Former Newcastle United and Sunderland midfielder Lee Clark has blamed a combination of poor form and the region's distance from London for the clubs' failure to attract the best players.
Both sides have been suffering from poor form in recent years, with relegation battles a frequent fixture of their seasons.
Clark told BBC Sport: "The difficulty for Newcastle and Sunderland is they're in relegation battles.
"Even when we were attracting some of the biggest names, we always knew there has to be another incentive to attract them to the North East because they had possibilities to go play and live in London. It's always a big pull.
"We were competing at the top end of the Premier League. There was a possibility of challenging for trophies. The difficulty at this moment in time for both clubs is the catchment area, where it is – and the league position of the clubs."
With the exception of a six-year spell at Fulham, Clark spent all of his playing career in the North-East.
