I spent some time on the NUFC threads playing whack-a-mole with the mag comedians that popped up there. After the takeover happened, a number of previously undercover Newcastle fans broke cover to defend their club. Fully grown Newcastle supporters posting about SAFC games, players and trivia like Soviet sleeper agents. I suspect they were lonely and preferred the crack on RTG rather than being world class infiltrators but very odd behaviour nonetheless.
One leads to another. An element of our fanbase has lost all proportion and is lashing out. There is an element of ideological warfare now, thanks to our Middle Eastern friends blowing billowing clouds of smoke up NUFC fan’s collective behinds. There’s the possibility of losing our biggest flanges to the Saudis as long as they can afford their ticket prices. KLD needs to manage situations that feed this negativity. Stadium maintenance, The club shop, the head coach, all the cock ups around the derby, we can’t afford to give them the ammunition.
One of my closest mates from school supports the scum, we both grew up away from the NE but he lives back up there now. For the last 10/15 years he hasn’t been bothered by Newcastle, constantly underachieving, average prem side, losing derbies etc. Instead when I go visit we knock around all the local teams seeing ex academy kids roll out for them. Fast forward to the current regime and suddenly he’s back at the games, revelling in it all, biggest mag you’ll ever meet. I like to point out that he’s only back because of the money, and blind the morality of where it all comes from. Falls on deaf ears sadly
Overall I’ve always been what you could describe as a glass half full supporter hence this year being my 31st consecutive season ticket. On the pitch overall the club has been turned round hugely by KLD/Speakman, however the glaring omission of a decent striker and the change from Mowbray to Beale is definitively something deserving of criticism and if the striker isn’t sorted this window with Beale getting results they’re going to leave themselves open to the ‘pitchfork’ brigade yet again. Off the pitch tbf it’s been woeful of late, I’m still struggling to get my head around the decisions that were made and a more detailed response to it could mend a lot of bridges particularly in regards to exactly what the answer to where the away support is housed ,because loyal supporters paying good money should never have been ****ed about like they were. I’ve not called for the owners or Speakman to go at any point and will be 100 per cent renewing my season ticket again when the time comes but for a lot of supporters it will probably not be an automatic decision after what’s went on unfortunately.
I honestly believe these mountains from molehills are the legacy from Short, Donald, Methven, etc. I also believe the criticism would stop dead in it's tracks if we signed half a dozen 'names' and won at Ipswich with a Kieffer Moore goal, even if it was a fluke. I'm pretty sure that the shytestorm over merchandising etc, would be much less if KLD was mortgaging the club to the hilt and taking a chance of promotion. If that failed the anger would return and there'd be fingers pointed at Beale for his subs, Speakman for his recruitment and O'Nien for being useless. I remember some people being pleased when Grigg was signed based mainly on the cost ... ... it's easy to spend money when it's not yours I suppose.
Firstly, we don't employ a manager. Secondly, I wanted Mowbrays replacement to do better than Mowbray, and he is.
I am where you are, but my dismay at how the club is run amateurishly (not non-league as there are some great set ups see South Shields or Harrogate Town) and the BCB situation for 3 years now - culminating in the utter embarrassment of last week - means I will pay for a ticket and support my team, but I will no longer buy anything from SAFC within the ground or club shop as I no longer support the regime. The striker issue takes the piss too!
What's the point, it's been said over and over by those who didn't and not said by those waiting to make a judgement ... ... no one wanted Mowbray but plenty are saying he shouldn't have been sacked now. Saying 'no one is more pleased than me to be proved wrong' becomes tedious after a while.
On Sunday I posted about the game on FB (yes I know). All I posted about was how their support was passionless and limp, but the result was fitting. The again at least they got to wave their free blood money scarves. One lad in particular who I have known since primary school actually responded. He didn’t deny the fan stuff, all he did was telling me to watch I don’t trip over my lip ( actually I felt worse after the Coventry game and by the Sunday I was over it) and then went into detail defending anything to do with sportswashing in an attempt to justify it. Of course he was on the sharp end of my endearing wit, and all he could do was like my response. They are probably the most hated club in the premier league, they don’t care. You see they won’t have to take their partners to Riyadh, so they aren’t bothered that they can’t hold hands. Their gay friends in the Gosforth quarter will not be going to the top of any tower in Jeddah and their shoplifters from Bykerbronx won’t exactly be visiting the one stop shop in Mecca anytime soon.
