Soaring high on a win and then facing a fiasco in the next match – it’s not something uncommon we face as supporters. But think you have it hard? Wait till you try supporting Newcastle in the Far East, where Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal fans dominate the scene.
I remember the year of our relegation, that painful and dismal result against Aston Villa which condemned us as Championship fodder. There was an air of resignation around the place about our relegation, even if the certainty was far from confirmed. The players we had were overpaid and not pulling in the same direction as the club – and boy did we pay the price.
It was almost embarrassing to step into a pub here with your Black and White jersey on. You’d get whistles and cheers of derision as the ‘Reds’ (Man Utd, Liverpool and Arsenal) would drown you out. Even more so if our Magpies were away from home against their teams. I won’t deny it, but I was utterly ashamed to pull on the Black and White – and the ironic thing was, so too were some of our players.
Fast forward to 2011/2012, where Newcastle have not exactly been spared the fiascos in the interim. The £35m from Andy Carroll’s sale, Joey Barton’s tweeting fetish, Nolan’s high profile bust up over his contract, Jose Enrique’s insistence not to commit himself – these were all scenarios which threatened to destroy the dressing room.
Kudos to Chris Hughton, he was absolutely fantastic in the Championship and I was sad to see him go. And like a lot of Geordie fans, I was absolutely livid when it was announced that Alan Par-who was going to take over from him. But I’ve always given credit where credit is due and I must say that Alan Pardew has done pretty well with the amount of resources he has been afforded.
He’s not been afforded the chance to sign a World Class striker? Fine. Stick Leon Best in there and get the best out of what he’s got. He’s not been allowed to keep Barton and Nolan due to their disagreements with the Ashley regime? Fine. Scout out an unknown Frenchman from Lille and stick him in there with Tiote for a great mix of steel and style.
Some of you are going to point to Carroll’s sale as evidence that he’s not really managing the affairs of the players well, but in my honest opinion that decision was made at levels far too high for him to have had a hand in.
And it’s not just Pardew who’s doing well, it’s the players as well. I’m not one to go all ballistic and tell you that we’re gunning for Europe this season because as the season progresses, injuries will show up our squad depth. But the first 7 games of the season have gone well and have pushed us 15 points closer to the 40-point mark, which was always going to be the first priority for this season. Discounting a complete capitulation in the next 10 games, I would go as far as to say that we’re safe from relegation for this season and we should be looking at the places between 7th-10th in the league.
I’m optimistic, but only cautiously so. Given all that has happened to us in the past decade, I think we all have a right to be. But for once, we’re looking at a squad which doesn’t have huge egos (bar Benny) and with less potential to erupt in conflict. For once, we’re looking at a manager who’s actually able to work with what he’s been given. For once, we’re seeing the players on the field give their all and defend with great aplomb.
And for once, I’m not so ashamed to go into a pub here being embarrassed about the Black and White.
I hope it stays this way, because Newcastle has been my life long passion and we do deserve some good times after all the bad ones we’ve had.
Thanks to JoeleyF for sending this in. Do you feel less worried about supporting Newcastle now? Do you like that fact that we are no longer being viewed dimly by other fans? I was never embarrassed about wearing my Toon top, but I was prepared for a ribbing everytime I went to the pub with one on! Not now though.
When I talk to other teams fans about how well we have done, I always hear;
‘considering you’s have lost Carroll, Nolan, Barton and Enrique you’s have done great’.
Well.. Yes we have but could it not be that we’ve bought extremely well for us to be doing so well?
dan4toon(Quote)
Nah Dan. Its all luck and fortune don’t you know 😉
If we lose on Sunday I’m sure the critics will make an appearance. Troy even said as much the other day and I firmly believe he is right. The web will be full of “I told you so’s” and proclamations of bubble bursting and impending doom. I’ll bet that we see some of the “realist” posters return after they’ve been missing for weeks on end.
I was right about the way people would react in the summer with the 35m so lets see if I can pull it off again.
toonsy(Quote)
aye toonsy its good to see a lot of happyness in the club for the first time in a long time, as for carrols sale etc i,m sure it was upstairs that pulled them strings, mind you i would,nt of asked the manager if i got offered 35 mill and 25% sell on fees for him, i,d of been too busy doing cartwheels, i,m hoping for 6th 7 th this season which would be awsome but i think 9th 10th is probably more realsistic,
stephen1971(Quote)
You and Troy are right!
Just out of interest does Bobby Shinton still comment on here?
dan4toon(Quote)
Dan – Troy is Bobby Shinton 😉
toonsy(Quote)
well it’s been a rollercoaster at NUFC for many many yrs now, so I am looking forwards to a good few seasons of calm stability for a change.
) will do me for this season.
Dont think we will finish in a euro spot this season, and not really bothered as I dont think we are ready for that just yet.
A solid top half finish will be progress, and consistently beating the lower half teams (like 5under1and
If we can make SJP a fortress again too that will be good.
A good cup run will do the Lads good too and in that anything can happen.
Looking forward to the spuds match, it will be a good indication of where we really are.
My prediction: 1-1.
