(27 Apr 2015, 8:44 pm)MurdnunoC wrote It doesn't have to be if you're prepared to take a dispassionate, rational view of the game.
I don't support any particular team, I like to see all North Eastern teams do well, but I think supporters, especially around the North East, tend to have an unrealistic view about what their team can feasibly achieve.
Newcastle and Sunderland are, at best, mid-table Premiership teams. Middlesbrough, at best, are either Championship promotion contenders or Premiership relegation candidates. And so on and so on. Supporters accuse the boards Newcastle and Sunderland of lacking ambition. Ideally, they would like some Sheikh sugar daddy or Russian oligarch to come along and bankroll the club to glory, however, even if this did happen, I reckon they'd still struggle to crack the top five.
Not everyone can be number one!
Obviously I can't speak for everyone and whilst their will be some who want the rich sugar daddy to step in, a lot of the people I speak to, want players who make an effort, appear to give a toss and a team that will excite supporters in terms of a cup run or pushing for Europe.
That isn't too much to expect and the issue lies with Newcastle seemingly content on Premier League mediocrity. A spokesman is widely reported to have said that would be at the expense of a cup run.
Heck, even in the dark days, at least a Newcastle supporter could anticipate or dream about a run to the quarter finals or beyond. I remember being on cloud 9 the day Newcastle hammered Swindon, even if it turned out a year or two later, that Lou Macari had been betting against his team that day...
Now it is the nightmare of the usual third round defeat to a lower division team.