Maybe. Or maybe next year.

The glory of August for the football fan is the limitless possibility. The storylines are unwritten and everyone's glass is, or at least should be, half full. To me, the glass is definitely half full at Middlesbrough, slightly more than half full at Carlisle and edging towards three quarters full at Hartlepool. I'm just not sure anyone's glass is full enough to satisfy their thirst for a happy ending.

It's ironic that Juninho was back in town recently, to serve as a reminder of the good old days at Middlesbrough. The years when money was no object and a small town in Europe lifted a trophy and reached for the stars. It's ironic because a lot's changed since then. They're entering their 3rd year of exile from the top flight and the parachute won't open so far his time. Corners will be cut and new arrivals will be begged, borrowed or stolen rather than lavished with huge wages and signing on fees. But while the recent past no longer provides a useful reference point, a trip 25 years down memory lane is more instructive. It's the spirit of 86 that's needed now. That famous and much-loved team that took a football club from the brink of liquidation to promotion in the blink of an eye. That's the blueprint for the new austerity years at the Riverside. Of course Tony Mowbray provides the bridge between the two eras, and of course it would be just perfect for Mogga to fly Boro to the moon. Certainly they closed last season in dazzling form, and so far the squad is still in pretty good shape. But until the window closes they're vulnerable, and then there's the opposition, a subject I'll return to later.

My concern for Carlisle is basically to do with glass ceilings and where, precisely, theirs is located. Last season they finished mid-table in league one and won the JPT at Wembley. That represented a good years work. It also presents a big challenge for Greg Abbott and his staff, because now they're expected to do better. But how much better can they do ? The club is well run and on a sound financial footing after back to back Wembley trips, but that doesn't mean they can go toe to toe with the Sheffield clubs or Huddersfield in the transfer market. They can compete, but they need absolutely everything to fall in their favour in terms of signings, injuries, momentum and good luck. That's a lot to ask, and the highs of last season leave them with an awfully big act to follow.

I reckon Hartlepool smashed through their glass ceiling years ago. Every season they survive at this level is a minor miracle. But it also begs the question of whether they dare to dream of going higher. Well, whisper it quietly, but this might be their window of opportunity. #areyoucomingtopools was one of the hashtag highs of the summer. Hartlepool's innovative season ticket scheme proved to be a massive success and as a result they find themselves in a unique situation. Little old Pools will have a formidable home crowd behind them next season, which could generate the momentum for something unlikely and something wonderful. And why not, with Nobby Solano sat in the middle conducting the orchestra ?

But then we come back to the question of the opposition. This is where my glass suddenly dips from half full to half empty. In league one, can Carlisle and Hartlepool really live with the Sheffields ? Can they keep up with Clarkie's Huddersfield ? Preston ? And those are just the obvious ones. It's even worse for Boro up in the championship. Sven's Leicester are the big spenders. Big Sam and Big Kev Nolan will get the Hammers moving. Steve McClaren might just remind the Teesside public what a good manager he is over at Forest. Olly's Blackpool look keen to prove that whole Premier League thing wasn't a fluke. Chris Hughton might repeat his Magpie Miracle at Birmingham and the usual suspects like Burnley, Reading and Cardiff won't be far away. I've got a sneaking fancy for Brighton in their new stadium as well.

It's a jungle out there in the football league this season and I'm not 100% convinced our boys can live with the big beasts.

But I haven't given up hope. There's always a few tales of the unexpected and remember, it's still August. The storylines haven't been written yet and the lush, green, summer pitches are still rich with possibility.

Happy Endings

Everyone loves a happy ending. They were there, last season, if you looked carefully enough. Some were obvious, like Darlington and their FA Trophy, or Carlisle and their Johnstone's Paint Pot. Some were more subtle, like Tony Mowbray's gradual reawakening of Middlesbrough and Hartlepool's refusal to get drawn into a relegation battle. But everyone had something to look back on with satisfaction. Sunderland's happy ending came in the form of a top ten finish. Of course they went all round the houses to get there, but Steve Bruce will tell you ultimately that doesn't matter. They found unlikely heroes (Phil Bardsley) and there were pantomime villains (dastardly Darren Bent) and they finally found what they were looking for in the dying moments of the season. The great irony of course was that the Black Cats got the top ten finish that looked for all the world as if it was destined for Newcastle. But the Magpies needn't dwell on the denouement. Their happy ending was much more straightforward and was achieved with time to spare. They reestablished themselves as a premier league club. They were never dragged into the dogfight and, well, they'll always have Halloween. The sale of Andy Carroll was, sadly, inevitable, while the departure of Chris Hughton and the arrival of Alan Pardew remains a mysterious footnote. Everyone must make up their own mind as to whether they've got the right man, or whether they got rid of the right man. Boro HAVE got the right man. That's their happy ending. They kissed a frog, but they found their prince. Strachan was the sickness. Mowbray is their home-grown cure. A managerial change also defined Hartlepool's campaign. Chris Turner, who'd done so much at Victoria Park, finally got tired of the struggle. Mick Wadsworth became a sort of permanent caretaker and while mid-table mediocrity might not seem like the happiest of endings, it was actually a splendid achievement. Carlisle had another season of steady improvement under Greg Abbott and Peter Murphy's Wembley winner was Boy's Own stuff. Mark Cooper managed to sort out the unholy mess he inherited at Darlington and ended up with a Trophy for good measure. Gateshead were much-improved in their first modern season as a full time football club and Gary Mills arrived in time to steady the ship at York. So there you are. Everyone ended up smiling. Everyone loves a happy ending. True, we went through a lot of shit to get there, but what's life without little drama ?

