Newcastle: United by faith, hope and stories?
Posted on July 6th, 2009 | 62 Comments |
But on current form it seems the club is a long-running circus and we the fans are the biggest joke on the stage. Yet also disliked for our arrogance and a perceived lack of grace and humility. Oh for the days when we were proud!
Mind you, how much of a stuff do we really give about what people think? I mean seriously though?
Everyone makes a big deal of the Keegan era and yes it was nice, of course it was. Mainly because that attention I was referring to was a by-product of us playing some bloody good football. Certainly, it’s nice to be nice and conversely being paid compliments and to be thought of highly by others is OK with me.
But football fans are a cynical lot and due to rivalry, grudges and just for the craic, most opposition fans are happy to mock the afflicted given an opportunity. And we’re certainly fair game at the moment and have been for a while.
Journalists however, you would think, have little axe to grind other than with the intention of selling newspapers. And of course, therein lies the clue. They write what people want to read. Enjoying the demise of another club gives some fans that one-up-manship that more and more seem to crave. Therefore, reading about it in a neatly packaged broadsheet or tabloid assassination just makes the job a whole lot easier. And of course the irony is not lost that the type condemning us are the ones that championed our cause not so long ago. We certainly help them sell papers.
So much regurgitated tosh gets printed these days, that I barely have the stomach to read yet another shamelessly ill-informed and ignorant rant from hacks lacking the dignity and morals to ask the average Mag what they really think. We recognise our shortcomings, we know our strengths and many weaknesses. We’re realists if very occasionally dreamers. But then which fans aren’t? And football wouldn’t be much fun without the dreaming.
It’s widely regarded that we have some inherent over-bearing and unhealthy influence over our club. We turn too quickly, we shout too loud and generally we’re our own worst enemies who drag the club to it’s knees. Part of this is attributed to our alleged insularity and distrust of ‘outsiders’. Apparently, we demonstrate some form of regional jingoism. “Whey hinny, if ye wornt born within spittin distance of the Tyne ya not likely to understand what the Toon means to us, like.” Yes of course, we’re all flat-cap-wearing, whippet-racing imbeciles.
The theory becomes threadbare when you acknowledge that the finest example thrown back in our face, is our loyalty to Keegan. A man who has arguably saved the future of Newcastle United on three separate occasions and put us back on the map. The very reason people have the debate over whether we’re a ‘big club’ or not. A man who was born in Doncaster. Ergo not a local.
There may be irony in Keegan’s own platitudes, i.e. “it’s a special club” etc etc and the multitude of others who have muttered the same words. But much of that is done to unite, to give a belonging and create an affinity and that is not unique to Newcastle United. Listen to the interviews, every bugger does it. KK knew this club but he didn’t have to. He understood football and he understood football fans. That was all he needed to know. We didn’t interfere because we trusted him because he made it clear he knew what he was doing and that he would always be upfront with us.
I trust those who earn my trust whether they were born in London or Longbenton. KK earned my trust whether he ultimately disappointed me in some of his actions or not. Shearer has earned the same level of trust. It’s down to honesty, decency and loyalty. The current regime has singularly failed to display any of those qualities and thus do not have my trust and it has nothing to do with their roots. It has more to do with their routes, the type of people they are, why they’re here and not where they come from.
It’s claimed we have too much say in the running of our club and it would seem this in particular and some of the above is leading to factions within the fanbase. It’s been a long time since I saw so much disharmony on and off the field and it seems the skin isn’t so thick as it used to be. We are being torn apart by circumstance and have been turning on each other for months. As the debacle continues and this sale appears to have reached an impasse of sorts, it seems to me that now is as good a time as any to re-group. The rift between divided, demoralised and disenfranchised supporters appears to grow ever wider as we turn on each other in this time of despair and impotent frustration. For some, there may be a clue in that word I used. To disenfranchise means to take away power. For example, to refuse to allow Newcastle supporters the right to have a say in their club. To prevent the influence of those in the stands on those in the boardroom. ‘Sing your hearts out for the lads’ but keep your opinions to yourselves when it comes to calling the shots on where this club is headed and how to get it there. Or something like that.
But is that right? Is it fair? These are paying customers with loyalty to something they hold dear to their hearts. And hey if caring too much is an offence then I’m guilty as charged. So why shouldn’t fans have a say? It doesn’t mean a leader need listen to us if they believe it’s in our best interests and their’s not to. But at least explain yourself occasionally and keep us in the loop. The past is the past, though no doubt we will argue over the rights and wrong of all parties involved in the two years that seen the club tumble out of the top flight and toward further disaster. But what we need now is soldarity and a resolution to move onwards and upwards together. To be humble and learn from mistakes but not to dwell on the negatives too much.
And we need a strong leader at the helm.
Are we different from other club’s and other supporters? Are we unique by nature? I don’t believe we are, though we do seem to have begun to attract more and more bad press than the average. Maybe it’s self-inflicted. Either way, let them judge and have their say. We have bigger fish to fry.
Faith – That our loyalty and patience will be repaid, one day.
Hope – For something better on the horizon.
And Stories – Sticks and stones make break our bones but those hacks will rot in hell, so why should we really give a flying Cattermole what they write?
Are we unique? To me, we are just another football club with it’s own set of unique problems.
It’s time we fixed them, together.
NUFCBlog Author: bowburnmag
bowburnmag has written 234 articles on this blog.
Great Article!
I’m not sure about the supporters being different but I certainly think the club is different to every other club.
Being a one club city has it’s advantages but it sure has it’s disadvantages. The pressure can be huge and so intense. There’s no other club to take the pressure off through the media ect…
Everything revolves around the football club, and I have no doubt that it takes a special kind of person and player to be able to cope with the pressure and responsibility.
Just ask Jermaine Jenas……..