On Easter Sunday, Newcastle United lost their fifth North East derby in a row. Despite being a bigger club in every aspect than Sunderland, the club have been unable to perform in their two biggest games of the season in recent years, even though the opponent is a mediocre side battling relegation. Then again, few will argue that Newcastle United are anything else than a mediocre side at the moment.
There have been hundreds of pieces in newspapers and other sport sites on how Newcastle United have gone from one of the most ambitious clubs in England to a club whose ambitions are nothing but turning over a profit.
Things are not quite as bad as perceived at Newcastle, and people seem to forget that everything was not all fine and dandy under the previous chairman Freddie Shepherd either. The club then spent a lot more money than was brought in. A good example of this was the purchase of Michael Owen, who was bought with money from future income. Managers were appointed and sacked at the same rate as the cast of Geordie Shore change sexual partners, and still the results on the pitch were variable to say the least. In other words, not a sustainable way to run a football club.
The difference is, in the 90s people wore the black and white kit with honour, and even if the club finished thirteenth in the league, you always knew the club would have a go in the cups, and that they were capable of finishing in the top four. That belief is now completely gone. There is no chance the club will compete in the top four, and there is no chance the club will be a contender for a long cup run either.
All there is is the fact that the club will try to maximize its profits with every possibility, even if that means giving up the soul of the club to achieve that. The club’s major financial partners are two companies who do not share the good values that a Premier League club should be known by. Sports Direct is a company that employs most of its staff on minimum wages with zero hour contracts, while Wonga is a company offering expensive pay day loans, aimed at those who probably can’t afford them. Those are not the same values that people associate with Newcastle United.
Manager John Carver is still fighting for his job next season, but his record has been too poor to make much of a case for continuing. To Carver’s credit, he has not been able to bring in the players of his choice, and he has been proven right in his claims that the squad is not nearly big enough to cope with injuries. In fact, last weekend Newcastle had one central defender available.
On Monday the Magpies face Liverpool at Anfield. Liverpool have had some sort of resurgence in the second stage of this season, and are also looking to hit back from last weekend’s defeat at Arsenal. Newcastle’s record against Liverpool is not good in modern history. Most fans are hoping to avoid another thrashing at the hands of the Reds, as the club have suffered many in recent seasons. Most Newcastle fans are probably just looking for this season to end as soon as possible.
Newcastle are swiftly becoming one of the most boring teams to support. Where has the passion of Newcastle United gone?