Springtime stream of consciousness

What is it about the spring ? Where are the green shoots of recovery in North East football ? Why are we crap when the daffodils are out ? I had a rubbish start to spring, but I've cheered up since then. It was partly because some of it was in February and I don’t believe anyone’s really happy in February. It's a sneaky month. Everyone guards against a post-Christmas lull in January, but no one sees it coming when it hits in February. But what’s Sunderland’s excuse ? I know, Darren bloody Bent. Well, yes with hindsight @DB11TT (or @DB39TT or whatever he is now) has apparently knackered Sunderland’s season with his decision to take the money on offer down the road. But really, can we just lump all the blame onto the gun for hire ? He had, after all, been decidedly moderate during the first half of the season and it was screamingly obvious that his nose was well out of joint once Gyan wafted in with a sprinkling of super-stardust. And are Black Cats fans really going to claim that paying 5 million quid for a thirty-something striker from Stoke City with dodgy knees was going to be good use of the transfer pot ? No. No. No. It’s just the latest dose of Seasonal Affective Disorder on Wearside, because they’ve got a lot of previous when it comes to crap springs. They were rubbish around this time last year as well. Peter Reid’s best team around the turn of the century twice fell away after Christmas when Europe was in their grasp. That’s one of the main conundrums for Steve Bruce to unpick next season – how to keep going till the finishing line. And by the way, I’m prone to knee jerk reactions as much as the next man, but “Bruce out” on the phone-ins ? Really ? I mean REALLY ? Please, please get a grip. He’s the right man in the right place, at the right time and it’s up to him to kick on and make best use of the Stadium of Light opportunities. And opportunity knocks. I was lucky enough to have a couple of inside peeks at Sunderland over the last month or two – I did one of Niall Quinn’s talk-ins and then I happened to find myself in the boardroom after the Liverpool match – and these are serious, passionate, intelligent people with a game plan. So stick with it. Yes, this season’s a bit goosed now, but next season might be very good indeed. Newcastle haven’t been AS bad during the spring but they haven’t been wearing their daffodils with pride either. Like Sunderland, there are mitigating cirumstances (Andy, wherefore art thou Andy ?), but unlike Sunderland, the Magpies have done a decent job of rolling with the punches. It’s been patchy and volatile, but the Wolves win gets them just about over the top and anyone who complains too loudly at Newcastle this season needs to take a long hard look at the last 24 months, and the finances, then just pipe down and realise that the whole point of this season in the premier league was to make sure that next season is in the premier league as well. And there have been lovely little bonuses along the way. Leon Best – who saw that coming ? Joey Barton and Kevin Nolan – the Black and White midfield mafia of the premier league. Chieck Tiote – pound-for-pound up there with Javier Hernandez as the best signing of the season. So don’t complain. Complaining is just a waste of your life. Middlesbrough have quite enjoyed springtime. It was certainly better than the long, hard, grim winter and it was a country mile better than the dismal, depressing resource-sapping summer and autumn that came beforehand. I really, really like Tony Mowbray. He’s honest, he’s got a Boro-red heart and he understands that the manager’s job no longer comes with a silver spoon and an open chequebook. Yes, the club is on shifting, sinking sands financially, because the parachute won’t open so far next season, but they’ve got the right man at the helm. They’re staying up and that’s no small achievement considering the total wreckage Mowbray found when he arrived. Don’t dwell on the manager’s tone too much either. He’s got a quiet, almost downbeat tone about him during his press conferences. But that’s just the way he is. He’s very considered and if you listen to what he’s saying, it always makes sense. Springtime’s been OK for Hartlepool, but the main point there is that “OK” was all it needed to be, because they’d done more than enough beforehand to stay in League One, which was above and beyond what most people were expecting. Carlisle, god bless them, have only gone and won at Wembley in the springtime, when the sun was shining and the ghosts were laid to rest. Peter Murphy’s Daddy Cool story was brilliant and I was so pleased for all of them. The fans, the players, the management, the directors and Andy the kitman-cum-mediaman. They got a good kicking from Southampton 12 months ago and they learned from that and this was catharsis on a grand scale for everyone involved. And spring’s been brilliant for the non-league boys, with Darlo getting to Wembley and Gateshead running them close and Whitley Bay booking their inevitable return ticket for a day out beneath the arch. So I suppose spring’s not been all bad, but I did have a week at work where I felt more conflicted and more unsettled than I ever have during my 139 years in the job. It was nothing to do with my employers or my employment, it was to do with mechanics and ethics and journalistic method, and I will never, ever say anything more about that. Hopefully it’s over and hopefully the sun will keep shining and I’ll cover two more Wembley wins and Newcastle and even SAD-suffering Sunderland will finish with a flourish.

