Newcastle head into a must-win game against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday with their Premier League survival still on the agenda.
An away game at QPR, sandwiched in between home fixtures against The Baggies and West Ham United, whose manager Sam Allardyce was sacked by Newcastle United in 2008, are the games The Magpies must pick up points from.
Newcastle United vs West Bromwich Albion: Must Win for the Magpies
With a fanbase divided by protests and boycotts, this will prove a sterner task than if the the stadium and Newcastle’s famous partisan home crowd got behind their team.
Leicester City fans showed on Saturday how unity and noise on the terraces can create an intimidating atmosphere for visiting teams and Newcastle must emulate The Foxes in order to help overcome Tony Pulis’ men.
Dr. Daniel Wann, Professor of Psychology at Murray State University speaking about American Football team Seattle Seahawks’ famous ’12’
“Not only do fans cheer and yell and not only do they do that in an incredibly loud manner, they also believe that cheering has a direct impact on the game.
” Fans feel they have two jobs: disrupt the visiting team and support the home team.
“So they cheer, they cheer loud and they cheer for a purpose to impact the game—and it does impact the game.”
The Seattle Seahawks in the NFL are famous for their ultra vocal support which has been measured at 137.6 decibels – louder than a Boeing 747 on a scale where ear drums rupture at 150 – and hailed as a big factor in their success.
A full house of 50,000 Geordies in full voice behind their team is a potent weapon against all-comers at St James’ Park – last in real evidence in December when Jose Mourinho brought his previously unbeaten yet prematurely hailed Chelsea ‘Invincibles’ to Town.
Newcastle rose to the occasion through a natural Geordie defiance against Sir Bobby Robson’s Apprentice on the back of the optimism Alan Pardew had gained from a recent run of five wins, conquering Champions Man City in the process.
St James’ Park was up for it; from the players to fans to ball-boys and has happened before – Jose has never won at St James’ Park in five visits (2 draws and 3 defeats) – the team including five Geordie heroes in Sammy Ameobi, Jack Colback, Paul Dummett, Steven Taylor and Jack Alnwick triumphed 2-1 and the crowd played their full part singing “Sit Down, Mourinho” – as The Magpies collected 3 points.
In contrast, when Newcastle United and fans are in a state of internal civil war then the club is robbed of its potent 12th man. Protests at such a critical stage of the season are counter-productive to the goal of a winning Newcastle United every true fan wants.
Last home game against Swansea, Newcastle started well, forcing the mistake which led to the opening goal and the crowd was in good voice with a 1-0 lead.
Then on 34th minutes, this winning momentum on and off the pitch was disrupted by a minute’s anti-Mike Ashley chanting after which the game fell out of Newcastle’s grasp.
On 73 minutes, the arrival of Siem De Jong after nearly 9 months out with injury got the crowd back on side and helped shift the momentum back Newcastle’s way.
He duly scored an excellent volley from Jack Colback’s cross and most impressive was the way he ran after the ball instead of celebrating to try and salvage something from the game.
He can’t do it alone, however, and like the team, desperately needs the fans’ help.
There was a large sign at half-time in The Gallowgate saying ‘Sign For Newcastle United’ with ’12th Man Memberships Available Now’ with a link to sign up.
Ironically, perhaps fittingly and accurately, the link was broken – symbolic of the fracture or disconnect between the club and fans – yet it is a relationship that can and must be repaired for the good of the club and its supporters.
Boycotts and protests are all well and good yet away from the pitch and not when points, wins and Premier League survival is at stake.
Any “Relegation would be a blessing in disguise” talk is absolute nonsense: only 1 in 4 teams have bounced back from relegation at the first attempt since the modern Play Off system began in 1986 as Newcastle did in 2009/10.
The massive crowds Newcastle continually have are a source of pride on Tyneside against rival supporters and one of the club’s major assets and unlike the hunt for trophy success, in the hands of the fans and not something to be thrown away lightly.
Kevin Keegan always said “If Newcastle had a team that matched the fans, it would win everything.” yet even King Kev’s Entertainers side couldn’t deliver the success the fans crave yet that proud fan tradition and crowd record could and should be maintained – the 3rd biggest in The Premier League and Top 10 in Europe.
Laughably, Niall Quinn said after the recent derby that if Sunderland had a team that matched their fans, they would win everything yet that theory was proved incorrect as the stadium emptied within an hour of the next game with Palace hammering them.
Famous for its army of pink empty seats, The Stadium of Light witnesses regular impromptu boycotts as Sunderland fans leave in their droves when the team collapses by 3 or 4 goals as evidenced against Villa and Palace recently.
Newcastle fans are made of sterner stuff than their Mackem counterparts and will be there en masse to support and cheer the team to vital points and wins in the remaining games.
Winners are made when the effort to achieve – or endure – becomes painful yet the effort is put in anyway and while it may be painful to be a Newcastle supporter now, it would be a lot worse if the club were, heaven forbid, to be relegated and free-fall into the next Leeds United, Rangers, Portsmouth, Blackpool or Wigan.
