When I looked into studying Sports Journalism, the opportunity to go to the North East was a no-brainer. Oozing with a beautiful cocktail of tradition and passion, it has always boasted a hubbub of footballing activity. The two major cities of Newcastle and Sunderland look like they were solely built for their football clubs. Both The Stadium of Light and St. James’ Park are found at the very heart of the city and tower over their skylines in what almost feels like a fatherly figure-like manner.

The current debate therefore is not about the importance of the clubs to the people, but more the concern over their welfare. At the time of writing, Newcastle and Sunderland make up the bottom two of the Premier League. More alarmingly, they are the only two sides out of the 92 league clubs without a win to their name.

Gary Neville recently wrote about the decline in football in the North as a whole, putting it down to “the drift in economic power towards London”. I would have to disagree.

It is not the economy that is bringing the larger northern clubs to their knees, it is simply poor footballing decisions. To focus a little on Yorkshire, whose decline as a footballing county has been more prominent and long-lasting than that of the North East, I do not think you can place the blame on London. Countless London firms and businesses have set up offices in Leeds in recent years (PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, to name but a few) and it has fast become the business capital of the North. Not to be confused incidentally with the ‘Capital of the North’ which historically has always been the often forgotten York, but that is my own personal axe to grind.

So how, for example, did the mighty Leeds United fall to its knees? It was not players with itchy feet dreaming of the bright lights of London, nor was it due to a decline in support. It was Peter Ridsdale.

The former chairman spent £18million in November 2000 on a young Rio Ferdinand, breaking the British transfer record as well as making the England international the world’s most expensive defender. It turned out that this was money the club could only afford on the condition that they would get it back from the revenue that a Champion’s League campaign brings in. The club missed out on qualification by one point as Liverpool pipped them to 3rd place and the rest is history. The club continued to gamble on flops such as eight million-pound man Seth Johnson and £11m Robbie Fowler with Ridsdale desperately throwing more money at a lost cause, entrenching the club in further debt with every purchase. By May 2007, Leeds United were forced into administration, taking the league’s obligatory 10-point deduction with them which relegated them to the 3rd tier of English football on the spot.

Granted this is an extreme example, but every club is unique. It is not fair to blanket the demise of football clubs over an entire region. Newcastle United, for me, are not a club in permanent decline as Neville suggests. They have been relegated before and bounced back before. Of course a weak squad is a concern as it rightly should be, but any decline in stature is due to the decisions of the club, not the financial climate.

This summer, the Magpies spent an eye-watering £46.7m on new players, with a revenue of just £1.5m being raised by the six players that left the club. This to me, does not sound like a club whose finances reflect the region’s economic climate. It is a football club with a chairman who perhaps is not as football-financially savvy as his SportsDirect franchise may suggest.

Sunderland’s transfer policy is a little more modest, with £23m being spent this summer on four new players and £7.3m being accrued through sales. But another vast spend we must consider for the Black Cats is the cost of their manager’s revolving door, which has been churning coaches in and out with monotonous regularity. Since November 2011, the club has had no less than six managers, with the current boss Dick Advocaat set to leave in the summer (if he avoids the swinging scythe above his door before then that is).

The signing and sacking of managers comes at a huge cost. The likes of Paulo Di Canio and Gustavo Poyet are world-renowned names in the sport and can only be tempted by a move to the North East with the promise of a considerable salary and considerable job security in the form of a long-term contract. If the club then decides to part company with their man at the helm, then the severance pack is going to cost the club millions in an area they presumably did not budget for at the time of appointment, believing they had got their man.

I believe that, geographically speaking, the football clubs of the North East are utterly blessed. Those sceptical on Newcastle United’s future need only to walk the streets of our northern cities on a Saturday. The replica shirts colour the city centres in stripes. The same goes for Sunderland, Sheffield too.

No matter how many disastrous decisions befall our Northern clubs, they shall never become an afterthought in English football. They represent regions that will always have a wealth of passion money further South cannot buy.

If Newcastle United and Sunderland AFC are relegated, the Premier League will be a weaker division for it. It certainly is for the loss of Leeds. But it can take just one individual to resurrect an entire region’s fortune. Take for example, the effect of Sir Alex Ferguson in Manchester or Sir Bobby Robson in Newcastle. What is to come on the field remains unclear. But with the manner of those off it, the North shall never be in decline, it is simply acclimatising.

The timeless question of “who do you support?” has broken down social barriers for what seems like an eternity. It is a way of finding a mutual interest and so often what was an awkward conversation can flow with a sort of relief in the knowledge that common ground has been found. As a child of the 90’s, it was uncanny how often I would hear the response of “Man United” to the question, which inevitably resulted in my exhaling with disappointment at the news. Another Red Devil, another glory supporter. The fact I was a Chelsea fan, a mediocre entity in those days known for being partial to the odd cup run but never challenging the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United realistically, was always considered a little left-field but inoffensive nonetheless.