Memories 2010

North East football is another year older, but I'm none the wiser. Just when I think I've worked it out, Ashley goes and sacks Hughton. Or Sunderland go months without a win. Or Gordon Strachan turns out to be a great, big dud. But I've really enjoyed the last 12 months. Some bits more than others mind.....

HEROES OF 2010

5. STEVE BRUCE. Started the year on the crest of a slump. Then recovered. Told a big fat lie about not doing much business over the summer. Broke the transfer record again. Then carried the can for Sunderland's worst derby day in 50 years. But Sunderland's recovery from their Halloween hell has been impressive. Steve Bruce is making progress.

4. KEVIN NOLAN. The leader of the pack. Influential, responsible, clever and effective. Brilliant in the Championship and then reassuringly effective in the Premier League. His place in the hearts and the history books is assured after his hat trick in the Derby.

3. DARREN BENT. The first 10 months of his calender year were terrific. His debut season at Sunderland was virtually perfect, on and off the pitch. He should have gone to the World Cup, although was probably best off out of it. Then @DB11TT went back on twitter and picked up where he left off at the start of the new campaign. Things have gone a bit wonky since then though. An injury and a barren spell meant the year didn't finish on a great note. But how does the old saying go ? "Form is temporary, class is permanent."

2. ANDY CARROLL. In January he was just another championship striker with everything to prove. By the end of the year he was an England International, the hottest property in the premier league and a recurring theme in the nightmares of defenders accross the land. As long as he sorts himself out off the pitch, the sky is the limit.

1. CHRIS HUGHTON. Just for a moment, think what might have happened without him. Take a few seconds to think of what he achieved with very little money and very little actual managerial experience. Remember how his players fought for him to get a new contract and how they mourned his departure. Smile as you recall his often bland press conferences, which were short on soundbites but long on dignity. Then shake your head once more at the madness and unfairness of it all. Chris Hughton's not perfect, but he did a great job at Newcastle in sometimes awful circumstance. He left with his head held high and he'll always have Halloween.

VILLAINS OF 2010

5. KRIS BOYD. It turns out the Scottish Football reporters were right. They were never convinced that the SPL's record goalscorer had an all-round game that stood up to scrutiny. Boyd stands accused now of being football's ultimate flat track bully. Put him in the best team in Scotland and he'll score goal after goal against whatever rubbish rocks up at Ibrox. Put him in the 19th best team in the championship and you get very little.

4. LEE CATTERMOLE. Well, he's just a villain isn't he. A pantomime villain. He's not had a bad year, just a notorious year. Three red cards in 2010 and there could have been many more. The yellow is almost a given in every game and you can usually see it coming before he does. He's got the makings of a great captain, but only if the penny drops, because it's no use being the heartbeat of your team if you're never available to play for them. Encouraging signs on that score towards the end of the year.

3. DARLINGTON FC. Do you remember Ryan Kidd ? I don't blame you if you don't. Perhaps you were on holiday for the 11 days in June when Ryan Kidd was manager of Darlington before deciding that, on second thoughts, he just didn't fancy it. But Ryan Kidd sums up the Quakers 2010. A year that was stupendously, ridiculously awful. The sins of the past meant relegation was inevitable. Banishment from the Football League was the ultimate punishment, but the Quakers very own managerial merry-go-round provided a grotesque sideshow. Staunton failed, Davey two-timed and Kidd just ran away. The fans didn't deserve it and nor did the chairman and after a rocky start, hopefully Mark Cooper can lead them to a brighter 2011. It can't be any worse.