Beardsleys Boots(Quote)
I’m confused (not a first), is Troy actually Bobby or you just joking 😆
dan4toon(Quote)
Dan – Yeah serious. Bobby “died” and Troy replaced him 🙂
toonsy(Quote)
I miss all his train talk 😆
dan4toon(Quote)
Just has a look and I’m down to 53rd in the fantasy league, not good!
dan4toon(Quote)
I think I’m somewhere around the 150 mark so it could be worse, Dan 😆
toonsy(Quote)
😆 Just has a look at number 1’s team, I don’t if they change it frequently but what a team!
dan4toon(Quote)
I’m sure we’ll get a dose of Bobby and his ilk if we lose this week, though it will be our 1st loss of the season and we’ll likely still be in 4th at the time 😯
MDS(Quote)
Very little news about again today 😕
toonsy(Quote)
Good post. Especially as I’m one of those far east fans. Although I have to say I’ve always worn my black n whites out with pride. Don’t think I got much abuse from strangers over the years.
Joe(Quote)
Toonsy – why don’t you ask Jobey to write an article about why he thinks all England fans are “pathetic scum”?
I’m sure it would generate a lot of debate.
Toon Chicken(Quote)
There aren’t many Toon fans left in the far east, due to the club’s decline over the years. The fans here are usually ‘glory hunters’, which usually pisses me off. It’s easy to boast about supporting the likes of Manu and being the best team in the league. But when the going gets tough, they would easily jumped ship, and for example, I know a few Arsenal ‘Supporters’ who already had enough of the club’s inability to win silverwares and have deferred away from the club. Back to the topic of Newcastle, I do not feel that it is a shame to support a club in its bad times. When I do walk around with my Newcastle top in public, it does sends out a message to the rest. It signifies what a Newcastle fan truly is, Loyal and Proud. The dying breed of ‘true football fans’.
Toon@Jer(Quote)
@ Toon Chicken
English fans are pathetic and so is the England team no need for a debate its fact 😀
All you need to do is watch Spur v Shamrock Rovers at White Hart Lane i couldnt even hear any spurs fans all game the Irish supporters were in full song all game .
N.Irish Toon(Quote)
I agree. Never feel embarrassed about wearing the shirt. It signifies something that the glory boys will never have – Loyalty.
Yes when we were relegated I felt like ****. I think everyone felt like ****.I still wore my shirt though and while I was mindful that I’d get the **** ripped out of me I was also mindful that I always have the upper hand of the Man U, Liverpool, Arsenal fans etc etc.
toonsy(Quote)
As an American fan, I remember wearing that Toon top during and after the relegation season and getting a lot of empathy from people who knew what they were talking about.
Now I’m getting a lot of surprised excitement when wearing it out
AndrewT(Quote)
@@ Toon Chicken
there are some pathetic scum supporting England but this is made up from the ‘scum’ from every club in England. I know some gremlins, soft as *****, they dont even support Newcastle or bother to watch the match. I have loads of mates that follow England passionately, these arent scum. only about 5% could be classed as scum, a bit harsh for any1 to suggest otherwise really.
mark(Quote)
I’ve lived outside Newcastle for the last 20 years, and have always worn an NUFC shirt. Unlike AndrewT the ONLY time I’ve have been given abuse was the season we got relegated – a carload of inbreds shouting “fkin Geordie w@nkahh!” at me.
That never stopped me wearing the shirt although it did feel a bit weird for a few months, especially living in a city of lower league sides. I guess the natives now saw me as a threat; one of them.
People comment on NUFC quite a lot when they see me wearing a shirt, most people just want a bit of banter about how we’re doing in the league, and obviously Mike Ashley gets mentioned almost every time – it’s very obviously not just a smattering of Toon fans who dislike him.
I get a buzz out of wearing the shirt outside my home town, it gives me a sense of belonging. It’s definitely a pride thing with me, always has been, always will be. Dunno if it’s just me, but I’m sure NUFC have to be right up there in the ‘football shirts worn outside hometowns’ table – I see them everywhere. I was once stopped in Santiago airport by a group of Evertonians…”bl00dy hell, they’re everywhere!”, they said. They’d just been talking to another Geordie half an hour earlier.
The pride has always been there for me, I think I actually have more of it when we’re down. Battling Geordie spirit, I guess.
Howay the Lads!
Rodzilla(Quote)
An aside, if it’s ok with Toonsy:
A couple of weeks back, thanks to this blog, I had a slot on Absolute Radio talking about Toon stuff. They gave me one of these:
http://www.johnlewis.com/230680450/Product.aspx
I don’t really need it (already got 2) so I’d like to sell it and give the money to Run Geordie Run (specifically the Children’s Foundation bit of his fund).
Anyone happy to pay £50 for it? I’ll cover postage.
(If nobody on here is keen, I’ll stick it on eBay and donate directly.)
Whumpie(Quote)
That was supposed to be my DAB radio 👿
I have the recordings of Whumpie in action by the way 😈
toonsy(Quote)
Oh, and make sure you post that on the new thread, Whumpie. I’ve not long published another 🙂
toonsy(Quote)
haha, shouldn’t have been such a slack **** then Toonsy eh 😉
….quality Whumpie anyway. Nice one, and a good gesture by yourself. I’m not interested in buying one anyway.
Rodzilla(Quote)
….get Whumpie’s soundbytes up on the new thread Toonsy anyway. Be good to put a voice to the writings, and hear what he had to say!
Rodzilla(Quote)