40% better.

In an item I did on the telly the other week, I argued that the North East League Football season that's just ended was 40% better than the last one. The maths are fairly simple, which they have to be, because I’m not good at maths. But I thought I’d explain. Basically, it was a LOT better for Newcastle, better for Sunderland, but either the same or worse for Middlesbrough, Hartlepool and Darlington.

Newcastle United. BETTER. MUCH, MUCH BETTER

The Magpies season can be viewed in any number of different ways, but every interpretation reaches the same positive conclusion. At one extreme, you might reasonably say that Chris Hughton, Kevin Nolan, Steve Harper and the rest of them have saved the soul of a football club. At the other end of the scale, you might consider that essentially all Newcastle United have done is put right a terrible wrong. But either way, you have to conclude that they’ve done very, very well. Hughton’s quiet authority was the pleasant surprise of the year. The coalition of senior players set the tone and provided the solid backbone to the whole enterprise. Newcastle United became a half decent team again, but just as importantly, they became a team that it’s possible to admire again. They were defined by spirit, character and hard work. Old-fashioned qualities that haven't been associated with Newcastle United for some time. They deserved to win the Championship and the premier league welcomes them back with open arms.

Marks out of ten: 10. I could take a mark off for the “fight, what fight” incident that the club swept under the carpet. I could take a mark off for the balloon-bursting, post-season “No money, no comment” statement. But I’m not going to. Giving Newcastle United any less than 10 out of 10 seems churlish. They did as much as it was possible for them to do this season and they did it very well.

Sunderland. BETTER.

Great start + Saggy middle + Decent ending = 13th place in the premier league and no relegation worries beyond the middle of April. That is progress. It’s just not sexy progress. It’s just not as much progress as we were hoping for back in November. Ultimately it was a transitional season as a new manager put together a new squad. Darren Bent was the star of the show. His 25 goals kept the Black Cats out of trouble, but just as importantly he proved that not all young, English footballers are predictable and one dimensional. He proved to himself and hopefully to others that there is football life outside London and the North West. He embraced the region and the region embraced him. Bent wasn't the only success story either. Craig Gordon blossomed. Jordan Henderson sparkled. There’s a lot to work with and more money for Bruce to spend. The bleak midwinter was awful though and as a result, there will be tough decisions to make, in terms of who stays and who can go. But the foundations are now in place. Opportunity knocks at the Stadium of Light. That’s for sure.

Marks out of ten: 7. I asked Steve Bruce to give himself marks out of ten for his debut season as Sunderland Manager. He said 6. But I think he was being harsh on himself. I say 7, because as uneven as it was, there were some great memories along the way. The beachball. Man United away. Arsenal and Spurs at home, the latter of which was my favourite match of the season. Darren Bent becoming the new Superkev. Lorik Cana launching himself into ridiculous flying tackles. As Steve Bruce said, "It was so nearly an 8".

Middlesbrough. SLIGHTLY WORSE.

Everything changed, but not yet for the better. Boro’s campaign was defined by the decision to replace Gareth Southgate with Gordon Strachan. It was more than a managerial reshuffle. It was Steve Gibson's admission that an era was over at the Riverside and it was time to rip everything up and start again. The arguments about Southgate were mostly over the timing of his departure, rather than the decision itself and Strachan seemed a logical choice to replace him. But it was in the weeks and months that followed that Middlesbrough’s season drifted away from them. There was no “dead cat bounce”. Just the opposite. Their form collapsed and by the time they recovered, automatic promotion had gone and the play-offs were just out of reach. But what if this unsatisfying season was a necessary evil ? Clearly Strachan was less than enthusiastic about the squad he inherited and he set about rebooting it in January. That process is not yet complete and therefore this project can’t yet be properly judged. Time is of the essence though. The Teesside public have voted with their feet. Attendances have dropped alarmingly and Strachan and his team need to act fast to bring the fans back to the Riverside.

Marks out of ten: 4. That may seem harsh, but while Newcastle looked like a premier league team just passing through, Middlesbrough never fully came to grips with the championship. The big roll of the dice, the managerial change, did not bring instant results. Adam Johnson provided the sparkle, but his inevitable departure was the final signal that it was the end of an era. This was a deeply flawed, deeply unsatisfying campaign. But change on this scale tends to be painful and better times are surely ahead.

Hartlepool United. SAME

The same season as last time made different by an unexpected random factor that was thrown in at the very last minute. A Football League ruling that was brutal in it's timing, if not in it's substance. There are definitely two sides to the Gary Liddle story, but when all's said and done, Hartlepool selected a player who should have been suspended and ultimately they take responsibility for that. But why did it take so long for the verdict ? Stripping Hartlepool of 3 points just before the final game of the season changed the shape and context of the relegation fight for four different clubs. That was cruel and badly handled. But they survived and that's another little victory. Hartlepool provide a decent blueprint for small clubs competing at this level and every year they survive in league one is a year of achievement. But that's also a fundamental problem, because if you keep banging your head on the glass ceiling, the law of diminishing returns kicks in and Hartlepool had the lowest average crowd in League One this year.

Marks out of ten: 5. More of the same. No cup excitement to speak of this time either. In fact the only thing that really raised the pulse was Liddlegate.

Darlington. WORSE. OBVIOUSLY.

With the benefit of hindsight, they never had a chance. It just took too long to get out of administration and there wasn't enough time or money for a new manager to conjure up a new team. Colin Todd had virtually no players left over from the previous season and his replacements weren't good enough. Steve Staunton replaced Todd and tried his own hasty rebuilding job. But that didn't turn out much better. By the time Simon Davey arrived as the third manager of the season, the brief was no longer survival, it was resurrection. Darlington were relegated and that great, big, white elephant of a stadium will exist outside the football league next season. It's sad and it feels like a death in the North East Football Family.

Marks out of ten: 1. Half a mark because I think Chairman Raj Singh's heart is in the right place and half a mark for the appointment of Simon Davey, who might just be the right man for this beast of a job. But apart from that, forget it. A disaster.