2. MIKE ASHLEY. It's his football club and Mike Ashley will do exactly what he wants to do with it and he doesn't care, not even a little, what you or I think. Not only that, he's never, ever going to explain to you or I why he drops these bombshells, because it's his football club and he doesn't care what you think about his reasons anyway.

1. GORDON STRACHAN. Occasionally very funny. From time to time quite profound. But mostly unpleasant, sarcastic and a bit of a know-it-all. Except it turns out he didn't know it all. He was given the platform and the resources to pull Middlesbrough out of the hole the club had fallen into. But he just kept on digging. He didn't take the money, so he left with his reputation as a man intact. But as for his reputation as a manager, that's in tatters.

MATCHES OF 2010

5. WHITLEY BAY 6 WROXHAM 1. Haway the Bay x2. This time with more goals and a genuinely emotional finale as Mark Taylor, one of the boys of 2009, was ushered up to collect the FA Vase as he battled Motor Neurone Disease.

4. NEWCASTLE UNITED 2 NOTTINGHAM FOREST 0. The best team in the championship beat the third best team in the championship in a fine match at the end of March and Tyneside breathed a sigh of relief as they realised the job was done and the nightmare was almost over.

3. CHELSEA 0 SUNDERLAND 3. Blimey. Who saw that coming ?

2. SUNDERLAND 3 SPURS 1. Bonkers game at the SoL as Benty scored twice against his old club and also managed to miss two from the spot before Zenden wrapped it up with a screamer and we all left wondering what Harry Redknapp's wife is like at taking penalties.

1. NEWCASTLE UNITED 5 SUNDERLAND 1. Whether it brought you joy or pain, it was the one game that will be talked about for years to come. Two extremes of performance collided on the same day to produce the most one-sided ass-kicking in a generation. Sunderland fans suffered, but at least their team quickly recovered. Newcastle fans went out and bought the DVD.

It's in the eyes

I looked two proper Middlesbrough fans in the eyes on Tuesday Evening. There was a twinkle. This is the one. This is the man. This is the messiah. Tony Mowbray is Boro’s Shearer. The absolute embodiment of all that the fans hold dear about their club. He has more chance than anyone else in the whole world of unravelling the mess at Middlesbrough. Mowbray looms large over the history of the club. The modern history at least. He was the local boy who got chucked the captain’s armband at Boro's darkest hour. The team he led is rightly revered by the supporters. It seems to me that for Boro fans of a certain age, the Bruce Rioch double-promotion boys are the favourites, the ones that meant the most. Even taking into account the Carling Cup winners and the UEFA Cup finalists. That’s probably because it was a Lazarus tale. A story of a club coming back from the brink. Well now Mowbray’s back and Boro are on the brink again. It’s not the same as the days of the padlocked gates at Ayresome of course, but it still feels like the club is teetering on the edge of something deep, dark and nasty. It’s 4 years of steady decline. It’s the decaying squad that McClaren left behind. It’s Southgate, battling so hard, but struggling to swim against the tide. It’s Strachan, misjudging everything during a miserable 12 months. They’ve come full circle and they’re now in danger of slipping back into the depths that Tony Mowbray helped them escape from a generation back. So what better time for the man from Saltburn to once again switch on the light that burns in his Boro heart. It’s perfect. Almost too perfect and, of course, everyone must realise that there are no guarantees. No divine rights, even for football’s righteous men. He’s inherited problems and they are legion. But if anyone can do it, Mogga can. It’s in the eyes. I looked in his eyes on Tuesday as well. He wants this to work as much as the fans do. Call it destiny. Call it closure. Call it unfinished business. It was in the eyes. Tony Mowbray will have the encouragement and the support of all who carry Boro in their heart. If willpower can move mountains then Mogga is halfway to the moon already.

Goodbye Gordon.

“It’s been bloody awful”. Not my words, Steve Gibson’s words, as he summed up the last two or three years at Boro and particularly, the failure of Gordon Strachan. And failure it was. Complete failure. Underachievement on a grand scale. “We got it wrong” added Gibson. Yes Steve, yes you did. But you shouldn’t burn for that. The Middlesbrough Chairman’s heart was, is, and will always be located in the right place. Strachan SEEMED ideal. It all SEEMED like a good idea. It just didn’t work out and sometimes that’s the way it goes. The outgoing manager still had the support of the majority in the dressing room and some of his players, especially the ones he signed, will miss him. But many at the club will not miss Gordon Strachan. Nor will the media and crucially, nor will the fans. His parting gesture will come to be seen as the best thing about his reign. Waiving his right to compensation was a magnificent, magnanimous gesture from a strange and interesting man. It saved the club millions and it proves Strachan has great integrity. He held up his hands, admitted he couldn’t work out why it had gone wrong and decided he didn’t want to be rewarded for failure. That’s great. Well done. But it doesn’t solve any problems.

