HIGH Street spending might have slowed by 1.3 per cent this summer but, in the world of North-East football, the prevailing trend has been to dig deep.

After a prolonged spell of penny-pinching, both Middlesbrough and Newcastle have loosened the purse strings and splashed the cash in an attempt to make tangible progress this season.

Steve McClaren thinks his five signings have created the "strongest" Boro squad during his time at the Riverside, while Sir Bobby Robson has professed to being "delighted" at the four new players he has brought to Tyneside.

Hopes are high as the two sides prepare to meet in tomorrow's Premiership opener, but they have been similarly inflated before, only to burst in spectacular, and often acrimonious, fashion.

The Teessiders signed Fabrizio Ravanelli and Emerson in 1996, only to fall into the First Division, while even Freddy Shepherd winces at the mention of Carl Cort, Christian Bassedas and Hugo Viana.

New blood doesn't guarantee success but, after signing so many players this summer, McClaren and Robson will be hoping it at least ensures improvement.

The Boro boss has made most headlines with his summer spending, if only because his transfer activity has brought an abrupt end to the club's self-imposed austerity.

The Teessiders might have the best crop of youngsters in the country after winning last season's FA Youth Cup, but McClaren's spending policy has reflected football's demand for instant results.

The likes of Matthew Bates and James Morrison could be stars of the future, but that will be no good to the current Boro boss if things fall apart over the next nine months.

So, rather than patiently assembling a squad that will flourish three or four years down the line, McClaren has hastily gathered players who should be able to deliver immediately.

Bolo Zenden, who will turn 28 on Sunday, is the youngest of Boro's five summer signings but, with more than 250 first-team appearances under his belt, he is anything but a novice.

Mark Viduka and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink have been recruited into a new-look frontline, and how they combine could well hold the key to Boro's season.

The pair boast more than 160 Premiership goals between them, and arrive on Teesside with a reputation for unnerving the best defences in the land.

But they have a combined age of 60 and, with pace at a premium, much will depend on the quality of delivery from the likes of Zenden and Gaizka Mendieta.

Ray Parlour is also the wrong side of 30, although his combative qualities are not in question, while Michael Reiziger will bolster a defence that lost loan star Danny Mills in the summer.

Reiziger will be one of two new right-backs on display tomorrow but, while his capture was relatively straight forward, opposite number Stephen Carr represents the end of a transfer saga that threatened to overshadow everything else that happened at St James' Park this summer.

Robson finally settled on the former Tottenham full-back last week after chasing defenders across the length and breadth of Europe and, while the Newcastle boss insists he is happy with his fourth summer capture, it is hard to escape the impression of Carr being the final roll of a well-used dice.

The Irishman will, at least, solve a defensive riddle that plagued the Magpies last season, with Aaron Hughes set to provide valuable competition at the heart of the back four.

Newcastle conceded too many sloppy goals last term - especially on their travels - and the capture of Nicky Butt is a further attempt to bolt up the back door.

The England international is a straight swap for Gary Speed but, at the age of 29, he should be able to cover more ground and make more tackles than the departed Welshman. Butt is the kind of player Newcastle have been crying out for throughout Robson's reign, but his capture has been trumped by the arrival of the kind of player the club's fans cry out for every summer.

Patrick Kluivert is the ultimate big-name, big-occasion striker and his rivalry, sorry partnership, with Alan Shearer promises to provide fireworks whatever happens.

The Dutch international will terrorise Premiership defences if he is anything like his best, but is not even assured of a starting place after a nightmare 12 months at the Nou Camp.

Teenager James Milner will accept a place on the bench as he continues his footballing development - it is hard to imagine Kluivert being so magnanimous if he is overlooked on a regular basis.

As usual, there are more questions than answers.

But, as the Premiership season gets underway tomorrow, the winners and losers will soon become apparent.

McClaren and Robson have both been quick to spend this summer - we will soon know how successful their signings have been.