Since the Abramovich takeover of 2004, Chelsea have arguably surpassed Manchester United as the team people love to loath. It is a role that Jose Mourinho relishes and with his air of arrogance he makes it so easy for so many to wish his team the worst. The Russian oligarch’s billions also brought on a nouveaux riche reaction in many, an irritation that such a prestigious part of the country suddenly had Rubles rolling in as well as the wealth already prominent in the streets of Kensington and Chelsea. There was success near guaranteed where it was not necessarily earned.

This season however, the Blues are stumbling through their worst start to a top-flight campaign in 29 years. They were played off the park against the already champions-elect of Manchester City (another team now universally disliked for the same reasons as the Londoners – a businessman’s billions), lost the Community Shield to bitter rivals Arsenal, commemorated Mourinho’s 100th home game in charge by losing another London derby (just the second loss of the Portuguese’s century), and having returned from the International break early September, immediately lost again to find themselves sitting 17th in the Premier League table. It has been a monumental collapse for such a formidable footballing outfit.

Somewhat perversely, I find myself enjoying it. It is the return of that wonderfully British desire to, if not cheer on the underdog, then at least respect them for their lowlier status. Chelsea are by no means one of the least fortunate in the Premier League, far from it in fact. But having played the part of England’s most hated football club for over a decade, that is an accolade that appears to be travelling back up to Manchester, albeit to the blue side of the city this time around.

Manchester United experienced exactly the same as they came to terms with life after Sir Alex Ferguson. Conquering everything that was put in front of them under the Scot, the nineties and “noughties” saw the club achieve incredible feats on both the domestic and European stages, but socially it came at a cost. They say that life at the top can be lonely. Well for a football fan not lonely perhaps, but it can be considerably less comfortable. Everyone enjoys success, but in football there are always the overtones of envy that accompany it.

After the disastrous appointment of David Moyes and a similarly stuttering start from the Dutchman Louis Van Gaal, the football community appeared to warm a little to the fallen giant. This varied of course depending on region, Liverpool fans are never going to like a team from Manchester no matter who wears the jersey or where the club happens to be in the standings. Likewise in Leeds. But these reasonings (if one can call them such), are purely geographical. However, the blanket hatred of the club began to be diluted by just a hint of sympathy at how the mighty had fallen.

The same at present, can definitely be said about Chelsea. There are those across London and plenty in Manchester that are relishing the demise of Mourinho’s men and areas of the media baying for blood, in some cases Mourinho’s resignation. But as an everyday fan when asked who I support, I feel a warmth that was definitely not there before. I have been guilty of grimacing in the past when answering the question, knowing I am about to disappoint a complete stranger. But during the hard times, you are enthused by a pride and belief that things can get better. The human reaction to turmoil is one of hope and stoicism, and it is significantly more rewarding than the vulgarity of gloating as a result of success.

Searching for acceptance from fellow football fans as opposed to being driven by a desire for success may appear a little unambitious, weak even. Perhaps it is the Yorkshireman in me (for those of you familiar with Monty Python’s sketch about the tougher times) that feels a little more comfortable to be striving against hardship rather than bathing in the bragging rights brought about by constant glory. Football is after all for so many, simply an outlet to channel any rage and frustration built up during the working week. What would there be to shout about if your team were always successful?

When Chelsea host Maccabi Tel-Aviv on Wednesday night, I will be pleading with my television screen to give the Blues the three points their season so desperately needs, if I wasn’t then I wouldn’t be a fan. But no matter what the score, I shall be wearing the club colours with a new sense of pride and defiance I have not had the pleasure of displaying since my childhood. The sense that by showing solidarity, the club can overcome this wobble (of ever-growing epic proportion) and build their own credibility through adversity. As the saying goes, “For every dark cloud there is a silver lining”.

During my primitive school years, I was privileged enough to be educated at both an Independent school and then a local Sixth Form. Privileged is a word I use with great caution due to the negative stigma surrounding it. I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth, I worked tirelessly to be where I was like so many others. As a music scholar, my instrumental and choral commitments had to come before sport, but it was still a vast part of the schooling week and the part that I enjoyed the most. As a young man growing up, there is no greater platform than the sports field on which to mature. However for many thirteen year olds (those hailing from the north perhaps in particular)*, rugby union can be a foreign concept and remains so unless you attend a school that plays it.