Cards on the table at this point. I witnessed first hand Strachan’s awkward, condescending and sometimes downright rude dealings with the media. I received some surly and unhelpful responses to questions that I considered reasonable. But I never really got both barrels. So I’ve got no axe to grind in that respect. I just felt he didn’t trust, or believe in, the whole process of press conferences. As a seasoned football man he’s entitled to his opinion. But it was naïve to think that it didn’t matter. Rightly or wrongly, fans nowadays form their opinions about a football manager based on what they see, hear and read in the media. That opinion, that relationship is important. But Strachan didn’t care. Or maybe he just didn’t get it.

It’s not the only relationship he got wrong. Steve Gibson praised Strachan for all the hard work he did behind the scenes during his year at the club. Fine. But with the benefit of hindsight he didn’t put much effort into original thought. His time at Celtic was constantly referenced. His playing staff was gradually transformed into a Park Head tribute band. He seemed to think that if it worked at Celtic, then of course it would work at Middlesbrough. The pressure of working for the Old Firm was a familiar theme, as if he was saying that Boro was a walk in the park after navigating the mean streets of Glasgow’s football culture. But Middlesbrough’s not Glasgow. Boro aren’t Celtic. The fans share a similar passion, but they support their teams and experience their football in a different way. What works in one place won’t necessarily work in another.

It didn’t work. I thought it would. But it didn’t. Strachan never connected with the fans. He never filled the Riverside with a sense of enthusiasm and he never assembled a team capable of winning on a regular basis. Now he’s just another footnote in Middlesbrough’s chapter of decline. From the high tide mark of Eindhoven and the UEFA Cup final, the fall has been painful and rapid. The appointment of Gareth Southgate was a leap of faith that, in the end, didn’t work out. The appointment of Strachan was supposed to rip out the problem pages and write a new manifesto. But it’s only made things worse. Your next appointment Mr Gibson, now that really is important.

Goodbye predictable, hello volatile

When will this fog clear ? It's the middle of October and I can't see the shapes on the horizon. It's exciting, but also a little scary. Goodbye predictable, hello volatile. Where are the certainties ? Where are the reliably good and the regularly awful ? Apart from the matter of who’s going to win the premier league title, which already appears screamingly obvious (Chelsea), it's suddenly a lot harder to second guess where this thing's going. Which certainly makes a change. By now you can usually pick out at least one nailed-on certainty for premier league relegation. The resoundingly hopeless newcomers or the crumbling institutions heading for financial armageddon. But the usual suspects are suddenly lurking in the shadows. Liverpool are this year's Portsmouth, no one's putting their hand up to be this year's Burnley and so the landscape is shrounded in uncertainty. The promoted sides are all doing rather nicely in their own different ways and so the soft, established underbelly of the Premier League is looking nervously over it's collective shoulder. Someone's got to go, and if you can't even rely on Blackpool then who can you rely on ? Wake up and smell the risk and reward, because someone's going to do very badly out of this and someone's going to do very well.

It could be our lot, for better or worse.

Sunderland have done good business so far despite a brutal fixture list. But it's all very well standing up to the heavyweights, the Black Cats need to prove they can knock out the lightweights. Bossing Man United around is lovely, but why can't the same group of players take the initiative against West Ham ? Or Wigan ? Or West Brom ? Answer that question and Steve Bruce will have cracked it. But it's a two part question, because first he has to unravel his tactical puzzle. The players clearly enjoy the whole 4-5-1 thing, but sometime soon Bruce has to work out how to fit his record signing into the starting line-up. Clubs like Sunderland don't pay the thick end of 15 million for an impact substitute, so Gyan's going to have to play. 3 at the back anyone ?

Newcastle are, of course, the poster boys for the rollercoaster ride and it's reassuring that the Magpies have been gloriously unpredictable. They've basically won the hard ones and lost the easy ones. Sometimes it's seemed ridiculous that they were ever relegated in the first place, sometimes they look like nervous newcomers who don't know when to stick and when to twist. Like the neighbours, they'll be doing some thinking about tactics. The tried and tested 4-4-1-1 is working brilliantly away from home, but they've got bogged down at St James Park. Chris Hughton could change the system, or just switch players around within the same system, but he knows they can’t afford to lose too many home games. He had a tactical ace up his sleeve, but sadly it's a card he might never get to play. Hatem Ben Arfa was a mysterious little sprite who was all set to become the new darling of the Gallowgate. But not now. Think what you like about the circumstances in which the Frenchman's leg was broken, but basically it was just a crying shame. Ben Arfa may still represent the future, but it's the here and now that matters for Newcastle United.

