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Even after all of this these Newcastle United fans get upset when they are called sheep

5 years ago
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Firstly, let me give you some context to this article to avoid any confusion as to my nationality which has been questioned in a previous article.

I’m north east born and bred (born 1959) and lived in the area until I emigrated to Australia in 1989.

I, like many other Newcastle United fans, have watched them through good times and bad and always had that high expectation of a victory no matter what.

I remember as a kid, everywhere was black and white when we reached the Fairs Cup Final.

I remember shedding tears when we got trounced at Wembley by Liverpool especially after being at the 3-1 down 4-3 up Notts Forest game.

I was at St James Park on the night the team came back from that final and welcomed the side home and I remember looking at my beloved Leazes End when it was a building site.

Since living in Australia, highlight packages and then live streaming were a poor substitute for the atmosphere but you still have to follow your club. Even across 12,000 miles.

I have been back to the area most years since ’89 and attended games on every visit, even travelling to Old Trafford for the FA Cup semi when Mr Dogleash was the manager. My last trip to the UK was last November but my last game was against Sheffield United 5 April 2010.

My mates all gave up their season tickets after the 2011/2012 season due to the way the club was being controlled by people who obviously had no idea about the meaning of NUFC to the community and showed nothing but disrespect to all things Newcastle United. Thank you Derek.

Funnily enough my mates’ Saturday jollies haven’t been spoiled since leaving as they still meet up and have a laugh and a few pints while watching local football (believe it or not you can change a Saturday afternoon routine). They now hand their money over to local clubs and take pleasure in watching players/teams who are fighting for victory and glory, not just going through the motions to maintain mediocrity with their hands tied behind their back.

They now have more money in their pockets as they haven’t been ripped off by a club owner who has disrespected this whole area with his acceptance of below average entertainment for maximum profit.

And so to the current state of affairs where we have Mr Charnley reading from the Keith Bishop hymn sheet once again. Didn’t see that PR (BS) coming did we? Steve has deep affection for NUFC…vast experience (Of what? Surely can’t mean successfully managing a football club, sorry, coaching a football club)…connections to the city…knows the supporters/region…full support of our staff…make family proud…dad’s team blah blah blah.

Glossing over where his real allegiances lie and how he’s acted when his beloved Man Utd and Sunderland have played NUFC in the past. I can’t wait to hear his press conference speech (carefully prepared by Keith Bishop) once he’s back from his motivational trip to China, waving his black and white scarf around like the proud Geordie that he is.

So. Expensive manager and professional coaching staff gone. Cheap replacements found and installed. Smokescreen takeover version 2019 handled with the usual aplomb. Promise of ‘big name’ signing 2019 all in hand.

Give false hope once again…TICK.

Watch the gullible part with their money, put bums on seats and buy the new and improved version of the strip. Kerching…job’s a good’n.

“Just get on with it Steve and we’ll get back to you in January with the next PR campaign to placate the gullible black and white masses. Lee, Keith, Justin let’s go for a pint. Dennis grab the crayons and let’s see if we can incorporate blue and red in to next year’s strip”.

Side note: I was accused last week of being an American because I used the term ‘drink the Kool-Aid’. Try this for an explanation and the reason it gets used for situations such as those taking place at NUFC.

The phrase “drinking the Kool-Aid” refers to follower-ship at its worse. It was coined after a delusional, pseudo-guru named Jim Jones led his cult, the People’s Temple, to mass suicide. Over 900 people, including 304 children, killed themselves by drinking from a vat of grape-flavored drink laced with cyanide. The media reported that Jones had used Kool-Aid as the vehicle for poisoning his followers, and ever since then, “drinking the Kool-Aid” has been used to refer to reckless devotion.

Hope that clarifies it for you.

So while you sit there in the Sports Direct Stadium watching Sports Direct United put NUFC through it’s death throes, while donning the gormless expression of a Hoppings Clown on your face, I hope you realise that it is now 12 years that you’ve been swallowing the Keith Bishop/Mike Ashley PR (BS).

Each year you’ve handed over your cash and each year you’ve all had your expectations lowered so that mediocrity, underachievement and survival have become acceptable to you. And you get upset when people call you sheep!

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