Newcastle United Fans and England – Mixed Feelings?

Posted on May 26th, 2012 | 58 Comments |

Newcastle United St George's flag.
England?
The England football team play a friendly this evening, so I thought I might raise an issue which I have wondered about for some time – how many Newcastle United fans are also England supporters?

I realise to some of you, that might seem like a daft question, but I don’t think it is. I know the simple assumption, particularly in the media, is that because United are an english club, all of it’s fans must be England supporters. However I know this is not true!

I remember during the pre-match entertainment for Alan Shearer’s Testimonial there was some sort of competition, might have been a penalty shoot-out or something, and the guy on the mike was saying “Newcastle fans cheer for the english lad and Celtic fans cheer for the scottish lad” – and I remember thinking “it’s not that simple mate!”

For a start, there are a lot of fans come down to the match from Scotland. I remember having a drink with some Hibs casuals when I was working in Edinburgh and they explained that there were a lot of Newcastle fans in the Edinburgh area – who started supporting the Toon as their “English Club” because it was the first stop down the east coast line! And it’s not just from Edinburgh either, there are United fans all over Scotland, even if it’s their “second team”.

A quick check of Newcastle Airport at certain times will also confirm that there is a sizeable contingent of United fans who regularly fly in for home games from Ireland – then straight back for the home flight after the game!

I also think there are a number of English born United fans who are totally disaffected or couldn’t give a monkeys about supporting England for various reasons. The likes of Terry, Rooney, Ferdinand, Gerrard etc have all been in the media for the wrong reasons at times and are hardly role models who encourage folk to support them. Then there’s Ashley Cole and his alleged treatment of “Wor Cheryl”.

Add to that the suspicion that for a north east player to get into the England team they have to be a world beater, whereas if they played for a London club they’d be a shoe-in. If Steven Taylor played for Tottenham or West Spam would he have more caps? I think so. And in the last few days of course, there’s the treatment of Fraser Forster. Fraser had hoped to land a Euro 2012 call-up when Norwich City keeper and ex-Motherwell ace John Ruddy had to pull out after suffering a broken finger in training. But new England coach Roy Hodgson opted to call up 19-year-old Jack Butland, who spent most of last term farmed out to League Two minnows Cheltenham and hasn’t played a single first-team game for parent club Birmingham.

Compared with this kid, the 24-year-old United keeper has made 90 appearances, including in the Champions League, in a 2 season loan spell at Scottish champions, Celtic, keeping 24 clean sheets in 44 matches.

Then of course there’s the french connection! Cabaye and Ben Arfa are two gifted United players who have been selected for France in the Euros. How many United fans might just want to see France turn over England if those two got on the score sheet? Personally, as an english-born supporter of the Republic Of Ireland, I can’t bring myself to support France after “Handball Henry’s” blatant double hand ball cost us our place in the World Cup!

Naturally, just to put things in perspective, I think it’s safe to assume that most United fans are indeed England supporters. However, how do you feel about England? Comments welcome below.

NUFCBlog Author: UTD111 UTD111 has written 59 articles on this blog.

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58 Responses

  1. I’m a toon fan and I hate England and I’m from England I hate more than 3/4 of the players I don’t really like Woy Hodgson, don’t like Gary neville, why would you support a load of c**ts you don’t like just because their English? France for the euros Ben arfa and cabaye to score hattricks past England! Fair enough if we got to the final then maybe i’d want us to win for bragging rights but other than that they are a bunch of fucking overpaid massive ego arrogant twats and I wouldn’t love anything more than for France to smash them 10-0

  2. I for 1 will want to see france do better than england in the euros. The whole set up of the england team is horrible. Crnt see us doing anything in euros with the team woy has picked. There are far better players been forgoten about.