Life's just as unpredictable in the Football League. Especially at Middlesbrough, who are currently searching for reasons to explain their failure to launch. The optimism of August has been replaced by the uncertainty of October and because they were scorching hot pre-season favourites, every bad result seems a whole lot worse. I have no explanations for this, except to say that it's more evidence of the decline of Scottish Football. But that's just a cheap shot and it doesn't really explain anything. Something's up. Something's wrong and Gordon Strachan needs to locate the problem and solve it. Quickly. Crowds are drifting away, the promotion race is taking place somewhere else and the manager's position is coming under mild scrutiny. He's not bothered about that of course, because Mr Strachan genuinely doesn't care what the media thinks. But at the moment most of us think his team should be doing better, and I bet he agrees with us.

Life's deliciously unpredictable over in Cumbria where Carlisle are starring in their very own Ugly Duckling story. The unheralded Blues are threatening to blossom into a beautiful swan. I saw them dismantle Hartlepool the other week and they were really, really good. Greg Abbott rolled the dice in the summer and freshened up the squad. He's also freshened up the way they play and they've even coped with the departure of Old Father Time (Ian Harte). The table says they're promotion contenders - the manager urges caution at this stage. But a good start has put steam in their strides, they've got some serious fans behind them and a land of opportunity opening up in front of them.

Hartlepool need to make their mind up, about a lot of things. For a start they've had a Caretaker Manager for too long now. All a caretaker can really do is keep things ticking over. Mick Wadsworth's been doing a fairly decent job of that and if he's their man then why don't the club just give him the proper job title and let him get on with it ? It's probably going to be a bit of an uphill struggle this year, but there's no need for them to get relegated, as long as the owners decide where they want to go and who they want to get them there.

So when WILL the fog clear ? I'm not sure, but I'll hazard a guess that it might happen round about four o'clock on Halloween Afternoon as Newcastle United and Sunderland return to the dressing rooms at St James Park. Trick or treat ? We'll see.

What do you think of it so far ?

It’s a fair enough question to ask and it’s a fair enough time to ask it as we padlock shut the transfer window, put away our unexpectedly new England shirt and prepare to resume battle on the home front this weekend. So then, how’s the North East and Cumbrian football season looking so far ?

NEWCASTLE UNITED: Exceeding expectations.

It stands to reason that one result doesn’t make a season. But sometimes it kind of does. Newcastle’s six goal annihilation of Villa certainly comes into that category. It was perfect in every way and breathed life into the idea that Newcastle’s strengths in the Championship will also prove to be strengths now they’re back in the premier league. St James Park looked every inch the fortress. Andy Carroll looked every inch the new Geordie number nine. Kevin Nolan looked every inch the wily old campaigner with speed of thought to compensate for any lack of speed on the ground. Newcastle looked every inch United. One result doesn’t make a season, but one giant-sized confidence boost can go a long way and some interesting and thoughtful business in the transfer window can only help. So far, so good.

SUNDERLAND: Coping with expectations.

The Black Cats start to the season could have been better, but it could also have been a lot worse. As they kicked off against Manchester City, they had one point from two games and no senior striker to partner Darren Bent. A couple of hours later they had 4 points after a thoroughly uplifting win over the Premier League’s nouveau riche and by close of business on August 31st they had, arguably, one of the most exciting and ambitious signings made by any English club this summer. Steve Bruce claimed at the end of last season that he was aiming for stability. That was a little red and white lie as it turns out. He’s made many, many changes again this summer and he will live or die by the success or failure of those alterations. The centre forward upgrade is the key. Cashing in on Kenwyne Jones and putting all the eggs in an Asamoah Gyan-shaped basket was a bold move. The Ghanaian could become a superstar, or he could become a cautionary tale of World Cup fools gold.

MIDDLESBROUGH: Absolutely not living up to expectations.

They were favourites to win the Championship before a ball was kicked, yet they’re 16th in the table with just the one laboured win after four games. They haven’t hit the ground running, in fact they’ve barely hit the ground at all. Gordon Strachan has assembled a grizzled cast of experienced campaigners - an Old Firm Dirty Dozen if you will – but so far the chemistry isn’t right. He’s got the marksmen, but no one to load the bullets. He’s got a strong spine, but it all gets a bit flabby down the sides. He’s also been very unlucky with injuries. But that luck will surely change and Strachan is more than capable of sorting out the chemistry problem. Middlesbrough had the players to win that division before a ball was kicked and they still do now. No one gets forever in football, but give it time.

CARLISLE UNITED: Exceeding expectations.

