What a Difference Morale Makes!

Newcastle United sit in 4th place with one third of the season already through ahead of the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal, all clubs who have in recent years competed for and even won the title. More importantly, Newcastle are amongst a group of 7 clubs who have broken away from the rest of the pack, Villa in 8th being some 7 points behind a faltering Arsenal.

Although there is no doubting Newcastle have added a number of quality players to their ranks in the likes of Cabaye, Tiote and Ba, the most notable difference to Toon sides of previous seasons is a strong sense of belief and a genuine bond between the players and their manager.

In the 2008/09 season, on paper we had a decent side. One that should have finished somewhere in midtable obscurity but with no clear leader or direction they sank like a stone. Frustrated players who acted like strangers to eachother and didn't seem to enjoy eachother's company. The lack of motivation from the manager(s) is what sent us down, KK's early efforts undone by MA's meddling in his affairs.

Things are all rosy now though, the side that went down bonded in the Championship under a great man-manager Hughton and made a reasonable impact on their return to the top flight. Pardew took over when Chris left off and the spirit is still high at St James Park, no weak links in a very happy squad.


Oh but Mod Face, we've heard this all before! We know our club's recent history, don't make such a pointless article! But wait...


Move a little further North to my home town club Blyth Spartans. Under Harry Dunn, a massive character at Croft Park the club gained promotion to the Blue Square North on the back of a treble winning season, almost made the play-offs for a second promotion and had their famous cup run which saw part-timers battle their way past league outfits Shrewsbury and Bournemouth before being knocked out in the third round with a very respectable 1-0 loss to a weakened Blackburn Rovers side in front of a full house. He also avoided the dreaded 'second season syndrome'.

Dunn was not offered a new contract and fans were understandably sad to see 'the tash' leave. In came a manager with various experience managing in the region, Mick Tait who, though not as extrovert as wor Harry, molded the team into a solid BSN side, one that could play with style on the ground whilst defending well. He stabilised the club and had a clear plan he was slowly excecuting. Tait's contract was also allowed to run out.

In all their wisdom, the Spartans board decided to bring in an inexperienced pair from Whitley Bay, Steve Cuggy and Gavin Fell. Both canny lads but making a huge step up. They were not helped by the players they lost in the summer including top-scorer Brayson and Mick Tait's son Michael Tait. They underwent a massive player turnover, almost on a Charlton scale and in doing so, destroyed the spirit that was in the changing room.

The 2011/12 season started indifferently and went downhill from there. Two managers finding themselves quickly out of their depth could not instill any form of confidence in their hastily gathered squad watched their side quietly lose game after game. A massive failure in communication and signs of possible bad blood amongst the players, unable to pinpoint who was to blame.

From a club regularly pulling in gates of 500 attendances dropped, fans understandably disillusioned by the lack of heart shown by the players, previously known for their heart and determination. The club now seriously risk playing games in front of sub 300 gates but the fan apathy is understandable given the generous £10 they're charged to watch 11 men roll over and play dead as their manager stands by idly, not even giving commands.

Tonight was a quickly arranged 'practice match' against Seaton Delaval Amateurs, a club midtable of the 11th tier of English football in the Northern Football Alliance. Obviously chosen as a morale-boosting 'wininthebag' fixture with open gates, an emotionally tired Blyth Spartans side struggled to a 1-1 draw in front of a crowd of roughly 100.

The difference was purely confidence. The Seaton Delaval lads who on paper should have been happy to keep the goal difference below five fought with a passion that hasn't been seen at Croft Park in months. They defended well and most played the game whilst supporting eachother, constant praise and instruction amongst eachother. Aside from the annoyed cries of Wayne Phillips, starved of service on the wing, the Blyth side played like they'd just met eachother.

The feeling I'm getting is very much like the season when Newcastle were relegated. The fans have no voice, the manager has no direction and the players seemingly have no pride. A reasonable FA Cup run seemed the only redeeming feature of the infant season but that was ended by a predictable 2-0 loss to arch rivals Gateshead, unlike last season's clash this one saw dropped heads in green and white hand the Conference side a place in the next round.

