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Opinion

We are only human

9 years ago
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Maybe it isn’t time just yet to panic about the transfer market but Newcastle fans are only human after all.

No wonder supporters worry when nothing appears to be happening, blind faith that everything will eventually turn out ok has rarely been rewarded.

In summer 2012, when first team squad members Alan Smith, Peter Lovenkrands, Danny Guthrie, Fraser Forster and Leon Best were all allowed to leave, it had fans wondering in anticipation…

A surprise fifth place finish in the season just ended, surely this exodus of first team fringe players could only mean Newcastle United were only making space and going to raise the bar and build on that fifth place, as the summer wound on we wondered which exciting players would take us to the next level.

Alan Pardew talked of the kind of signings he was expecting and then there was …nothing.

Until that is late in the day, Vurnon Anita was eventually signed in August and…that was that.

After near relegation in that 2012/13 season, once again we wondered which players would be bought in to ensure there would be no repeat of that near disaster.

As the summer progressed many Newcastle supporters questioned why other fans were concerned, plenty time left etc etc.

Mike Ashley bought nobody.

When there is zero trust and confidence thanks to what has gone before, supporters have every right to be worried.

We’ve had countless false promises and assurances fed out to us by the club down the years, mainly via Alan Pardew.

Why should we believe anything until we see it.

Even (especially?) if it was the owner himself saying this on that final day of the season against West Ham…:

What is your message for the fans?

“Today we don’t need to be unlucky…not today. From this day forward we will definitely be making our own luck.”

The message most media took from this interview, from the quote above and the rest of what he had to say, was that there was going to be a major change of direction and things to be done differently.

So far we have had a ridiculously long search for a manager/head coach with so much mis-direction from journalists close to the club.

Then a similarly bizarre scenario played out in public to try and find an assistant for Steve McClaren. Yesterday bringing claims that it had finally ended with Ian Cathro, though still no confirmation from the club.

The many cynics/sceptics have predictably seen these headlines and pages given over to speculation on who would be the new head coach and his assistant (and fitness coach, data analyst and so on!), as potentially a ploy to distract from the lack of transfer action.

Until Mike Ashley shows some physical evidence that the club are ‘definitely making our own luck’ by actually doing something, then fans will be ticking down those timelines…

5 days until pre season training begins

14 days until the first friendly

15 or 16 days until the squad fly off to America

6 weeks until the Premier League kicks off

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