The Reason this Sunderland v Magpies Fixture Means Everything

The Newcastle manager found himself on safe ground as he sounded the bell.

The Newcastle United manager had just got the 2023 Great North Run started to loud cheers in the centre of the city.

But he had not accounted for those Sunderland-supporting runners who were not so thrilled to see him as they sped past.

"The biggest stick I've ever had," he said this week. "I got verbally attacked by 50% of the people there."

This is not an inter-city rivalry. These regional neighbours have won only one major domestic trophy between them in the past 50 years, and Sunday's game marks the first time they will meet in the top division for nearly a decade.

But hardly any fixtures bring a region to a standstill quite like the North East derby as former Black Cats manager Peter Reid knows better than most.

"They're football crackers," he said. "Let's just say, there is a touch of extra needle up there."

'The two biggest games of the season'

Nikos Dabizas also knows what can happen when these worlds collide.

A huge framed photograph in the ex- Newcastle centre-back's home acts as a daily reminder.

It captures the Greek ecstatic, bare chested and surrounded by his jubilant team-mates, after netting the winner in front of the traveling support at the Stadium of Light in 2002.

This was a fixture that definitely made an impression on him.

"The key is the passion of the fans," he said. "It's something that goes from father to son. This heritage makes this game so unique."

So what is at the core of the fierce rivalry between two one-club cities less than 15 miles apart?

Well, as far as a Sunderland season ticket holder is concerned, it transcends football itself.

"You can trace it to the English Civil War with Newcastle supporting the monarchy and the other side backing the government," he said. "It's all political and economical tensions.

"Newcastle get the funding, Newcastle have the big city, Newcastle are the ones people always talk about when it comes to the North East. The other side are always shadowed."

But it is far from one-sided.

A former player's father was even "swarmed" by delirious Newcastle supporters after his son scored a decisive free-kick in a 1-0 victory at the Stadium of Light in 2011.

That is how much it mattered to the Geordies.

"I needed a little bit of time afterwards to grasp the importance of it," the player said.

"It eased my life a lot simpler. I was allowed to make the occasional mistake when playing, simply because of that goal.

"Even now when I visit up to St James' Park and you've got dads telling their kids, 'See this lad? He scored the winner against the Mackems'."

A derby win can even further elevate the reputation of an already beloved figure.

A former Newcastle manager had recently delivered promotion back to the Premier League when he took charge of his first derby in 2010.

There may have only technically been three points at stake, but he quickly recognised the "added responsibility" of this game because people in the North East "live for their football".

He said: "There are some derbies where you are unsure why they are derbies. This one, you are.

"These represent two huge clubs - not far away from each other - with their own identities.

"Realistically, they are the two biggest games of the season so you are conscious that the last thing you want to do is to lose, particularly in your own stadium."

A region reignited

That manager need not have worried.

His side ended up thrashing Sunderland 5-1 at St James' Park in 2010, but Newcastle have only won a solitary derby in the Premier League since then.

In fact, The Wearside club have been victorious in six of the last seven contests in the top flight.

A former Sunderland manager masterminded half of those victories, having swiftly realised that the fixture was "much bigger" than many outsiders thought.

"Beyond family, the club is the most vital thing to the people of this city," he said.

"The passion is such that the result of the club can alter the atmosphere of the city so consider the result of the derby? You can feel it.

"They told me on the first day. 'Please stay up, but you must beat Newcastle'. I still don't know if it was more important to stay up or to beat Newcastle."

The club, like Newcastle before them, eventually slipped through the relegation trapdoor in 2017, and spent eight years outside the top flight.

So a division divided these rivals when they last met in the FA Cup nearly two years ago.

And the contrast was stark.

The combined cost of Sunderland's starting line-up that day was a tiny portion of the £40m Newcastle had spent on a single player.

The most experienced individual in the hosts' starting line-up was a clear margin ahead of others, at just 30 years of age.

"It's unlikely the fans really believed, deep down, that we were going to win that game," a former midfielder said. "But now it's changed."

In so many ways.

Only two players are likely to be the only survivors from that 3-0 defeat in Sunday's lineup following the astute arrivals of several new signings.

Sunderland also have a new manager, of course.

Not only has he led Sunderland to promotion - his fearless side have competed evenly against some the best teams in the top flight.

In fact, the reigning champions are the only team in the current top six to have defeated Sunderland this season, while his side are also undefeated on home soil.

Such an impressive start to the campaign means Sunderland go into Sunday's game a point ahead of Newcastle in the table.

So it is all set up to be a gripping afternoon when these rivals renew hostilities at the Stadium of Light.

"Come Sunday, the world will know the North East is back on the map with top games again," a former player added.