Newcastle Toons
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Checking in on our rivals: Sunderland and Boro

By Durim Halimi

OXFORD, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 29: Sunderland look on during penalties during the Carabao Cup Round of 16 match between Oxford United and Sunderland AFC at the Kassam Stadium on October 29, 2019 in Oxford, England. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
OXFORD, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 29: Sunderland look on during penalties during the Carabao Cup Round of 16 match between Oxford United and Sunderland AFC at the Kassam Stadium on October 29, 2019 in Oxford, England. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images) /
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Newcastle United’s regional rivals are struggling in England’s lower divisions, and this means we will be starved of a derby for quite some time.

Newcastle United are enjoying life in the Premier League at the moment as they managed to climb to 13th place before this international break. Steve Bruce’s side claimed back-to-back wins for the first time this season over the last two weeks and they are now seven points clear of the drop zone with winnable matches against Aston Villa, Sheffield United, Southampton, Burnley and Crystal Palace still ahead of them over the next month.

That being said, Newcastle United are on track to fight for a high mid-table finish with Bruce on the sideline at St. James’ Park. The Magpies’ rivals in lower divisions are not experiencing the same fate. Let’s jump right in and take a look at how Middlesbrough and Sunderland are doing in the Championship and League One.

Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough are usually one of the most consistent teams in the second tier of English football, but they are far from knocking on the door of the top six this season. In fact, Boro find themselves in the relegation zone (22nd) with 13 points from 16 matches. Boro finished in seventh place last season as a result of winning 20 matches, but they are off to a horrible start this term having only won two matches so far.

HUDDERSFIELD, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 23: Jonathan Woodgate, manager of Middlesbrough reacts during the Sky Bet Championship match between Huddersfield Town and Middlesbrough at John Smith’s Stadium on October 23, 2019 in Huddersfield, England. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)
HUDDERSFIELD, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 23: Jonathan Woodgate, manager of Middlesbrough reacts during the Sky Bet Championship match between Huddersfield Town and Middlesbrough at John Smith’s Stadium on October 23, 2019 in Huddersfield, England. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images) /

Jonathan Woodgate is in the hot seat as a result of the club’s poor start to the season. His predecessor, Tony Pulis, was known for playing slow, boring football, but Boro were regularly knocking on the door of promotion. With Boro now fighting for survival, it is safe to say that Newcastle United should expect to remain the sole representatives of the North East in the Premier League.

Sunderland

Sunderland have had more success on Netflix than they have on the pitch over the last few seasons. The Black Cats came close to earning promotion last season, but they are failing to meet expectations this time around as they currently sit in seventh place and are seven points behind second-placed Wycombe.

Sunderland sacked Jack Ross in October and they replaced the former St. Mirren boss with Phil Parkinson. Sunderland were expected to cruise past their opponents in the third division, but they have been far from convincing so far.

Next. Newcastle are currently ahead of Tottenham & Everton. dark

Our Thoughts

The fact that both of our regional rivals are struggling has no impact on Newcastle United. From our perspective, the only unfortunate thing about both clubs’ poor form is that the Toon Army will not experience derby days for at least two more seasons. It would, however, be a sad year for the region if Sunderland stay in the third division and Middlesbrough end up joining them.