The best and the worst of North-East football during 2012-13

BEST GAME

It's a limited pool if we're relying on North-East victories, although for sheer surprise value, Sunderland's 3-0 win at Newcastle will live long in the memory.

In terms of drama and excitement, though, I don't think you'll beat Newcastle's 4-3 defeat at Old Trafford on Boxing Day.

Seven goals, Newcastle claiming the lead on three separate occasions, and a typically dramatic late winner from Javier Hernandez. Thrill-a-minute stuff.

WORST GAME

There's a lot more contenders in this category, with all three of the North-East's big boys having produced some dreadful performances at various stages of the campaign.

Newcastle's 1-0 home defeat to West Ham was particularly listless, while Sunderland's goalless home draws with QPR and Swansea were desperately dull occasions.

However, I'm going to go for Middlesbrough's 0-0 draw with Peterborough at the start of last month - a Tuesday night when nothing at all happened.

BEST TRIP

It's always a pleasure to visit some of the leading football grounds in the country - Wembley, the Emirates, the Etihad - and there are stadia I've developed an affinity for over the years - most notably Goodison Park, Villa Park and Craven Cottage.

But this year was a bit special thanks to Newcastle's involvement in the Europa League, and February's trip to Kharkiv was fantastic. An intriguing city, invitingly cheap beer and a magnificent Magpies away win. What on earth was there not to like?

WORST TRIP

It's the middle of January, and it's been snowing for what feels like weeks. Middlesbrough are due to play at Leicester on a Friday night, but there's no chance of the game going ahead, right? Wrong.

Having skidded my way down the M1, it took me three-and-a-half hours to drive the three miles from the motorway junction to the King Power Stadium. With Leicester city centre at complete gridlock, it even took 45 minutes just to negotiate a roundabout.

Boro lost 1-0, Tony Mowbray banned all of the players from speaking after the game, and I got back into the house at 3am, with the A19 only just navigable. Needless to say, I've had better nights.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A NORTH-EAST PLAYER

The majority of this season's stand-out performances in a Newcastle, Sunderland or Middlesbrough shirt have come from goalkeepers.

Tim Krul has excelled all season for the Magpies, Simon Mignolet has been in superb form for the Black Cats and Jason Steele has topped the Boro rankings on a regular basis.

However, in terms of a one-off performance, I'm going to go for Steven Taylor's superb defensive display against Anzhi Makhchakala in the second leg of the Europa League last-16 tie. The centre-half made a succession of crucial blocks and interceptions to help Newcastle win 1-0.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN OPPOSITION PLAYER

Newcastle have been ripped apart by a number of players this season, although none have been better than Liverpool's Phillipe Coutinho, who pulled all the strings in his side's 6-0 win.

Sunderland's back four couldn't deal with Christian Benteke as they crashed to a 6-1 defeat at Villa Park, while Tottenham's Gareth Bale produced match-winning displays against both North-East sides.

But the performance that stands out a mile came against Boro. Wilfried Zaha was irresistible as Crystal Palace claimed a 4-1 win at Selhurst Park in February, and his display stands head and shoulders above anything else I saw in the Championship this season.

BIGGEST SURPRISE

When I left the Stadium of Light on Easter Saturday, in the wake of Sunderland's 1-0 defeat to Manchester United, I was an anticipating a relaxing end to the Easter weekend.

Three hours later, and all hell had broken loose. Normally, before a manager is dismissed, you pick up on whispers predicting what's going to happen. In the case of Martin O'Neill, however, the news came completely out of the blue and caught the entire press pack on the hop.

BEST PRESS CONFERENCE/INTERVIEW

We're lucky in the North-East to have plenty of interesting and helpful interviewees. I particularly enjoyed speaking to Papiss Cisse about his early days playing in Senegal earlier this season, while Lee Cattermole is never anything less than disarmingly honest when it comes to discussing his playing style and disciplinary issues.

Rafael Benitez's criticism of Chelsea supporters in the wake of his side's FA Cup win at Middlesbrough created national headlines, but Paolo Di Canio's arrival in the North-East has taken managerial ranting to a whole new level.

His introductory press briefing was highly-charged, but he saved the best for last, with his post-match tirade at Tottenham creating ripples that will last long into next season.

BEST PRESS FACILITIES

Whenever people ask me about covering matches for The Northern Echo, they don't want to know what the football is like. Instead, they invariably ask, 'Where does the best food'?

Now that all top-flight grounds have to have wireless access in the press box as standard - something that was always a headache in the past - the catering standards are a key consideration ahead of any away trip.

So where's the best? Aston Villa's always good (generally a roast beef dinner), while Manchester City (cracking cup cakes) and Arsenal (fridge with free ice-cream) are also right up there. But thanks to Roman Abramovich's largesse, Chelsea (superb buffet with cold meats and fish) is the trip no journalist worth their salt wants to miss. Roll on next season...