This was the fifth time in 11 games that the attendance has dropped below 48,000. In 30 games prior, attendance had only fallen below that marker twice,

The use of Freedom Of Information reveals clubs such as Manchester United and Arsenal are desperate to hide the true crowd figures at matches.

Despite missing out on the north east top dogs crown, Sunderland are still proud wearers of the most Premier League empty seats crown.

The average Newcastle United home attendances for the 2013/14 season and every other Premier League club.

Does this tell us that Newcastle fans are a bit mental or does it tell us that the mackems are a bit fickle and fairweather?

I think the answer would have to be both!

Obviously competitive pricing and deals help but you are still talking about tens of thousands of people paying hundreds of pounds in these desperate economic times. It is all quite mad, especially if you caught the end of the Manchester United match with thousands leaving even before the end of the match with the Mancs clinching the Premier League title.

With all the financial advantages the Premier League have, then if you combine it with Newcastle’s massive fanbase, there is no reason why we can’t in the longer term compete at the very top. It won’t happen overnight but it is an achievable dream that one day Newcastle’s achievements on the field will match the support off it.

While attractive ticket packages and incentives help to pull people in, when you consider the state of the economy, especially in the north east, it is a cracking statistic – especially when you take into account the constant moving of fixtures for both TV and the Europa League.

It would be nice to think that one day the Premier League would compete with the Bundesliga in terms of crowds and even better to imagine a Premier League of the future with German style prices and forward thinking grounds with massive safe standing areas and resultant excellent atmospheres.

If we don’t have the belief that we can be up there challenging year after year, how can we expect people like Mike Ashley and Derek Llambias to really understand what Newcastle United is all about?