clubs is massive,” John says, “players are drawn by the supporters… wanting to play for fans who drive you in the way that they can.” In a region where loyalty is inherited and endured, that remains the north-easts greatest strength.

There’s lots of questions on the topic. Can Newcastle translate promise into sustained success? Will Sunderland complete their climb and stay there? Can Middlesbrough turn consistency into breakthrough?

Craig is cautiously optimistic about the immediate future of The Boro. “Hopefully this can be the start of a new kind of golden period for northeast football,” he says, though he acknowledges the challenges, particularly those trying to bridge the gap to the Premier League, there’s no guarantees in football.

What matters for these clubs is the direction of travel, after years spend looking back and learning, the north-east is looking to rise to the top.

    Infographic of the team’s progression since they were all last in the premier league