It was hard to judge quite what expectations were at Brunton Park, but Carlisle are definitely exceeding them. They’ve emerged from a summer of much change looking leaner, meaner and fit for purpose. A good start has given them belief and confidence. The new arrivals look better or at least as good as the men they’ve replaced. In Francois Zoko they have a player with cult-hero written all over him and in Greg Abbott they have a manager who is growing in stature all the time. Let’s not get carried away yet, because they’re in the pond with some very big fish this season and Ian Harte’s departure represents a big loss, but let’s give credit where it’s due and remain cautiously optimistic.

HARTLEPOOL UNITED: Living up to expectations. But not in a good way.

They were favourites to go down before a ball was kicked and despite a notable Carling Cup win and a brief dead-cat bounce, they’ve not really calmed the supporters fears. It’s hard to blame the players, who are doing OK, and who must have been aware of the unrest around the club long before Chris Turner held up his hands in frustration and walked away. It’s hard not to blame the owners, who offered Turner little or no encouragement in his attempts to upgrade a squad that only just survived last season. There’s an awful feeling of a business being run-down and mothballed. Mick Wadsworth knows the ropes at this level though, so he’s a capable caretaker who will probably get the full time job. He could yet make a silk purse out of this sow’s ear of a situation.

The Return of the Big Three

“Time’s up for the big three.” I said that on the telly on Friday 22nd May 2009. At least one of the North East’s heavyweight trio was going to be relegated on Survival Sunday. As it turned out we lost two and the big three became a big one. Now look, I know that to talk of big threes and big ones is to invite tribal fury telling me that Club X will always be bigger than Club Y no matter what division they’re in. But just for now, let’s put all that to one side. Our football hotbed was in danger of going into deep freeze. Thankfully, it’s thawed out a bit since then. Newcastle United did a thoroughly professional job of winning the Championship last season and so now we’re back up from a big one to a big two. My hunch is that in 12 months time, the big two will be back up to a big three. Here’s why.



1. MIDDLESBROUGH WILL WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP. Boro fans have had two rotten seasons to put up with. First there was the creeping pain of an inevitable relegation that they seemed powerless and almost reluctant to avoid. Then there was underachievement and reshuffle. But hopefully Boro fans will come to see these lean years as a necessary evil. A long road that will lead them back to better times. The McClaren era bled into the Southgate era and that whole cycle was coming to an end. Bringing in a pragmatic football man like Gordon Strachan was inviting fundamental change. That’s what’s happened and if we’re all honest, that’s what was needed. A new Middlesbrough will attack the nPower Championship this season. A tougher, more streetwise (more Scottish) Middlesbrough. They’ve beefed up the spine of the team with mature players and they’ve addressed the one big problem that gave Strachan sleepless nights from the moment he arrived – the forward line. Kris Boyd and Scott McDonald will score plenty of goals. Providing they can find some width from somewhere, Boro are worthy favourites to win this division, because they look strong and the rest of the teams look weak in comparison.
2. NEWCASTLE WILL NOT BE RELEGATED FROM THE PREMIER LEAGUE. Having proved they were far, far too good for the Championship, they have to prove they're good enough for the Premier League. Given what they achieved last season, and the manner in which they achieved it, let's go with the idea that the glass is half full. They showed guts. They showed personality and, as the character Jules said in the film Pulp Ficton, "Personality goes a long way". It's going to have to, because the money won't go far. The new austerity at St James Park means they're hunting for bargains this summer, young and old. So it's the promotion winning squad, slightly remixed. That should be enough to see them well clear of the bottom three, but there may be hard days to get through. Will they score enough goals ? Will the midfield, which dominated the Championship, be fit for purpose in the PL ? Defensively they were great last season, but can that unit survive the intense pressure it will come under in most PL matches ? That's all glass half empty stuff though and, as I said, I'm going with the idea that the glass is half full and that personality will go a long way. Long enough anyway.
3. WHATEVER HAPPENS TO SUNDERLAND, THEY DEFINITELY WON'T GET RELEGATED. Football's language of forward motion provides the script at the Stadium of Light. They need to be "moving on", "taking the next step", "making progress". OK, but quite how much progress they can make next season is an interesting question. Talk of a top ten finish is certainly reasonable, but talk of the Europa League might be a bit far-fetched. If we assume Chelsea, Man United and Arsenal are completely out of reach and Man City, Liverpool and Spurs are almost certainly out of reach, then in order to reach Europe, Sunderland are going to have to finish above Villa and Everton at the very least. It would take an almighty effort. It's not impossible, it just doesn't seem very likely and the transfer business hasn't set the pulse racing so far this summer. They should make progress, because the younger ones are more battle-hardened and there's no reason to think Darren Bent will stop scoring goals anytime soon. But progress won't necessarily mean a giant leap up the table. They just need to look more at home as an upwardly-mobile premier league side. Steve Bruce gave himself 6/10 for last season, but said it was so nearly an 8/10 campaign. I suspect he'll settle for a steady 7/10 this time round, and a cup run would be nice.