A home loss in the NSC to Newcastle Benfield, knocked out of the FA Trophy with a 3-1 loss and the last league victory being a 1-0 win against Boston mid September, the light at the end of the tunnel is nowhere to be seen. The sinking feeling has been welcomed with open arms by all at Croft Park and the bigger worry now seems to be whether we can avoid the double drop.


DING DING
ROUND 2



Names on a teamsheet, cash in the bank, exotic managers, sometimes there is no real substitute for team spirt, something both Newcastle United and Blyth Spartans are proving this season.

To lighten the mood (mine at least), can anyone name any other example of where a club has massively overachieved/underachieved purely due to the feel of the dressing room?

 

Cool story bro.

 

Don't be ridiculous, Liverpool haven't won the title this century man!

 

Good read that Mod Face Cheers.

 

It was an embarrassment tonight like. Losing to Gateshead, bitter though it may be, I can just about take but the manner in which we played was unacceptable. Losing at home to Benfield was shameful, even ignoring form they looked slightly better than us technically. Being matched by a club playing in Blyth Town's league... I really can't see us staying up and I feel cheated by the amount of blind faith I gave the Whitley duo. I got on board with the whole 'Cuggy revolution' but the more and more I think of it, I reckon this was deliberate sabotage from Tony Platten, to escape a league he feels we cannot financially compete in...

 

£10?!

 

I don't think it's any secret that the club would rather be a few leagues lower with a bit of spare cash than barely scraping by at a higher level. To be fair to Cuggy and Fell, they've been really unlucky with injuries to key players and have lost a lot of talent through no fault of their own. Even teams at BSN level like Hyde and Harrogate are starting to get a bit of cash behind them and can over players 10x as much as Blyth can.

I think it could be time for a change though as they do seem to be desperately running out of ideas now.

 

I think it was the Vauxhall game, I watched Cuggy. He didn't speak a single word all through the second half. THAT is what's pissing me off most! In his position he should be giving those lads hell when they're making sloppy passes and not chasing balls. Instead he just stands there and hopes Gav can shout something from the stands. It's hard to play for a manager who appears not to care.

If Tony could swallow his pride, I would be very happy to see Tait come back. Even if he couldn't save us from relegation he could return us to being a solid side capable of pushing for promotion or at very least, playing a good brand of football. Would you have him back?


Yes Paco. £10. It's quickly risen from a fiver and whilst that rise was usually met with an increased quality of playing staff, now we've asset stripped yet kept the same admission fee.

 

Great Read

 

This isn't a grrreat example, but I thought Fulham's Europa League run a couple seasons back was driven by team spirit, especially when you watched some of the performances against teams like Roma and Juventus along the way.

 

Yes but I refuse to believe that we don't have the quality also.

We don't have great squad depth, but who has a better starting 11 than us apart from City, Manure, Chelsea, Arse, Liverpool and Spurs?

 

Yeah, I guess they had the similar 'promotion factor' about them there. Much as Hull and Blackpool had their amazing starts down to a feelgood factor, I think Fulham's rare step into Europe gave them that extra yard on the pitch.

I'd say for starting XIs, Villa, Everton and Stoke all push us close, certainly closer than the league table suggests.

 

Barcelona's isn't bad. I think two or three of their lads could even get into the Watford team.

 

Surely the Crazy Gang of 1988 has to win that prize for greatest achievement with least talent!

 

Good article!

I certainly belive that team spirit and confidence are essential. Even large modern businesses are looking at ways of cultivating it amongst staff, so why could the same principles not be applied to team sports!

This

 

I'd say that AFC Wimbledon have proven that unity and a good morale can get you through the ranks.

I've been to a few matches of thiers over the years as a few friends were Wimbledon fans before they upped sticks to become MK Dons and the new club (supporters. players and management) came together and promised to get back into the football league.