‘It’s a toss of a coin’: Sheffield United manager questions whether Newcastle United are bigger club than Championship side
We’re about to delve into one of the most pointless arguments in football fandom – who is the bigger club?
It’s the type of argument that can get really heated as fans will argue until they’re blue in the face that their club is bigger. Sunderland fans will have you believe their club is bigger than Newcastle United despite all the evidence pointing to the contrary.
The problem is, there’s no fixed metric by which a club’s size can truly be measured. There are several things which can move the needle for sure, the size of a fanbase, stadium, the fanbase’s ability to fill said stadium and perhaps most significant – money.
Fans often look to the trophy cabinet to make their case too, but surely that would mean that Leicester City’s recent Premier League and FA Cup wins makes them bigger than Newcastle, whereas more recent history would suggest different. Newcastle may not have won a trophy in years, but we have finished in the top seven of the Premier League in the last two seasons and are heading to a second cup final next month while also competing for a Champions League spot. How is one more significant than the other when you factor in time passed?
Leeds United – Bigger than Newcastle United? Howay man!
Chris Wilder believes Leeds are possibly a bigger club than Newcastle
Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder has suggested in a recent interview that it would be coin toss to determine which is a bigger club, Newcastle United or Leeds United, as reported by Leeds Live.
“They’re a massive club. They’re a top six English Premier League club, for me. I think they’re right up there. I saw something recently about who’s the bigger club, them or Newcastle United, and for me it’s a toss of coin. There’s the likes of Aston Villa in there as well; huge clubs historically.
“I’m not trying to unsettle anyone, that’s just how it is. When you’ve won a load of things in the past and are a big, one-team city who could get 50,000 fans, they attract good players and they invest in the team.
“There’s pressure either way to win games and they’re a huge football club. And when you’re playing huge clubs, it does go up a notch. They’re a powerhouse of English football. I won’t change my opinion of that, I haven’t changed that since the early 90s when my pal [Jon Newsome] scored in a game at the Lane to win them the old first division. It’s always been the same.”
Wilder made some good points about Leeds United, but the Newcastle United drive-by couldn’t go unnoticed
Nothing Wilder said there is inherently wrong, but again, you look at the time since either Leeds or Newcastle have won a trophy, it’s hardly a solid argument for them being a big club.
Both sets of fans are super-passionate and fill the stadium every game and have rock solid away support too. Newcastle are probably edging things now with the global fanbase, but there’s still a lot of work to be done in that regard to catch the likes of Manchester City and Manchester United.
However, Leeds are in their second consecutive season in the Championship, something that’s never happened since the Premier League was formed. We’ve had two seasons out of the league but bounced back both times.
It feels stupid getting defensive based on the comments of a manager who was more trying to praise Leeds than put down Newcastle. it’s even more stupid to get wound up about the ‘bigger club’ argument – but that’s fandom for you. We’re a bunch of folks who are easily triggered when someone takes aim at our beloved club.
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