The club f*cked up, they've apologised and will hopefully speed up the improvements ... ... we're still in with a chance of the play-offs, we've all expressed our anger/disappointment//etc, so can't we now concentrate on the football, the Ipswich game and the transfer window. Just a thought, shoot me down if I'm out of order. Yeah we need to put what’s happened behind us and continue our promotion push We are very much in it as it stands and we must push on starting at Ipswich Look forward to the transfers in and out what ever and get behind the club and let those in charge do there job Onwards and upwards
Great thought provoking post Smug, it appears to me that there is an agenda from fan groups, blogs and forums to have an executive role at the club without putting the hard yards in, they make money from click bait, merchandise and advertising and are influential because they are in a position to read the room and communicate the feelings of some of the more vociferous fans on social media. They snipe at decisions without being aware of or ignoring the facts, and plough on regardless in light of new information which contradicts their stance. The “EFL” tickets fiasco is one example, they were reposted on social media and used to trash the club with no retraction when it turned out they were photo shopped as part of a wind up by Newcastle fans. I regularly read posts calling for certain members of the management team to be dismissed because of an irrational dislike of them or decisions they may or may not have contributed to, some are going even further by calling for KLD to sell up. Fan groups calling for an owner of a club to sack board members or sell up is more than criticism it’s a concerted effort of a minority of people to achieve something that will affect the majority. If you choose to go down that route you should be absolutely clear of your objectives and understand the consequences of your actions. There should be clarity about the desired outcomes. If those outcomes include getting rid of the owner then be prepared to accept that whoever the owner sells the club to, may not be the saviour we all desire. A toxic fan base, as we are at the moment, will not readily attract appropriate investment nor will it make it easy for an owner to sell. For every KLD there is a William Storey or Steve Dale and if he decides to fold up his tent, we fans have no say over who buys the club or what they intend to do with it. That’s my rant over, which doesn’t really address your initial question, so to get back on topic, there are probably a million plus people worldwide who follow the fortunes of Sunderland AFC, and social media gives each and every one of us the opportunity to comment, praise and criticise. It is impossible to please everyone so it is inevitable that some will be upset and criticise the actions of the club and some will back them. In my humble opinion, the events leading up to the derby, worries about the game, the result and the obvious difference in quality on the pitch all contributed to the infighting and negativity of an already polarised atmosphere around the club. I am seriously concerned about the club and how they recover the trust and support lost over the past few month, but I do hope that something along the lines of your thread and the Roker Report article posted above will be the turning point and pour oil on troubled waters.
After struggling in the premiership. Dropping like a stone, selling off assets, folding the academy and the possibility of administration. Our position now is a massive improvement. Yes, most of us would probably like shed loads of money thrown at players, but look where that got us under Short and other clubs. I like what's happening now. It's a journey. We have a young enthusiastic owner with a team of players to match. He's got us out of league 1 and lets be fair, who wouldn't of been happy with a mid table finish in our first season back in the championship last season? We got in the play offs FFS and could do again this season. What happened with the black cats bar ? I've forgotten We've been through the worst spell in our history and since KLD has come in we're climbing back up. Quicker than I expected. KLD in for me
Striker situation still being brought up even though Beale has shown that if you actually play one of them from the start and create chances for them, they will score. 2 points and 2 places better off than this stage last season. Which is in line with the year on year progress. PL clubs coming in for our players. But aye lets get Speakman out. ****ing ridiculous the stuff I am reading today. A whole load of our fanbase need to take a long hard look in the mirror.
There are very very few people wanting money to be thrown around without a care, as i said previously there are the extreme views that throwing money around is the answer, the same as your view that anyone with a negative about merchandising would be appeased by throwing money at promotion is an extreme. These mountains from molehills are in general valid concerns that if addressed would help the club be in an even stronger position come 2025
Time will tell but the facts say he has gotten off to a better start than Mowbray and Neil did here, and is picking up more PPG than Mowbray this season, granted it's a small sample size.
*Trigger Warning. This post contains some unpopular opinions.* I posted the other day about the fans of the non-league clubs I've scouted for getting hold of snippets of information, mixing in rumour and supposition, and coming to completely inaccurate conclusions. I am certain this is what's happening here. I would urge people, when they're a wondering what happened with the BCB, or why Mick Beale was appointed manager, or about any of these other issues, not to jump to conclusions. Instead, its often a better idea to stop and consider all of the possible scenarios and then to realise that, because these things happened behind closed doors, none of us are ever going to have the full picture. As has been noted, the fanzines whip things up for clicks and likes and to make sure that they stay relevant. Like any form of populist journalism, they're going to sensationalise everything. Don't believe them. I'm afraid I'm also firmly of the opinion that the so-called 'ITKs' that frequent this forum, and others like it, fuel the rumour mill by presenting as fact things that are only part-accurate or are the opinion of only one person. From my own experience, any actual information is given to you strictly in confidence. It's a fact of life that the club aren't going to get everything right. But it's also true that they aren't going to get everything wrong. We're a million miles from where we were under Donald and Methven but the club is a work in progress, as it has to be due to where we've come from. We need to show patience and trust. Cos I tell you what, I'll be ****ing pissed off if some of these idiots drive KLD off.
