It seems a long time since I uploaded my last blog about Newcastle United; in fact it was just over 3 weeks ago, on Saturday 12th November. As ever, there have been seismic shifts and catastrophic crises since I last proffered up my thoughts on the circus at St. James Park. I’d deliberately chosen that particular blank weekend in the Premier League calendar, as it seemed a safe bet that a quiet period on the pitch would be augmented by similar tranquillity off it. This is Newcastle United we’re talking about; things invariably don’t run to course and I was wrongfooted by Ashley’s gauche and tasteless renaming of St. James’ Park to something I’ll not dignify by using here. Being overtaken by events, last time out I attempted to mouth platitudes about this coarse egotism as a way of stalling for time, but I got things wrong, both ideologically and in terms of the zeitgeist when I foolishly said “I have no problem with this.”
As regards the latter point, NUFC Fans Utd held a meeting on Monday 14th of November to discuss this situation, which I was unable to attend as I was watching fabulous C86 revivalists Veronica Falls at the Cluny, where the following statement was drafted -:
“As passionate supporters representing a wide range of opinion, NUFC Fans Utd believes strongly in the importance of communication and in light of the furore concerning the renaming and the naming rights of St James’ Park in the future, we call upon Newcastle United to review how it effects its own communication with supporters.
As the custodians of a Football Club steeped in 120 years of history and given the previous statements attributed to the Club’s Managing Director Derek Llambias that the name St James’ Park would remain an integral part of the Club’s future we are disappointed with the decision to drop the name St James’ Park, the manner of the announcement and how it was handled; without any consultation or appearance of constructive discussion with supporters.
We call upon the Club to act upon a collective desire among supporters for open and honest dialogue and we welcome any opportunity for supporters to engage in meaningful talk that benefits the Club in the short, medium and long term.”
It’s fair to say this is an expurgated, bowdlerised version of the sentiments echoed right across the NUFC fan base from the moment the new name was announced. Thus, my response to the zeitgeist was akin to hearing “New Rose” in December 76 then sitting down to write a triple concept album about Norse mythology. Obviously, anger is only one part of any response; tactics are the more important element and I was rightly excoriated by John in Vitoria. With his permission I’ve concatenated the email exchange we had to show his opinions, which I’ll not pass comment on, except to say he’s right -:
“I disagree with your use of the 'move on' cliché, which is merely a get out of jail card so beloved of politicians and bankers who’ve been caught with their hands in the till, especially in the way it relates to the name change. It’s extremely disappointing that you are taking what is effectively the Judas Moncur line and no amount of imperious detachment can hide the fact you are two steps behind the masses on this issue. At times like this we need leadership and ideas, not hand washing or cynical sighing.
Your statement "Thus, it may be the case that having SJP rebranded is a bitter pill to swallow, but a necessary one, if Newcastle United are going to be run at a profit” is not only disingenuous and unfortunately an echo of the corporate arse lickers and ex-pros who swallow the Ashley line hook line and sinker. Have you read David Conn? Is 'capitalism in crisis' just a phrase to you? The most erroneous point you make is the suggestion renaming will go towards making NUFC profitable. That's total garbage. Even on a capitalist basis Ashley's move is a massive blunder. Renaming St. James’ Park is not being done for GBP 10 million or whatever; it’s for power and prestige.”
What can I say? Maoists would call such public self-criticism Jingtao; ominously those who practised it were still often put to death. However, I think at the end of the day, my error of judgement and ideological faux pas may be looked upon with less critical eyes than those who sought to make the change in the first place.
One interesting development in the relationship between the club and certain elements of the fan base was a meeting that took place at some point in the week after the renaming fiasco. I have to state that I’m writing this blog under the equivalent of a voluntary D-Notice, but bear with me and I’ll tell the truth as best I can. News broke on Twitter, via an enthusiastic, dedicated and morally unimpeachable member of NUFC Fans Utd, who had been informed by an aghast local journalist of a meeting between the club hierarchy and representatives from www.nufc.com NUST and The Mag. Intrigued I texted Biffa, who was en route to Manchester City at the time, asking if he was getting a lift down with Mike and Derek; his response was “we’re all big one happy family.”
Now, I’ll cut Biffa an enormous amount of slack; he’s a maverick who has always followed the Groucho Marx maxim and has consequently maintained excellent relations with everyone who knows him, by his resolute independence more than anything else. Frankly I’ve never known anyone who has met him to badmouth him. The uniformed and unwise have complained of a lack of editorial direction from www.nufc.com but of course it is primarily a news service and not The Sunday Times Insight team transplanted to a football context. Those who’d berate him for allegedly giving the club an easy ride miss the point of his website. Attending a meeting with the club ownership was a no-brainer; he had to be there. Of course, one wonders why such a meeting has not been mentioned on his website, although it is fair to say he will have no interest in the official club position of Supporters’ Liaison Officer, which will be a requirement of all Premier League clubs from 2012/2013 season. Other people may have eyes on that job, though speaking as the only viable candidate for the position, I don’t object to not being invited to sit around the camp fire.
