Who's really out of Toon?

Newcastle fans seem to sum up a change in the mindset of football fans across the land in recent years. A noticeable shift from passion to outright bitterness. A move from support to hostile attack on their own clubs and representatives both on and off the field of play.

It could be that in a world that depends increasingly on electronic or virtual communication, people now see little difference in venting their frustration at the TV or via online outlets and spewing hatred in the faces other human beings.

The Geordies are a case in point as the club continues to underachieve. Some of them are even  cheering on Rangers as they try to get back into the Scottish Premier League - the sooner that happens, the sooner owner Mike Ashley is likely to sell up and ship out. 

But will that ultimately benefit the Magpies? And is their current plight all down to Ashley? Should those fans take a long look at their own behaviour and ask what sort of negative contribution they've made themselves?

Ashley (via a club statement) stated earlier this season that he has no intention of selling the Tyneside outfit for at least two years. The statement read:

“The truth is Mike Ashley remains committed to Newcastle United. For the avoidance of doubt, this means that for the remainder of this season and at least until the end of next season, Mike Ashley will not, under any circumstances, sell Newcastle United at any price. The club cannot be stronger in stating its position on this matter.”

Coincidentally The Gers should be back in the Scottish Premiership by then. They may have problems at the moment (and over-turning the thirteen point lead promotion favourites Hearts have over them is a massive one), but assuming they can keep their financial heads above water, there is no doubt they can again become the sort of cash cow Ashley loves.

Imagine it. One other major rival for the title and the two domestic cup competitions each year. Guaranteed Champions League pay-outs every season and a home support that are every bit as loyal and nutty as the mugs on Tyneside ... oh, and a chance to start again in an industry in which he has developed experience and understands a little better.

Newcastle is a cash cow itself of course. 

More than 50,000 turn up at St. James' Park and while they are in the Premier League the money will continue to roll in. All Ashley has to do is ensure the club's status in the top flight by buying players of sufficient quality to stay there.

There is also the odd possibility of improving the balance sheet by selling on staff who exceed expectations. 'Staff' because it's not just selling players like Andy Carroll or Yohan Cabaye that add to the coffers - the compensation paid for the services of long-suffering manager Alan Pardew won't have done any harm either.

Palace have reportedly shelled out in excess of two million quid for Pardew, although Ashley might well feel it's not enough - given that he now finds himself on the front line again as his former manager had been taking a lot of the vitriol that would have otherwise been directed at him.

And maybe it's the abuse he received from the Toon Army that is the root cause of the owner's seeming lack of desire to win things.

Ashley famously started his tenure standing in the Gallowgate and downed pints in local pubs with the fans, naively believing he could be one of the them. 

Owners and directors of professional football clubs can never take on that mantle. 

As soon as things go awry - as they inevitably will for every team at some stage - the punters look for someone to blame and the suits from the boardroom are usually next in line to be targeted after the manager.

Pardew himself cited unacceptable abuse aimed at his family during a lengthy losing streak this season and if anyone believes that sort of treatment can be easily shrugged off and forgotten, they are fooling only themselves. 

Who among us would shake the hand of someone who had spat venom at our loved ones? Family comes first for all of us surely?

The feelings of those particular Newcastle fans certainly won't have registered with Pardew when Palace came calling and they may also have soured his feelings towards the vast majority of the club's support.

Maybe it's a similar situation for Ashley. 

Having spent over one hundred million pounds bailing the club out and getting it onto a sound final footing, the fans turned on him because the team wasn't living up to expectations. 

Expectations of what? 

Newcastle have been one of - if not THE - biggest underachieving clubs in English football since the mid-1950s. One 'real' trophy in 1969 when they won the Inter City Fairs Cup - the weaker (if you can believe it) fore-runner to the UEFA Cup.

So again; expectations of what? 

Coming second in the Premier League as they did under Kevin Keegan and Kenny Dalglish in successive seasons in the nineties? Losing the four FA Cup finals or the one League Cup final they have appeared in since that 'heady' European win in 1969?

Don't misunderstand. If the Toon actually won something, there will be one hell of a wonderful party and they'll drink the city dry. It would be great to see that happen, but have they hindered their own success to a certain extent?

Ashley may well have been in it for the long term when he took over. He may have been thinking logically about building for the future. Unfortunately football fans are merely a microcosm of the rest of society - a society that expects instant gratification - and when you mix malice and vitriol to unrealistic, immediate expectation and serve it up to men like Ashley, don't expect sweetness and light in return.

The Sports Direct chief may not be able to walk away as easily as Pardew, but he has a history of serving up cold dishes to business rivals and this is what the Toon Army may have been feasting on and might continue to munch on for some time yet.

And will the players themselves fancy rising to the challenge of Premier League games after facing the hostility thrown their way following Saturday's FA Cup exit at Leicester? The club is still thirteen points from avoiding relegation if the forty point benchmark is to be used.

Mike Ashley knows how to make money, of that there is little doubt. He has a dazzling reputation in the City for turning tat into gold and knows his own worth, but he may well have lost any interest in turning football's pig's ear into a silk purse.

Mismanagement of Newcastle from the boardroom and selling supporters short is a tradition and has been since Wor Jackie Milburn hung up his boots. In fact even the great Milburn (a loyal Newcastle legend who has arguably done more for the Toon than any other man) advised his young nephew Bobby Charlton to give the club a body swerve! 

How things could have been so different if Milburn had persuaded the Charlton boys to pull on the black and white stripes. But Milburn was no mug and he too put his family first.

A long line of club custodians have been happy to pick the pockets of the faithful and misguided supporters while offering little in return. Only Sir John Hall (in tandem with Keegan) showed what the club is capable of achieving - his son was the polar opposite of his father and Ashley in a business sense. 

So why should Ashley be any different to those who preceded him? Especially if he feels his initial 'generosity' was thrown back in his face.

The Toon Army might be eagerly anticipating the day Ashley sells up and buys Rangers, but they should be careful what they wish for as he may not have their best interests at heart given the way he feels they have treated him and - more importantly - his family.

Who knows? If he sells the club to people with the financial acumen and ability of the characters who ran Portsmouth and Leeds into the ground, the Geordie faithful may just look enviously to regular Champions League football in Glasgow and wonder what could have been if they had been a little less hostile.