These are worrying times at the ‘Sports Direct Arena’. Even Alan Shearer thinks that Newcastle are now in a relegation battle. Not that there’s much battling being done – he doesn’t even see them getting a point before the end of the season.
It’s frightening to think that relegation is possibility for the Magpies, even though they only really need a point or two from just four games.
I say it’s worrying at the ‘Sports Direct Arena’, but actually those behind the name change are probably the least worried of all. It’s only the fans of the club who will be worried about the team’s performances.
Mike Ashley is the focus of attention for most of the fans’ ire. It’s been way ever since he took over the club, but their perilous position and the perception that they’ve become a selling club makes it worse.
Ashley seems to care only about Sports Direct, his real business, and he now even seems to care more about Rangers than Newcastle. Presumably because they can provide him with better advertising prospects long term. That’s the perception at least, and it’s hard to get away from believing it.
And then there’s John Carver, a man whose only experience of a full manager’s job was a failed season in charge of Toronto in the MLS. He’s a respected coach and there’s no doubt he’s Newcastle through and through, but he’s not a manager. And the fans are right to be miffed that he could be considered for anything even remotely close to the top job.
[ad_pod id=’ffc-video-small’ align=’left’]
But it’s not just the villainous Ashley or the hapless Carver that are slowly killing this great club. The fans must take some of the blame too.
Don’t get me wrong, they have every right to be frustrated, angry even at what’s been happening to their club. The club they love is being run into the ground by an outsider who only seems to care about a discount sports store.
Now a club of Newcastle’s size shouldn’t be aiming for a mid-table finish. It’s far too big a club, with far too big a fan base and far too big a stadium to be settling for that. But the fact is, a mid-table finish is much better than a relegation battle.
And the irony is that Newcastle had a manager who would have returned just that. At least that.
But the locals were restless. Pardew couldn’t do anything right in their eyes. He maybe reminded them too much of Mike Ashley himself. An outsider with outside interests at heart.
Pardew may have left rather than been driven out by the fans, but when the first offer came in you can’t blame him for jumping ship. Very few managers would have lasted so long in a situation such as the one he was faced with. Every game they played he faced vitriol and bile with a remarkable calmness. And he managed to get a team to go out and perform each week as he had done.
The fans wanted him gone, and at the end of the day, that’s why he left.
But look at how the Newcastle players have performed since his departure. They’ve gone from being totally safe to looking seriously – and nervously – over their shoulders.
As much as Mike Ashley is to blame, and as much as John Carver is the one who ultimately gets the team prepared for battle, it’s the angry fans who pushed their manager to jump ship. And it’s the departure of the manager that’s done the damage.
After all, Pardew was the man who got this particular group of players to play relatively well in such an intense crucible of supporter hostility. John Carver is not handling it as well, he’s not handling it as professionally, nor is he handling it as gracefully.
But he shouldn’t have to handle it at all.
The fans have created an impossible atmosphere for the team to play in, they’ve been too demanding of the players and managers they’ve. They deserve to be angry – they should be angry. But they should be angry at the real problem – Ashley and his apathy, his refusal to help the club progress. They shouldn’t be creating a toxic atmosphere for the players and the coaching staff who are simply doing their best in the middle of impossible conditions.
Mutinies rarely work out well, and even more rarely in football. Even when there are good grounds for overthrowing the ship’s hierarchy, without a captain, sinking is always a risk. Newcastle have a crew without a leader at the moment, and they’ve sailed right into choppy waters.
[ad_pod id=’ricco’ align=’center’]