In 2000, I attended Uppingham School, a boarding school founded in 1584, hidden away in the small town of the same name a few miles from Rutland Water. Like so many schools of its mould, rugby for new boys is mandatory. You are given the option to focus on other sports after your first year if you have good reason for it, but it is clearly frowned upon. The money put into the sport by such schools can be eye-watering and it can definitely be argued that other sports suffer because of it. During my three years, the 1st XV went on rugby tours to Australia and South Africa on separate occasions whilst the 1st XI football team had to petition to be given jerseys that even showed we represented the school (the eventual jersey interestingly, did not display the crest). This however, is a debate for another blog.

There is a divide between professional rugby and football players that relates to education, that is undeniable. In June 2014, Ofsted released figures showing that 94% of footballers in the top divisions were educated at a state school, as opposed to the top rugby division which stood at an alarming 39%. It is worth pointing out that 45% of those who came out of Independent schools were in fact on scholarships or bursaries. The statistics reflect the education of the individual, not their family wealth.

Steps have been taken to rectifying this imbalance. The All Schools programme has been running since 2012, an initiative to introduce rugby to 750 more state schools before the start of the 2019 World Cup. Fascinatingly, out of the 31-man England squad that lifted the Rugby World Cup in 2003, only 11 of those attended fee-paying schools. Eighteen successfully came through the state school system and the remaining two studied abroad. However, Stuart Lancaster’s England squad for the upcoming 2015 Rugby World Cup shows an entirely different trend with exactly twice as many players coming from Independent schools.

The Rugby Premiership is also trying to rectify this forming pattern, not just because of the social discomfort the statistics start to hint at, but simply because a wider recruitment field means a wider berth of talent. On The Front Foot is a programme that is aimed at inner-city schools and also has a large emphasis on the women’s game. It also encourages ethnic minorities to participate and boasts World Cup winners of both sexes as their ambassadors, Jonny Wilkinson notably amongst them. In 2014, over 300,000 individuals were involved in the programme.

The problem with schools stuttering competitively or refusing altogether to embrace the sport is widely put down to the teaching. There simply are not enough talented coaches being employed by state schools. One can argue that they cannot compete financially with the Independent schools and this is undoubtedly true, but it is also thought to be an unappealing workplace. With so few grammar schools offering rugby, there are consequently fewer potential opponents and the sad truth remains that the prospect of away trips to inner-city schools for some of the more prestigious schools is unappealing.

The legacy of the 2012 London Olympics was meant to enthuse a generation and has certainly come up short across the board. The government has emphatically failed on maintaining sports in schools after Britain’s sporting success of 2012, making vast cuts to budgets that included the complete removal of funding for the SSP (School Sport Partnerships). The SSP uses an initiative where PE teachers can be shared amongst schools and borrowed by those who do not have the necessary staff. They also encouraged at least 2 hours of PE a week to be included in the academic week. Yet as we enter the Academic Year of 2015-16, their £162m government allowance has been entirely cut.

The Rugby World Cup is fast approaching and, like the London Olympics, looks to inspire an entire nation. England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales are all within the top 10 ranked nations on the planet and will consider themselves serious contenders. Which schools they happened to attend is of no importance now, but it is clearly relevant as to how they arrived at the summit of the game.

No sport, in my opinion, should be thrust upon an individual. In my personal experience, one year of rugby involved running around like a lunatic for a 4th team that clearly didn’t understand the rules and had no desire to learn them. I spent my afternoons longingly looking over to the football fields whilst many others did the same, albeit generically towards the warmth. But it must be an option that is open to those from every background and incorporated more into our overall sporting understanding.

There are social stereotypes and cliches that suggest individuals are either “a rugby man” or they’re not and there is a ridiculous bravado that comes with it. It can become code for looking down on those less fortunate, mocking those who prefer football for seeming unmanly due to the influx of unsporting behaviour and often cringeworthy theatricals in the game at the highest level. You like football, ergo you clearly “weren’t brought up right”. The sort of opinion that sees us edging towards the unpleasant concept of elitism again. But given the opportunity, sports such as rugby and football can thrive together, equally recognised and cherished by the nation as a whole, not simply by a few.

Like the Olympics, the hosting of a tournament with worldwide interest is an honour and all eyes will be on Twickenham for Friday night’s opener between England and Fiji. As we come together as a nation, it is imperative that the government learns from the failings of the last legacy and takes the opportunity, this time, to grow together.

*Yorkshire as a county is not particularly renowned for its Rugby Union. Leeds Rhinos and Bradford Bulls in particular have thrived in the Rugby League format, both sides winning the World Club Challenge on three occasions (an annual competition pitting the Australian champions against the winner of the European Super League). Lancashire also are prolific in the sport, boasting the likes of St. Helen’s, Wigan Warriors and Warrington who all boast bulging trophy cabinets. It has on occasion been considered a game for the working class as opposed to the “elitist” Rugby Union so often associated with “posh schools”, but with players beginning to cross over between the disciplines this is a stereotype fast becoming dated and inaccurate.