Then just add water, a few wins and a generous pinch of Novocastrian parochialism. Presto, instant success! Cut to scenes of jubilant crowds, sponsors bidding for the last vacant seat in the corporate box and players doing laps of honour on grand final day.

Glory, glory hallelujah. So much for the vision.

Almost five years since Nathan Tinkler emerged,  Newcastle's very own Santa Claus covered in coal dust,  to assume ownership of the Newcastle Jets – followed seven months later by the historic vote that allowed him to privatise the Newcastle Knights – fans of both clubs are still shaking their heads.

Like the filthy hangover after a wild shindig, what seemed a good idea at the time has left Novocastrians feeling crook in the guts. The party is over and it has been one hell of a comedown. As of last weekend, both of Newcastle's flagship teams were incumbent wooden spooners and relying on the support of their respective governing bodies to stay afloat.

The man they call the "Boganaire" has long since beat a sheepish, begrudging retreat, leaving behind dozens of unpaid  creditors and a couple of questions worth pondering. Why has it been an eternal battle for Newcastle's sporting teams to survive, let alone prosper? And how much longer can this continue? Twice in the space of five seasons, in 1997 and 2001, the Knights were rugby league's champions.

In season three of the A-League, Con Constantine's Jets scored a memorable grand final win over arch rivals  Central Coast to emerge from the shadows of their rugby league siblings.

Those halcyon days may have been against the odds, given that in all three premiership deciders Newcastle played the role of giant killers. But the region's reputation as a footballing hotbed is undisputed. Names like Reg Date, Clive Churchill, Craig Johnston and Andrew Johns need no introduction. Long before Newcastle first became involved in national-league competitions, the Hunter Valley was  a nursery for champions.

Moreover, Novocastrians have traditionally turned out in large numbers to cheer for their heroes.

From the inaugural days of KB United, through to the advent of the Knights and Jets, fans exuding a tribal passion have poured through the turnstiles.

From all this it seems logical to deduce that Newcastle is a sporting town. If two cockroaches were scuttling along a Hunter Street gutter, people would gather to see which one reached the bread crumb first.

Yet the graveyard of national-level teams, which accommodates the corpses of soccer's KB United, Adamstown Rosebud and  Newcastle Breakers, basketball's Newcastle Falcons and Hunter Pirates, netball's Hunter Jaegers, baseball's Hunter Eagles and the ill-conceived Super League franchise Hunter Mariners, would suggest there is a fundamental dilemma.

It has been no different for the Knights and Jets. Several times in the 24 seasons before privatisation the Knights needed to borrow money to pay players. When Tinkler assumed ownership, he paid out (depending on who you believe) somewhere between $2.5million and $7million in liabilities.

Constantine pumped an estimated $10million into the Jets during a colourful 10-year tenure that ended, literally, in tears when Football Federation Australia stripped the ailing tycoon of his licence.

The bottom line is Australia's seventh-largest city, boasting the world's biggest coal exporting port, has struggled to fund its professional sporting teams.

Yet in Townsville, with a population significantly smaller than Newcastle's, the North Queensland Cowboys have managed to assemble a star-studded roster who shape as genuine premiership contenders this year, while Townsville Fire won the Women's National Basketball League in March.

David Eland has been chief executive of the Jets for little more than a month, and his caretaker stint could end as soon as FFA  secures a new owner for the club. But in his dual capacity as the long-term CEO of Northern NSW Football, Eland has made two observations.

First, the round-ball code has remarkable potential in this region that has never been properly harnessed. Second, in the 10 seasons since their inception, the Jets have been hindered by a constant state of flux, on and off the field.

As for the Knights, heading into last week's final-round showdown at Penrith, they needed a victory to avoid finishing last. Instead they were outplayed 30-12 by the injury-riddled Panthers to collect the  wooden spoon for the second time in the club's history.

It was an ignominious conclusion that few would have predicted after round four, when Newcastle were unbeaten competition leaders and "a fair dinkum team", according to skipper Kurt Gidley.

A week later, Newcastle were outmuscled by St George Illawarra, which proved the catalyst for a monumental form slump that cost coach Rick Stone his job. A belated revival under caretaker  Danny Buderus was too little, too late. What made the situation  even more inexplicable was that for the first time in what seemed like an eternity, there was no off-field turmoil.

The club's NRL-appointed administration, led by chairman Brian McGuigan, set about  re-establishing credibility in the eyes of the community. But if the Knights were continually dysfunctional off the field during Tinkler's tenure, this year the most inefficient aspect of the operation was game day, when players were unable to uphold their end of the bargain. "It's highly embarrassing," chief executive Matt Gidley said.

"Running last by anyone's measure is not good enough. You've got to look at things closely and consider the season, what's worked and what hasn't worked, and do things differently next year."

McGuigan said, with the benefit of hindsight, players on long-term contracts had not earned their keep. "We inherited, really, a team that had been put together by someone else," McGuigan said. "Whilst it's no excuse, we needed to be loyal to those people for a time because we promised stability to the players and coach. They'd been through a very bad period during the previous ownership, and that had shattered the team somewhat ... it's very disappointing to end up where we have."

Almost as concerning as the on-field capitulation has been the decline in crowd numbers at Hunter Stadium. After average turnouts of 20,919 in 2012, the first year of the Tinkler-Wayne Bennett era, attendances have dwindled each season to 15,891 this year.

That is a downturn of 24.03 per cent – almost a quarter – in just four seasons.

Asked if this year's results would make it more difficult to sell season tickets for 2016, McGuigan replied: "Of course it is. You're absolutely putting your finger on it."

Gidley agreed it was "not ideal" but was hopeful the arrival of new coach Nathan Brown and new players, in particular NSW Origin halfback Trent Hodkinson, would provide some reassurance for fans.

"I think what you need is to give your supporters hope and a clear plan for how you can improve," Gidley said. "We're bringing in a new coach, who's been successful, and basically a new halves combination in Trent Hodkinson and Jarrod Mullen, who missed most of this season with injury. I think those three appointments are a reason for confidence."

Brown, who signed a three-season contract this week, said the Knights had been dealt "some tough cards" in recent years but nothing was insurmountable. "The club is where it is," he said. "It's had a pretty bad 10 or 12 years. There's obviously things that need fixing ... you don't finish down near the bottom of the table if you haven't got some issues.

"But everything's repairable, and with the support of the local people and a few young players coming through, I'm sure over a period of time we can change that."

Unlike the Jets, who could have a new owner within weeks if FFA negotiations with Scottish multimillionaire Stephen Thompson bear fruit, the Knights look set to remain under NRL control for at least another 12 months.

Despite pre-season predictions from McGuigan that the club could break even in 2015, such a turnaround  appears highly unlikely.

The FFA might be eager to offload the Jets at the earliest opportunity, but the NRL appears content to play the long game with the Knights. It is not as if there is any other option.

Perhaps the final word on the Knights should go to Buderus, the little champion who has stuck solid through  highs and lows, good times and bad.

Buderus, who won a grand final in 2001 and played in a wooden-spoon team four years later, recalled how the pain of 2005 spurred the Knights throughout the ensuing pre-season. They finished in the top four in 2006.

"It's a long, hard road, there's no doubt about that," Buderus said. "You've got a new coach coming in and he knows, I'm sure, the full effect of what is needed to turn this place around.

"It's a big job at hand. Everyone's got to help, from top to bottom, in our organisation ... we've got a long way to get up to those top clubs, and we've got to work and fight hard to get up there. You can't put a year or a tally on when we will, but it'll turn around. That's for sure."