A fed up NUFC fan rang talkSPORT to vent his frustrations after the club managed to come out of deadline day without any signings, admitting he’s even considering watching Sunderland instead of his boyhood club!
The club are yet to win a game this season under Steve Bruce despite playing none of the traditional “big boys”, and have already been dumped out of the Carabao Cup by Burnley.
An underwhelming transfer window also means we have made no improvement to our squad since last season finished, with only Joe Willock coming through the door after a late loan move for Hamza Choudhury broke down.
Newcastle fan Stuart got into a fiery exchange with talkSPORT’s Jim White, Simon Jordan and Trevor Sinclair as he voiced concerns that are being echoed by the majority of Toon supporters:
Here is a transcript of his phone-in a few hours after the transfer window slammed shut:
Stuart: “I want to ask you, what do you think of what’s going on at Newcastle because I haven’t got a clue any more? This might sound a bit strong but it’s so depressing, it’s unbelievable.”
Jim White: “Were you expecting the club to do more business last night?”
Stuart: “All it seems to be is about surviving, and then we’re clinging on and it’s just a circus.”
Jim White: “This is something we’ve heard a lot Simon, they’re not happy with Mike Ashley. Many of them are not happy with your old pal Steve Bruce. They want change. Stuart, you no doubt want change I take it?”
Stuart: “Yeah, we want change but I can’t understand… it’s about money, why doesn’t he put a bit more money just to stay in the league so we don’t just have to survive? All we want to do is try and challenge for a cup or something. We don’t want to be like a Chelsea or a Man City.”
Simon Jordan: “But you know the answer Stuart. You know the answer with Mike Ashley. Mike Ashley cares about the opportunity that exists for Mike Ashley. He doesn’t not care about you fans, but he’s not going to extend himself. He will consider the fact he’s put £300m one way or another whether it’s arguable or not, and say that’s enough now. He’ll say ‘I want to get out, there was an opportunity for me to get out and that hasn’t happened. I’ve no intention of putting any more money into the club than it generates’. You know the answer to the question, the challenge is how do you fix it?”
Stuart: “So what happens if we go down again this season? We probably might you know.”
Simon Jordan: “I know you guys just think I defend Steve Bruce, and that’s not the case. I try to bring some balance to the conversation, looking at you with Saint-Maximin…”
Stuart: “I’m not against Steve Bruce, if he had some good players he’d probably do a lot better.”
Simon Jordan: “Okay, let me ask the question. Looking at Callum Wilson, Saint-Maximin, Joe Willock, they look to me like very decent players that in the first game ran West Ham ragged for a period of time [Willock did not feature against West Ham]. Stuart: “If they get injured, where are we going to end up?”
Jim White: “I think generally Simon, there’s just a feeling of apathy at the football club. Neither forwards or backwards, they’re just standing still.”
Trevor Sinclair: “Yeah, they need the club to be acquired. They want some investment into the city, the academy, the first team, and they want Newcastle to be competitive and that’s all the fans are asking for.
Jim White: “Stuart, you sound like a lifelong fan of Newcastle United. Will you still go, will you still back them?”
Stuart: “I’m thinking about what to do on a Saturday now. Do I go and see Blyth Spartans? Some of my family are Sunderland supporters, do I go with my other family and see Sunderland?”
Simon Jordan: “Sacrilege. You could watch and laugh Sunderland’s plight, couldn’t you?”
Stuart: “I’m a die-hard Newcastle fan, and I’m thinking will I go and see Sunderland?”
Simon Jordan: “Let me give you another argument, and I know you’re not going to like this argument. You’ve got a brilliant owner at Middlesbrough in Steve Gibson that’s forever backed that football club. Here they are in the North East, and they’re in the Championship. You’ve got Sunderland in League One, why is it that there’s an assumption that Newcastle will do anything better than clubs in the North East because you have a big support base, big ambitions, and once upon a time Kevin Keegan produced a side everyone liked?”
Stuart: “That’s by the by. I’m not saying anyone is bigger than anyone else, that’s my opinion.”
Jim White: “It’s a pride thing, Stuart has got pride in his club. A once great club who have dropped off a bit, and he wants to see them back up there.”
This Stuart is yet another example of Toon fans who either don’t get it or choose not to get it with Ashley.
“…..why doesn’t he put a bit more money just to stay in the league so we don’t just have to survive?”
All he’s interested in is just surviving. He knows we cant get top 6 or 7 without serious investment so he’s happy for us to flounder bottom half.
If we look like we’re in trouble New Year he’ll splash out, but there’s no point him splashing out another 30 or 40 million , plus wages, plus fees, to just end up 6 or 7 places higher and get only say 14 million back on his investment.
If you just accept he’s a businessman, and he’s doing what a businessman would do then it really is much less painful.
Freddd(Quote)
Said before, a why do we keep advertising players we are trying to sign and guess what lose out to yet another club we get players offered to us and it’s only when somebody else beat us to signing them that beefy Bruce says but we wanted to sign so and so but. Missed out maybe we should se if it’s any easier to get a new manager and as for 4 goalkeepers ! we have young players that should be bloodied
Alastair Gargett(Quote)