The 2012-2013 season has been somewhat troublesome for a number of the North East football teams. It seems that only local lads Consett AFC have been hitting their 
targets as Newcastle and Sunderland have all had awful times in the Premier League. This season has been a massive anti-climax for all of the North East football teams but none more so that Newcastle United.
Newcastle
After a brilliant 2011-2012 season which had the Magpies battling with the big boys at the top of the table and finished in an impressive 5th place. This gave the Geordies a chance to show what they were worth in their first European campaign in over 6 years. After having a quiet transfer window with only Vurnon Anita being a first team addition Newcastle struggled to show the same form which took them to the top the season before. Injuries haunted the Newcastle side as Alan Pardew tried his best to make it through to January with the assets at his disposal.
Although league form wasn’t great Newcastle did have a good run in the Europa League after 5 signings in the January window. This powered them through to a tough quarter final encounter with in form Benfica. Although both results were encouraging, the Toon were knocked out and had to deal with their abysmal form in the league. A victory at QPR on the penultimate weekend leads Newcastle to Premier League safety. Let’s hope the Magpies are moving in the right direction next season. Newcastle finished in 16th 5 points off the relegation zone.
Game of the season: Newcastle 3 – Chelsea 2
Worst game of the season: Newcastle 0 – Liverpool 6
Sunderland AFC
Sunderland are another team which has disappointed in the 2012-2013 season after looking to cement their place as a mid-table team. New signing Adam Johnson from Manchester City looked to be one of the integral parts of the Sunderland team which was looking to make some waves in the Premier League after a 13th place finish the season before. Things didn’t go so smoothly over on Wearside as the Black Cats had a season which would best be forgotten.
North East Football manager Martin O’Neil couldn’t seem to get the results and as a result was sacked on the 30th of March leaving Sunderland to find a new manager who could help them stay in the top division in England. This is where lower league manager Paulo DiCanio came in. The passion and discipline from the Italian gave Sunderland a great boost to keep them safe. In one of this season’s biggest upsets the Black Cats pulled off a 3-0 win at St. James Park to the dismay of the Geordies. In the end DiCanio lead Sunderland to a 17th place finish 2 points behind local rivals Newcastle in the ever going North East football battle.
Game of the season: Newcastle 0 – Sunderland 3
Worst Game of the season: Aston Villa 6 – Sunderland 1
