“One thing I’ll never do is take these fans for granted – you can’t.”
Irony is dead. May it join its comrades, self-awareness and honesty, in eternal rest. Speaking just a few days ago, Steve Bruce says that he doesn’t and won’t ever take the fans for granted.
This is the same Steve Bruce who says that any critics of him are keyboard warriors and that the fans’ expectations make it difficult to manage the club. The same Steve Bruce who tells us we need to wait for the “big, huge clubs” to do their transfer business before we can possibly think about doing anything ourselves. The same Steve Bruce who is employed as a football manager yet refuses to acknowledge that tactics are a thing.
What are you doing to earn the fans’ support, Steve? Because to me, the answer is nothing – and that means you’re very much taking them for granted. All the time. Ad infinitum.
Of course, the above makes Steve Bruce the perfect manager for Mike Ashley’s Newcastle United. All our owner has done for 14 years is take the fans for granted, often whilst actively taking the mickey out of them, too.
Let’s just have a quick recap shall we:
– Sold the land around Strawberry Place
– Treated Shearer, Keegan and Gutierrez appallingly and lost court cases to the latter two
– Appointed Joe Kinnear TWICE
– Renamed the stadium and covered every inch of it with his company’s advertising
– No investment in the training ground
– Grime literally covering St. James’ Park
– Rafa allowed to leave and replaced by Steve Bruce
– Pathetic net spend on transfers
– Season ticket refund debacle during lockdown
– £65 for a poorly-designed new home kit which is essentially the 19-20 strip with a different collar – £10 MORE than Wolves fans will pay for a shirt made by the same manufacturer
I could go on. The catalogue of disdain is never-ending and ranges from disastrous to just petty. The club didn’t even issue a released / retained list this summer to explain who was leaving the club – how’s that for treating your customers with contempt?
Whilst many of the listed acts are years ago now, the bigger abomination is that nothing has changed. There are currently about 13,000 season tickets still available at St. James’ Park. What I’m incredulous about is that any have been sold at all.
Who is signing up for yet another rancid season of anti-football under a clueless Head Coach, at a club that doesn’t even pretend to want to try to do any better than scrape survival in 17th every year?
My personal view is one that upsets people, but I’m struggling to care at this point: if you’re putting hundreds of pounds a year into Mike Ashley’s pockets STILL, after everything he’s done and with the club in its current hollow, decrepit state, then you’re part of the reason he’s still here after nearly a decade and a half.
I appreciate that some wouldn’t know what to do without football on a Saturday at St James’ Park and the chance to reunite with family and friends, but he’s serving you an arsenic sandwich and you’re paying him for it.
For those who have refrained from jumping on board The Titanic so far this summer, I see the club are advertising season tickets on social media – a sign of their desperation, considering they rarely promote anything.
My question to them would be, WHY? Why should anyone want a season ticket? What are you doing to attract, retain or reward fans? Where is the money going that you want supporters to invest in the club? How are you making it worth my while to spend my Saturday afternoon on Barrack Road as opposed to literally anywhere else?
The club doesn’t care enough to answer any of these questions. They rely instead on you being so desperate to hang out with your mates at the football every other week that you’ll fork out for a ticket anyway and, largely, they’re getting away with it.
No incentive, no encouragement, no appreciation, yet still packed away ends all round the country when the Geordies visit and probably around 50,000 at St. James’ Park come the 15th August.
Newcastle United: the club that can’t ever take its fans for granted. Rest In Peace, Parody.
Spot on.
Nothing further to add, you’ve pretty much covered it.
Marcelimpo(Quote)
Well said – it’s not a pleasant experience being a Nufc supporter, l’m not looking forward to this season – the sinking feeling on match day etc and not being able to do anything about it!! By the way l’m a 73 year old female toon fan and would love the club to be run by a professional outfit similar to Man City in my life time – ?
Lynn Welch(Quote)
My take on this has been the same for many years. A dedicated fan is much the same as an abused spouse. The spouse is abused and beaten regularly then says “I’m leaving!” But when push comes to shove, decides to go back, thinking it will be better next time.
Barry Hutton(Quote)
The PL did it without fans for 1.5 season. Their approach to fans and business model would’ve changed. Some can do with 20% fans in the stadium others with 0. Plus fans can be fickle so most clubs will do what is necessary
Ronald(Quote)
Friendlies were ALL picked to get Bruce’s Wasters & Rejects huge wins SO the fans would renew their season tickets…
…then once sold Ashley will let ASM go for big bucks and get the big time Charlie Barkley to replace him…
..trouble with picking very poor teams to play against – you need a MANAGER that can Manage!
Look it’s about time this came out – Bruce threw his toys out of the pram when NUFC lost out to West Ham in the signing of Lingard last January…
…then when Willock arrived the child didn’t speak directly to him for 6 weeks and all this focus on doing all HIS best to get him back is a joke!
WE have to get a MANAGER ASAP – more so because Ashley ain’t getting quality in – for me it has to be lampard that’s actually managed and has a big point to prove!
KK(Quote)
Well said, end of. RIP NUFC
NUFC 11(Quote)
I’ve not spent a penny in St James Park since Mike Ashley stole my £500 worth of shares and gave me £300 for them. If the rest of the NUFC supporters had done the same he would be long gone.
It’s not rocket science, stay away and force him out. Only then will the club prosper.
If you continue to support him, next time you go to a game ask where do I hang my spine.
JW(Quote)
What makes me cry with laughter is Bruce only got the job after Fat Sam turned it down…
..god help us – just to think MD Charmless thought he was a good resigning (!!??)
Ashley, MD Charmless and Numpty Bruce = 666
**** what a bunch of clowns – each one getting a clown below that won’t show them up!
KK(Quote)
Barry – I have followed NUFC for over 30yrs.
I also have an Aunty that was beaten so badly by her partner that her face was unrecognisable – your comparison is pathetic.
Bunch of bloody drama mongers!!
RIP?? Wow get really man will you all.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Don’t go to the match then, you won’t be missed !!!!!
Obviously you weren’t around in the late 70’s or early 80’s when we were *****!!!! But we still went and supported the team , nothings changed , you either go or don’t …. Just don’t call those who still go , makes you a ****!!!
Mark(Quote)
The problem with this article is that everything Bruce said was true and had nothing to do with taking fans for granted.
It just opened the floodgates for the usual moaners and whiners to chip in again, or the “keyboard warriors” as Bruce rightly calls them.
“There are currently about 13,000 season tickets still available at St. James’ Park. What I’m incredulous about is that any have been sold at all.”
Isn’t it time that all you moaners took a step back from the club and allowed a more positive generation of fans to support our club? Sunderland are looking for supporters. It’s only a 20 minute drive!
BykerBill(Quote)
Well said Mark and Byker Bill. I was around in the late 70/80’s and it was garbage because we still went. The owners at that time were awful as well. If the takeover goes through the likes of us who still have our tickets will benefit then and rightly so.
Kevinp26(Quote)
your opinion……others differ……….
les dawson(Quote)