Graphic: The region haunted by relegation

Friday evening and, as Malcolm Macdonald prepared for his phone-in programme on northeast football, he already knew the incoming tone. It would be one of optimism, of which reserves are not yet fully depleted, rather than rage. For the moment, anyway, there is just a simmering resentment in some. For the adopted Geordie, who, like Jackie Milburn before him and Alan Shearer after him, boasted the kind of scoring record that Newcastle United yearn for now, one caller to his show on Real Radio captured the prevailing mood.

The fellow happened to be a Middlesbrough fan but could have been a follower of any of the northeast’s Premier League clubs this season. “He told me that he’d sat down and worked out how much money he’d put into Middlesbrough in the decades he’d been a supporter,” recalled Macdonald. “He said, ‘I’m in my late forties and haven’t missed a game for years. Do you know how much that cost me? I could have paid off my mortgage. Instead, I’m paying off over a hundred grand because I’m supporting Boro’. It summed up the kind of supporters there are up here, the extent of their loyalty.”

A loyalty, you could add, to clubs employing some players who could comfortably pay off that mortgage in a week. And, the former England striker added wryly, “players who probably know nothing about that town or city”. The emotional return for such supporters in the northeast has rarely been adequate in recent years. Now certain clubs are threatening to default altogether. Whether you attribute it to a slump in players’ productivity, poor recruitment, indifferent management at pitchside or boardroom level, or lack of investment, reality will strike by six o’clock this evening for two of a quartet of clubs within about 100 miles of each other: Newcastle, Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Hull City.

“There is an underlying anger,” agreed London-born Macdonald, who scored 95 goals in 187 league appearances for Newcastle. “The one thing I’ve learnt about the northeast is that they’ll always live in hope. They’ll cling on to the smallest thread. But once that last thread has gone, then they’ll turn. It’s horrendous for the supporters here. There are redundancies all over the place yet they still put their football team at the top of their list of priorities. Their loyalty is taken for granted and when that happens, it ends up being abused.”

In this area, there is much talk of the scrappage scheme. That means the “old bangers for cash” deal that it is hoped will boost Nissan and others parts of the motor industry. But as managers — some of whose own jobs will be in jeopardy — try to address the issue of too many modest players on long contracts, it could equally refer to some of the local footballers.

And there’s the culture shock. When there’s talk of facing Fergie next season, it won’t refer to Sir Alex’s champions. It will mean Ferguson Jr, manager of promoted Peterborough United and his men, as clubs begin life in the Championship. The implications of relegation are so far-reaching that Newcastle prised Alan Shearer out of his comfort zone on the Match of the Day sofa on April Fools’ Day.

All the northeast clubs have been guilty of underinvestment in decent players, overinvestment in indifferent quality and, perhaps worst of all, the appointment of ill-prepared and inexperienced managers. Shearer might prove equal to the task. But eight games? Word has it that, had he been sounded out earlier, he could have agreed. On Friday, he was asked if he was irritated by not having been given longer to turn things round at St James’ Park. “You can say that . . . I can’t say that,” he responded.

Otherwise, at Newcastle’s training ground two days away from the longest day for all concerned, he was in chipper mood. There was a gallows humour about him, although that was, in part, because he clearly expected a late reprieve — providing his team can defeat Aston Villa. “So, do you think I’m mad?” he asked, to laughter all round, when he interrupted a questioner who had suggested he was in surprisingly confident mood. Shearer continued: “If we were to win the game, I wouldn’t be absolutely convinced, but I’d say that would be enough.”

If a club had to choose a man to go into the final day with a swagger, it wouldn’t be Boro’s solemn Gareth Southgate, who carries the countenance to go with relegation and managing a club with substantial debt. It wouldn’t be Sunderland’s Ricky Sbragia, who clearly is content to return to a role behind the scenes. And nor would it be Phil Brown, under whom Hull were progressing surprisingly well until that fateful day when he performed a team dressing-down without feeling the need for a dressing room to keep things private.

Newcastle’s undoubted advantage is the presence of Big Al. You almost forget that Newcastle have amassed one win in seven games under him. He says survival would be his finest moment. A better feeling than captaining England or earning a league championship medal? “Definitely, because of the season that we’ve had and the season that we can have. It’s only gone on for me for the last eight weeks. But it’s been an incredible eight weeks.”

Although, officially, his tenure ends today, everything Shearer said pointed to him preparing for the long haul. He was asked whether today’s outcome would affect where he was next season. “Probably not,” he agreed before reflecting on mistakes the club had made and how he hoped that more talented local youngsters could come through the system. He acknowledged that the pressure would continue to be relentless. “I wouldn’t see it settling down for any reason. Whatever happens, I’m assuming that it’s a manic job. But it’s one I’ve enjoyed.” There is a view, it was put to Shearer, that Newcastle’s departure would impoverish the Premier League — while, say, Hull’s would be no loss. “I can argue Newcastle’s case but I’m biased,” he said. “I would say the Premier League needs Newcastle.”