  3. i’ve been to london, and been called a paddy, a jock.
    i’ve been to yorkshire, and been called scottish.
    i’ve been on holiday, and been talking to welsh people, who asked which part of wales i’m from.
    i been called scottish and irish by americans ffs!!!
    without getting into a monty python, “life of brian, what have the romans done for us”.
    i feel as though the people of the north east, have been used and abused by by the south for years.
    we’ve been used to build their ships, mine their coal, die in their wars.
    when it comes to politics though, we have been well and truly destroyed by the powers that be.
    all the industry and prosperity of the area has been diminished, and generations of kids coming up with no future.
    we’re only english when it siuts their purpose, and we’re largely ingored and thrown to the side.
    we are by culture the old english, the first settlers who came from schleiswigg area between holland and germany.
    we belong to the old kingdom of northumbria, which stretched from hull in the south, up into the forth bridge in scotland.
    them from the south are normans, well you could also argue the toss, as they founded newcastle as fort city.
    imo, we have a completely different outlook to those tossers from the south, culturally we are different imo.
    i like to think of us like the basques, fighting against an enemy from the south
    so well i’m on
    lepoan hartu ta segi aurrera
    independienzta euskal herria!!!!

  4. sound wrong in saying this but will be following france for this one just because we do have Newcastle players starting in it(ben arfa waiting to see if he is in the final squad) england has just been a major disappointment ever since last euro’s and world cup dont think things will change but would love to see them do well.

  7. Born and raised in England. It would seem odd to support another country when it comes to sport.

  8. “The likes of Terry, Rooney, Ferdinand, Gerrard etc have all been in the media for the wrong reasons at times and are hardly role models who encourage folk to support them. Then there’s Ashley Cole and his alleged treatment of “Wor Cheryl”.”

    UTD111, you bang on about that “London media” and how full of bollocks it is, yet now you’re using it’s coverage of England players as a stick to beat them with. Make ye mind up! ;-)

  9. I’m a norwegian Newcastle fan, and can’t wait to see Norway meet England at Ullevaal stadion in Oslo tonight. England definitely got better players, but we got a tactical smart ass as a manager so the match is more open then it seems, i think. Anyway: just wanted to say that norwegians love english football and that meeting England is bigger then meeting Brazil/Argentina for us – no kidding! Norway hasn’t qualified for International champipnships since 2000, and most of us then support England when there is world cup or euro’s(it’s better then supporting Sweden for god sake). Missing those Newcastle lads in the national side though, would have been good if Staylor could make the step.

  10. Me being Welsh by the grace of God, hoping for a France win. Trojan, I`ve got a north west Wales accent and have been mistaken for a Geordie in the past, quite similar, maybe something to do with my Granda being from oop their man.

  13. Norwegian toon fan says:
    May 26, 2012 at 4:36 pm

    “Anyway: just wanted to say that norwegians love english football and that meeting England is bigger then meeting Brazil/Argentina for us – no kidding!”

    Aye, I can still remember Bjørge Lillelien’s hysterical piece of commentary when you beat us in 1981, Norwegian toon fan. Best piece of football commentary ever! :lol:

  14. I couldn’t and haven’t given a toss about England since euro 96, and wasn’t really that bothered then.

    i support newcastle and find it hard to forget the antics of ashley cole, steven gerrard, frank lampard etc etc playing for their respective clubs. thats without the off-field wankeryness of almost all england players, in the squad i would say over 50% have been in trouble with the police for various reasons(terry, downing,carrol), and the other 50% are boring beyond belief (james milner, hart, etc) having the england media training which makes big al such a (ahem) interesting pundit on the bbc.

    thats not even mentioning the media hype which surrounds england, when will the public and media learn, england simply dont have that good a team. the so called golden generation was embarrassing!

    they also play crap and predicatable football. great.

    i’ll be looking out for our players in this tournement as ever, and watching for any players we’ve been linked with.

  15. dave says:
    May 26, 2012 at 5:20 pm

    thats not even mentioning the media hype which surrounds england, when will the public and media learn, england simply dont have that good a team. the so called golden generation was embarrassing!
    ________________________________

    Spot on Dave – it’s the hype around England that p*sses off the neutrals – but also the supporters of the other UK teams, who just don’t exist in the english-dominated media.

