Originally Posted by
ROKERITE
Gateshead is the classic if you can't beat them join them. The town's identity is overwhelmed by Newcastle. Newcastle United's Chairman voted for the town's football club to be booted out of the league in 1960. Yet there are probably more fanatical NUFC supporters per head of population in Gateshead than in N-U-T itself.
South Tyneside, Hebburn, Jarrow and South Shields have always been split between black and white and red and white; but were probably 70/30 in our favour. That all changed when Keegan returned in '92. Among the under forty-years-old football fans there it's probably more than 70/30 in Newcastle's.
Washington, although technically part of greater Sunderland, has a lot of people who've moved from Tyneside and has a lot of black and whites.
Durham, Consett, Chester-le-Street and West County Durham are split with an increasing percentage of Newcastle fans. Bishop Auckland is sadly majority Newcastle these days though bizarrely West Auckland is still probably more red and white. Shildon is a small place.
So Newcastle United has the entire county of Northumberland with a tiny few exceptions, mainly descendants of Durham miners who at some point moved to the Northumberland coalfield. They have Gateshead and increasingly the rest of the South bank of the Tyne. They have half and growing support from West and South County Durham and before long will have countless bandwagon jumpers from throughout the U.K..
We retain Sunderland and the East Durham coast down to Peterlee.
Although historically our record can match Newcastle United's their support has in the vast majority of seasons slightly exceeded ours. I fear in the future their success on the field and their support off it will leave us in their wake. But we'll still have our club!
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