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Adam Devonshire explains why somebody from Devon ended up supporting Newcastle United

3 years ago
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Adam Devonshire is the bassist with punk band Idles, he is also a fan of Newcastle United.

Despite growing up in Devon, Adam Devonshire actually chose to support the Magpies.

So why pick a team almost 400 miles away?

Interviewed by BBC Sport, Adam says that at his school, around the age of nine or ten, everybody was choosing to follow the likes of Man Utd, Liverpool or Arsenal.

He went a different route, attracted by the black and white as well as Andy Cole banging the goals in.

Back in the day some people could make some kind of a case for calling Adam Devonshire a ‘glory hunter’ for having been attracted by that Kevin Keegan team. However, when it is over 25 years since Andy Cole left Newcastle United and the majority of that time has been spent under the rule of Mike Ashley, then it is a miracle really that anybody still supports NUFC that actually has a choice, that isn’t tied to the club by family ties and / or happening to be born here!

It has intrigued me down the years to hear opposition fans at times both slagging Newcastle off for never winning anything since the arrival of colour TV AND at the same time slag NUFC fans off because they started supporting the club from afar in those brief windows of opportunity when KK or Sir Bobby were managing.

I can’t imagine how Newcastle fans around the world are reacting to this shambolic football under Steve Bruce, imagine living in a country where you have to get up at three in the morning to watch us live on TV. As I say, a miracle that anybody still supports Newcastle United who hasn’t been brainwashed from an early age, especially thanks to Mike Ashley.

An interesting insight into one of these geographically adrift Newcastle fans who have stood by the club through thin and thinner…

Adam Devonshire talking to BBC Sport:

“When I was about nine or 10, everyone started choosing their team in school and everyone seemed to like Liverpool, Arsenal or Manchester United.

“I kind of just thought I want to support someone a bit different. You think you’re being a bit outside the box when you do that at that age.

“I really liked the black and white shirts and at the time they had players like Ruel Fox and Andy Cole, who was banging them in, and I thought ‘yeah, they’re the team for me.’

“So yeah, I chose them… and once you’ve chosen your team, you’re stuck after that, aren’t you really?

“The first few years were when we were just taking off under Kevin Keegan and it lulled me into a false sense of security. I thought ‘this is what it is always going to be like’ and I was wrong.

“We were regulars in Europe for most of the later 1990s and early 2000s and back in the Champions League under Sir Bobby Robson in 2002-03, but it has not been like that in the past 10 to 15 years or so.

“It is very different being a Newcastle fan now.

“I was always a defender or a defensive midfielder so David Batty was always my hero, I enjoyed putting a tasty challenge in here and there.

“I played for my county and a few adult teams when I was 14 and 15, which was when music kind of took over, really. I realised I was never going to make it or anything like that, so I focused my attention on other things.

“(Prediction for Newcastle v Chelsea today as he predicts all Premier League matches up against Mark Lawrenson) This isn’t a reflection of what I want to happen, but I am going up against Lawro here so I have to be realistic because I want to score some points! I can see Chelsea nicking a 2-1 win if they are firing on all cylinders, because they have got some amazing players. I don’t want to say we’ll lose, but the best we can really hope for is a draw. 2-2.”

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