    Most of the London-based media types don’t even know they’re doing it…….but the bias is tangible

  17. England past yes. England present no way. Too many egos and idiots. I have irish ancestry so I think I’d be rooting for ireland. And france primarily for cabaye and ben arfa

  18. F@#% ingerland!..

    F@#% the monarchy!

    F@#% the tory C@#%&!

    Ingerland is the ‘hom-er’ counties nowt to do with the likes of us.

  19. I’m Toon first and England second by quite a margin. Nevertheless I support England at least notionally.

    Having said that, after hearing so much bollocks about ‘Golden Generations’ and then being subsequently disappointed when they turned out to be the ‘Distinctly Beige Generation’ instead, I can’t raise all that much enthusiasm for the Euros.

    Maybe I’ll get into it a bit more when it kicks off.

  22. Utd, England won 1-0.

    Clint, I can ‘get into’ a lot of games where there’s a team I don’t actualy ‘support’. In the absence of any preference I usually pick who I consider to be the underdog.

    I think I support England more than that notional, no-real-preference support and will probably ‘get into’ the Euro games once it gets started (even though I have little enthusiasm now).

    But that’s still miles away from how I ‘get into’ Toon games.

  23. Hugh,
    Watching ingerland is like having teeth pulled whilst listening to paint dry.
    If ac had had this stinker season playing for us there’s no way he’d be in that squad. To pick the cheltenham loanee over Forster is emblamatic, as is not picking Simpson.
    Half of ’em don’t even play regularly for their club.
    O’ll probably eatch the euros as it’s football-ish & regular tv sucks.

  25. Cheers, UTD and Worky! I recommend everyone to see that scene with Bjørge Lillelien, it really sums up how much english football means to most norwegian. It’s or only passion in sport in many ways, except these wintersports that few countries care about… Oh well. A bad match really(like most friendlies).Parker & Gerrard showed some skills combining nicely with Young/Carroll up front. England was the better side in the 1. half, but more or less collapsed when Parker/Gerrard were replaced. Not that it meant anything, Norway could have played until tomorrow morning without scoring ;) the only remarkable would be that Riise(!!) got the better of Walcott a couple of time with some (hidden) silky skills. I will – as usual – follow England closely in the championship, but probably try to watch France as well. Then i actually can see some Newcastle players in action. Watching England forces me to see that tw*t Carroll who pis*es me off every time i see him. Even now when 35 m £ looks like the best deal through premiership history :) Getting Rooney back will, for the first time ever, be a relief. Guess i’ll be drinking to try to forget Carrols ponytail and Norway losing – again ;)

  26. Norwegian toon fan! Edvard Munch! A-Ha! Roald Amundsen! Knut Hamsun! Henrik Ibsen! Liv Ullman! Thor Heyerdahl! Edvard Grieg! Ole Gunnar Solskjær! Can you hear me? Can you hear me? Your boys took took one hell of a beating! ONE HELL OF A BEATING! :-)

    I never knew until this evening that Norway are one of the most successful teams against Brazil – They’ve won two, drawn two and lost nowt, apparently.

  27. Hehe. I should have seen that coming, Worky ;) had it just been a hell of a beating, but the match was nothing to go Lillielien-bananas about :) but obviously you have to get the pleasure of a special Lillelien moment. You even know a lot of norwegian names, i’m impressed :) yeah, we actually have done quite well against South american countries in general and against Brazil specially. What do you think about Englands chances in the upcoming championship, mate? Does anyone know when the fixtures for the premiership next season are ready? Really want to go to St. james’ park next season, but some planning are needed when you live surrounded by mountains and forest ;)

  28. Norwegian toon fan says:
    May 26, 2012 at 10:22 pm

    “You even know a lot of norwegian names, i’m impressed”

    Well, Amundsen certainly gave our boys “one hell of a beating,” we all did the Scott v Amundsen thing at school in my day, and saw / read “The Kon-Tiki Expedition too,” I was a big Bergman / Liv Ullman fan, Hamsun’s “The Wanderer” is one of my favourite books and he’s an amazing writer, Solskjær was one of the best finishers I’ve ever seen, couldn’t miss the goal even if he tried! One of those “Scream” pictures, just a drawing, is the world’s most expensive now and I’m a classical music listener, though I’ve haven’t really got into Grieg yet, or Ibsen strangely.

