Quinn: All the best to Boro

In his latest column, Niall Quinn pays tribute to football in the north east, and to Middlesbrough in particular…

When I first courted with Sunderland, the club, the people and the city, part of the deal was that I was obliged never to say a good word about either Newcastle or Middlesbrough.

I’m from Ireland, though, and I like it when sport and identity get mixed together. Living down the road from Middlesbrough I couldn’t help being curious about the passion that comes from the place. When I played at Sunderland, I lived far closer to Boro so I couldn’t really ignore the neighbours.

I was back there on Sunday watching Chelsea take three points from the Riverside Stadium, a result that leaves Boro close enough to the relegation zone to spoil their Christmas. A win could have put them mid-table. Losing left them a point above the drop zone.

December is going to be a big month for them. They play three struggling teams before Santa comes, Leicester, Hull and Swansea. Maybe it’s a little too early to be panicking but looking ahead, their last four games of the season will be against Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Southampton. That’s a bit scary.

Boro fans won’t need to be reminded of the finish to the 2008-2009 season. They lost their last 12 away games, and took only two points from their last six fixtures. They fell through the trap door into the Championship, Sunderland stayed up on the last day of that season and it didn’t help people on Teesside too much that Newcastle took the drop with them.

That was the last season the north east had its three major clubs together in the top flight. It’s been such a long time since Boro, Sunderland or Newcastle won anything significant that a lot of the pleasure of north-east football comes from the misery of the neighbours. If you can’t win the Premier League seeing a rival go down is the next best thing – still.  

This is a region that has lost its coal industry, that no longer builds ships and no longer makes a living from steel (did you know the Sydney Harbour Bridge was made by a Middlesbrough company with Middlesbrough steel). Outsiders don’t know how much difference it makes to the morale of the north east when the football is going well.

Back in 2009 when we at Sunderland were still celebrating having escaped the guillotine and Middlesbrough and Newcastle were in mourning, I remember commiserating with Steve Gibson. Steve is such an …

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