standing on the brink - what causes a clubs decline

As a ‘Sports Fan’ from the North-East, I’ve seen my fair share of misery. In May 2009 Newcastle United were relegated into the second tier of the English football pyramid, ending their 16 year stay in arguably the world’s greatest domestic football league. Their relegation was well publicised, and thankfully the year in the championship wasn’t damning, even turning out to be a blessing in disguise, as The Magpies cleared out the dead wood, and a combination of class and character saw Newcastle take the championship by storm. Two and a half years later, Newcastle sit in 7th place of the Premier League, on course to make a return European football for the first time since their UEFA Cup campaign of 2007 five years ago, which ended in defeat to AZ Alkmaar, the Dutch club going through on away goals.

However not all clubs respond so well to sports setbacks, and it would be unfair not to give focus to clubs whose struggle is not as well publicised, with the giants on Tyneside already receiving a large share of the region’s media attention, possibly linked with why they bounced back so well.

In Rugby Union, Newcastle Falcons currently lie at the bottom of the Aviva Premiership 9 points adrift of safety, with even the most ardent of Falcons fans writing their team off as relegation fodder, and, as West Hartlepool RFC showed us in 1999, a club can easily fall through the divisions, and into the rugby wilderness, with the once Courage and Allied Dunbar Premiership side now playing in National League 3 North. Newcastle Falcons have been facing an uphill struggle for years, losing talented youngsters, Matthew Tait and Toby Flood, as well as club stalwarts, Carl Hayman, Jamie Noon, Tom May, and Jonny Wilkinson. The club, in these players, undoubtedly lost irreplaceable class. You would be hard pressed to find someone who isn’t familiar with the RWC heroics of Jonny Wilkinson in 2003. However, it was the attitude and character of these players, as much as their ability that kept Falcons from the drop.

Ask anyone what they’ll remember about ‘Wilko’ and they’ll probably tell you about a certain dramatic World Cup winning drop goal with his weaker foot and only seconds left on the clock or maybe some will say helping Newcastle win the 97-98 Premiership title or being one of the world’s all-time top point scorers. For me, it was something a little different. Jonny proved his dedication to the club, the area and having a strong relation with the fans, when he took the time to speak to a somewhat star struck 16 year old about his own rugby ‘career’ and how he was doing with his school work at a book signing in Hexham. I’ll always remember how interested Jonny seemed in what I had to say, and whilst he was clearly busy, he was happy to give me advice, and talk to me like he was just a normal person. It was his ability to connect with the fans that made him a key player in the Falcons side on and off the field. He and players like Tom May, my all-time favourite player who could play anywhere from 9 to 15, really made fans feel like they were cheering on friends, and the Falcons were a true representation of dedication. The Falcons may not have the financial backing to take them to the pinnacle of club rugby, but with a few more characters like May, Wilkinson and Noon to see them through their darkest hour, they will swiftly return to the Aviva Premiership.

No one can doubt the quality of support from the regulars of the region’s smaller clubs but perhaps the popularity of football and the City’s premier sports team have had an adverse effect on the quantity of neutrals, who turn up for entertainment.

It is the current state of Ice Hockey in Britain that led to Newcastle Vipers fading into the abyss. For me the writing was on the wall, when the club, playing in the top flight of British Ice Hockey, could no longer financially justify playing at the Metro Radio Arena, and moved to Whitley Bay Ice Rink. Ice Hockey does not have the same kind of cult status as it does on the other side of the pond, and whilst now defunct side Durham Wasps had a fantastic support and the atmosphere at Durham Ice Rink was always electric, Ice Hockey struggles to compete with a number of other more popular sports, for a contingent of neutrals, taking in the sport purely for the spectacle of athletes performing at the top of their game.

To a lesser extent the same can be said for rugby. The UK is very much a football country, and it’s unlikely that with the amount of television exposure and history that football clubs have, it will be difficult for any sport that shares a city with one of the top football clubs, to compete for neutral viewers. It is up to the regulars to continue their fantastic support, whether it is roaring the Falcons on through a tricky championship campaign, or packing out one of the regions ice rinks, should the Wasps or Vipers make a return.

Finally, it’s time to take a look at a club on the brink of liquidation. They compete in the world’s most popular sport, at a 25,000 capacity stadium and unlike the Falcons and Vipers, they are the only club in town, and are very much the town’s club. For those of you whose finger isn’t on the non-league pulse, I am referring to Darlington F.C. who has just entered administration for the third time, the last resulting in the Quakers being exiled from the football league. Like NUFC, Falcons and Vipers, the club has outstanding support from its regulars, unlike the Tyneside clubs; it has no other clubs to compete with.

Darlington’s decline is the result of over ambition. Much like the Greek myth of Icarus, who flew too close to the sun, George Reynolds invested a large amount of money in Darlington in order to reach the dizzy heights of the premier league, with a £20m stadium being built as a statement of ambition. However, Darlington’s average attendance is 1885. Reynolds clearly hadn’t investigated how much return he would make on his investment, and whether the Quakers had the fan base and regular income to make it as a premier league club. He wasn’t satisfied with the lack of instant results, and left the club in 2004, Darlington have been struggling to keep on top of the running costs of the ‘Reynolds Arena’ ever since, leaving the club in a very vulnerable state, with the club’s fans facing liquidation. No fans want to be told that their club is too ambitious, and that there is a limit to what they can achieve in set period of time, but Darlington struggled to match Reynolds ambitions.

One thing that binds all these clubs together is the outstanding dedication, through thick and thin, of the fans, who are so emotionally invested in the respective clubs. I was devastated to see Vipers cease to exist, and will be more so if the same happens to Darlington F.C. I pray that something will save Darlington F.C. but if their 128 years history is to come to an end, then the club will always be remembered for the passion of the fans, who stood tall when they looked the end of their club in the eye. The Quakers may not have had the quantity of fans to reach the Premier League, but they undoubtedly have the quality.