    We usually publish the Premiership fixtures on here when they come out, though I don’t know what the date is right now.

  29. One hell of a beating? The way the media bang on about england you’d think they could beat anyone effortlessly. The english media pisses me off with the severe sense of entitlement to any kind of achievement because all it does is build up england fans who don’t know any better up for a fall and a load of aggro. Actually infuriates me.

  30. Norwegian toon fan says:
    May 26, 2012 at 10:22 pm

    “What do you think about Englands chances in the upcoming championship, mate?”

    I’m still thinking about that one BTW, Norwegian. Things seem to point towards Spain, or Germany, or France or whatever, yet I always have always had a feeling that England will finally win another major tournament when nobody expects anything from the start, a bit like Chelsea in the Champion’s League. All those fancy managers on huge wages, all the expectation and nothing. Then, when things are seemingly falling apart for them and they have an underdog caretaker manager, they finally go and win it! So, you never know.

  31. At last some kind of reality from our Engerland fans.
    The unreal expectations over the years has left me somewhat bemused at times and find it hard to believe that finally, they have reconciled themselves (at least on this blog) to the limitations of both players and managers.
    I recall the time prior to the last WC, when drawing my team from the hat, most of those watching, laughed and commiserated with me when it turned out to be Engerland.
    And no! i very much doubt they will be any better or worse than in previous attempts.

  32. Plus why worry.
    You guts have loosing down to a fine art, especially the sports writers.
    Chuck in a few gallant England’s, spirit of Dunkirk’s and well you guys know the story better than myself…
    Suppose practice makes perfect.

  33. But hey ! English sides have done excellent in Europe over the years, Liverpool, Man.U., etc and only last week, it was Chelsea.
    Yeah the EPL can hold it’s own against the best.

  34. chuck says:
    May 27, 2012 at 12:37 am

    “Plus why worry.
    You guts have loosing down to a fine art”

    Aye Chuck, we should have done what you lot did on your side of the pond, ie invent weird sports hardly anyone else wants to play, have tournaments amongst oursleves and pretend by giving them names like “World Series.” Then we’d always win! :-)

  36. Worky at 26… Very good Worky, very, very good. I think you just about summed up their list of notables, if not a particularly just verdict of the game.

  37. I’m a proud toon fan from South Africa – 9 years now. So yes, the toon has fans all over!

  38. from england support newcastle and england i see tyhere are more than 1 or 2 idiots amonst the toon army after reading some of these nooding sheep comments

  39. Toonarmyelite @ 38

    About your unsubstantiated throwaway comment:

    Any “nooding sheep comments” in particular mate?

    And which ones do you think are made by idiots and why?

    PS – WTF is a “nooding sheep comment”??

  40. Paul in Hollywood says:
    May 27, 2012 at 5:08 am

    “Worky at 26… Very good Worky, very, very good. I think you just about summed up their list of notables”

    No, I beleive that one of the most famous Norwegians on your side of the pond is the American football coach, Knute Rockne?

  41. One can always tell by replies if a sensative brain cell was hit.
    References like rounders (a girlie game) the world series etc.,are all indications of anger.
    Well how bout keeping it aboot football ?
    Like how we just thrashed Scotland 5-1 and have a decent side these days.
    Not like the bunch of part timers who beat a highly favored Engerland side @ Belo Horizonte, during the 1950 World Cup.
    What on earth did the sports journo’s write about that fiasco ?

  42. WORKEY sez

    We shouldda did what you guys did, invent wierd sports ..

    You did Workey !

    Cricket, where you never seem to win anything, being beaten by your former colonies.

    Football, (well the juries out on whether it was yourselves or your neighbors to the north)
    and have won a world cup, but not much else.

    Rugby, hell little countries like Wales and Ireland tend to beat you regularly, not to mention the southern hemisphere sides.

    Tennis, i’m sorry here i cant remember anyone winning anything in the last fifty years, could be wrong though.