As regards NUST’s attendance, along with their printed companion The Mag, we have a very different case. Despite a flurry of early autumn emails and an open meeting on a Friday night about “the future of football,” it would be almost impossible for that largely ignored and frequently derided organisation to lower its approval ratings among the rank and file supporter, but I guess that they did just that. As communication with members seems to be anathema to them, they have not deigned to mention it on their website, though The Shite Seats blog talk about it in detail at http://www.shiteseats.co.uk/post/13005458971/areweunited
The Mag may be the longest established of the three Newcastle fanzines (Black & White Daft only appeared in 2010 and Toon Talk was launched as playersinc back in 2003), but it is also comfortably the least interesting. I’ve not picked up the issue that came out on December 3rd as yet, but I’d be surprised if it includes any reference to this meeting with the club. It would be interesting though to see if their editorial tone towards Ashley and Llambias varies from a position of mild disappointment that reminds me of nothing so much as an effete C of E vicar simpering over a gang of tearaways stripping lead from the vestry roof.
However, Newcastle United is the absolute acme of Heraclitus’s maxim “panta rei,” which can be rendered as either “everything is changing,” or as I prefer, “everything flows.” Consequently just as levels of supporter disgust at the apparent secrecy of this meeting began to build in the week that culminated in the fabulous point gained at Old Trafford, the whole NUFC cosmos tilted with the tragic news of Gary Speed’s death on November 27th. I’m writing this is the period after the immediate outpourings of emotion as news of his passing broke, but before his funeral and Newcastle United’s official tribute to him.
I wasn’t born when Kennedy died, but I do know where I was when I learned of Gary Speed’s death. I was outside High Heaton Co-op unchaining my bike after buying some milk; a risibly banal counterpoint to an epochal tragedy. The news upset me beyond words on that day; Speed had been a fine player and an outstanding figure at Newcastle United between 1998 and 2004. He’d been moved on scandalously early in my opinion and I always wished him well at Bolton and Sheffield United, as well as in his final role as manager of Wales. I didn’t know him in the way Shay Given or Alan Shearer did and their upset at his passing was touching beyond words. Shay’s visible distress at the Swansea against Villa game was replicated only by Gary’s father at the Everton v Stoke fixture last weekend.
Whatever the causes of Gary Speed’s death, the fact remains it is primarily and overwhelmingly a private tragedy; his family must be allowed to mourn and the football world must move on. I remember when Bobby Robson died the day before my dad on July 31st 2009; the final tribute and minute’s silence for him I recall was when Newcastle played at Ipswich on September 26th 2009, almost 2 months later. This is too long; there is always the chance that mourning for this length of time will result in mawkish sentimentality.
Louise Speed attended Leeds United’s home game on December 3rd, meaning Newcastle United’s tribute to Gary Speed will now take place on December 17th versus Swansea. This is right and proper as it was her request to delay the celebration of her late husband’s life; however, a line must be drawn after this. Football does not need Gary Speed, the epitome of an undemonstrative, professional team player and not a preening, arrogant egotist, to turn in to a Lady Diana figure. Despite the circumstances of Gary’s death I refuse to speculate or to draw any comparisons with or conclusions about Stan Collymore’s latest bout of depression. Until the facts emerge, speculation is both prurient and unhelpful.
As regards Gary Speed, there is a private funeral and an inquest to come, both of which will be incredibly painful for his devastated family; we must allow them space for private grief and reflection. Let Gary Speed’s memory be celebrated in the way he conducted himself on and off the pitch; with dignity, with honour and with humility.
In the time since my last blog, Newcastle have played arguably their 3 hardest games of the season, performing creditably on each occasion, losing at Man City, drawing at Man United and losing at home to Chelsea. In the immediate aftermath of the Chelsea defeat, prolonged whining about the referee gave way to the requisite heavy drinking afforded by an early kick off. By the time I arrived in town after seeing the Walkergate Brazilians (Newcastle Benfield) march on to the last 32 of the FA Vase with a safe 3-1 win over Deeping Rangers from Lincolnshire, the Irish club was knee-deep with insensible, bladdered gobshites, who had started to accept the point at Old Trafford courtesy of the dodgy penalty had been countermanded with a vengeance in the shape of Luiz not being red-carded. So it goes, as Kurt Vonnegut would say.
With these tough fixtures out of the way, the run up to Christmas sees Norwich (A), Swansea (H), West Brom (H) and Bolton (A) as the next four games. We should be looking at a minimum 8 points from these encounters, but with Steven Taylor out for the season and Colo struggling to shake off a thigh strain, not to mention the continued absence of Williamson, we may have to revise our opinions downwards. Obviously the lack of central defenders in the squad takes this piece back to where we came in; this is all Ashley’s fault for running the club on such a ludicrous budget. We have to play Perch and Simpson at centre back as there’s nobody else at the club who can fit in there. This is crackers, but even more ludicrous is the depressing notion that whether we get 12 or 0 points from these games, none of us, not even Del’s Boys who were invited in to the inner sanctum a few weeks back, know how it will affect the club’s policy for the January transfer window. As regards playing staff, we need 2 centre halves to augment the recruitment of both the left back and striker we needed back in August, but whether we get them or not is still another matter.
Providing we don’t get Wearside-bound Emile Heskey, that’s alright with me.
"Mistakes are always forgiveable, if one has the courage to admit them." Bruce Lee
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