So the Big Three will be back this time next year, and I really hope Hartlepool will still be in League One. But I worry about them. The maths aren't good. A team that nearly got relegated + a few free agents = Another team that'll nearly (or actually) get relegated. I hope Darlington bounce straight back to the Football League, but I'm not holding my breath. Finally, I'd dearly love to see Sunderland, Newcastle, or even Boro, have a good run at one of the cups this year. Maybe, but probably not. Sunderland will certainly go for it, but I'm not certain how much either Newcastle or Boro will commit to the idea. The best thing about North East football though is that at least one part of what I've just said will be completely wrong. Something daft or unexpected always happens. That's why we love it.

North East XI 2009-2010

Just a personal opinion, so don’t hate me.



I do appreciate that Sunderland were operating at a higher level than Newcastle United and Middlesbrough, but I think the Magpies’ success justifies their representation in the following team.



The formation is 4-4-2 because, well, we’re English, it’s what we always do and any attempt to do anything different will only end in tears.



GOALKEEPER - Steve Harper (Newcastle United) - Sunderland’s Craig Gordon gave some of the best goalkeeping performances I’ve ever been lucky enough to see this season and began to look proper world class. But Harper had an almost flawless campaign for Newcastle. He broke the club record for clean sheets, marshalled his defence expertly and he was one of the senior members of the dressing room committee that helped put the house in order last summer.



RIGHT BACK - Danny Simpson (Newcastle United) - Alan Hutton was excellent on loan for Sunderland, but Simpson’s season was a solid body of work. A very reliable player. Interesting to see how he goes in the premier league.



LEFT BACK - Jose Enrique (Newcastle United) - Crowd favourite, proper player and evidence that not everything Sam Allardyce did at Newcastle was wrong. The Spaniard had an excellent year and he could thrive in the top flight next season.



CENTRE BACK - Michael Turner (Sunderland) - Good, old-fashioned, no nonsense, value for money defender. If you want ball playing, beautiful game centre halves then look elsewhere. But if you want an aggressive, committed, brave defender – he's your man.



CENTRE BACK - Fabricio Coloccini (Newcastle United) - Found redemption in the championship. But while Dexter Blackstock, Shefki Kuqi and Alan Lee didn't cause him to lose sleep, the old nightmares are just around the corner. Never mind Rooney, Torres and Drogba, he needs to cope better with the likes of Kenwyne Jones, John Carew and Kevin Davies.



LEFT MIDFIELD - Jonas Guttierez (Newcastle United) - I still don't think there's enough end product, but he was one of the outstanding creative players in the Championship and he'll be in the Argentina starting XI in the World Cup, so what do I know ?



CENTRE MIDFIELD - Jordan Henderson (Sunderland) - Could’ve been Lorik Cana, who was a great signing for Sunderland, but who got bogged down in the winter. It would've been Lee Cattermole, had he stayed injury free and kept up the stellar form he showed at the start of the season. Instead it's a kid who came from the youth team and looked totally at home in a premier league midfield. Big things might happen for this one.



CENTRE MIDFIELD - Kevin Nolan (Newcastle United) - The Governor. Huge influence on the dressing room at Newcastle and huge influence on the pitch as well. The canniest, most streetwise player in the Championship last season. Truly intriguing to see how he does next year.



RIGHT MIDFIELD - Adam Johnson (Ex-Middlesbrough) - Yes, I realise I’m picking a left-footed Manchester City player and playing him on the right side, but everyone seems to like him on the right side these days and this is the only way I can get any Boro representation into the starting eleven. He's a true talent. Shame he had to leave. But I suppose he had to.



STRIKER - Darren Bent (Sunderland) - First name on the team sheet. A brilliant, brilliant debut season for the Black Cats record signing. Bent is a true predator and has been a huge success on and off the pitch for Sunderland. Don’t worry about the price tag because he’s worth every penny.



STRIKER - Andy Carroll (Newcastle United) - The whole package needs improving, especially off the pitch, but he had a real breakthrough season in the championship. He’s got a fierceness that I really like in a centre forward and he’s actually a really good finisher.



SUBSTITUTES: Craig Gordon (Sunderland) John Mensah (Sunderland) Lorik Cana (Sunderland) Barry Robson (Middlesbrough) Danny Guthrie (Newcastle United) Peter Lovenkrands (Newcastle United) Kenwyne Jones (Sunderland)

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.