    And you have to import second rate basketball players from the US, to stock your league

    Lets see unless you have a world beating lawn bowling side or a good croquet team, i’m lost in finding something (a sport) that you can play well.

  43. Chuck

    Cricket started out as a womens game – think I understand women more than I do cricket – and that’s not sayin a lot!

    Tennis – Virginia Wade? Wom Wimbledon in the last 50 yrs

    Our rugby players would laugh if you tried to make them wear crash helmets and girlie tights by the way – just sayin…

  44. UTD111
    Actually, i’m not really a fan of US football.
    Which had it’s beginnings as an attempt to play rugby, but those involved were unsure of the rules.
    In which case they adopted and adapted untill it morphed into it’s present form.
    Whatever anyone thinks about it, could’nt care less!

    But anyone who refers to baseball as a girls game, has obviously never really watched or understood the game.
    In fact it is considered a cerebral game, with an enormous amount of tactical variations.
    At the same time it’s no game for cissies, as any catcher defending home plate against a runner sliding full force at him with raised cleats leading, will tell you.

  45. UTD111

    Yeah right, Virginia Wade, hell she must be collecting social security by now, when was that again ?
    Anyhow, rest my case on Tennis.

  47. “…as any catcher defending home plate against a runner sliding full force at him with raised cleats leading, will tell you….”

    Sounds like some kind of deviant colonial sexual act to me 8)

  48. No, I’m just winding you up, Chuck.

    No, it was “base-ball” before it was “rounders” in the UK.

    On the subject of tennis, you forgot about Sue Barker winning the French Open, and the Scottish Andy Murray is ranked higher than any Yanks ATM.

    On cricket, England are currently the world’s number one test team in the official rankings and win quite alot, actually, although South Africa are very close behind. We are currently leading the West Indies 1-0 in the current test series, and are ahead in the second at the time of writing.

    So put that in your pipe and smoke it, Chuck! :-)

  49. chuck says:
    May 27, 2012 at 5:31 pm

    “Yeah right, Virginia Wade, hell she must be collecting social security by now, when was that again ?”

    Chuck, Sue Barker’s only 56 now, and Virginia Wade’s only 66, I’ve just checked. You have to at least 100 before they’ll give you a pension over here nowadays!

  50. Oh! Chuck! The English Jo Durie and Jeremy Bates won two “Grand Slam” mixed double titles too (Wimbledon and Australian in 1987 and 1991 respectively).

  53. I don’t like half the players in the England Squad but i’m English and I want England to do as well as possible.

    You can claim to support some other country even if you aren’t from there but can you really get emotionally involved? I don’t think you can.

    I didn’t decide to be a Newcastle fan but as I was born here and live here it’s the only team that matters to me. There have been plenty of times where i’ve thought to myself, why couldn’t I have been born in Barcelona (or whatever other place has a good team)… I wasn’t though and so I have to put up with England and Newcastle.

    There’s been plenty of idiots in the Newcastle team. (Joey Barton springs to mind) but that doesn’t in any way reduce my love for the team… The same goes for England.

    If / when England get knocked out i’ll probalby switch my allegiance to another team but I wont care about their results in the same way as I would about Englands.

  55. Im an American and this fascinates me. I cant think of any fan putting thier club over national team. Even in basketball (a more fitting comparison than us soccer). Not judging, its just interesting.

  56. JC toon

    Dont believe a word of it, they will all be glued to the telly and secretly cheering on Engerland, in their fruitless attemprs to win something during this century.
    While acting blase, as if they did’nt care.

  57. I won’t! Not being an England fan. But I can’t bring myself to cheer for France – the cheating bar stewards

  58. Born and bred in Scotland, but a life long Toon supporter – my grandparents were from Gateshead. I travel down from Edinburgh for every home match. Not interested in England nor Scotland for that matter. I watch international football but don’t support a single team, it’s all fake unity, scousers and mancs, geordies and mackems uniting for 2 weeks then going back to hating each other, its nonsense. It’s all about club football for me. I’m defined by my support for the magpies.