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Last Saturday we saw a snapshot of the heart and soul of the Newcastle United support alongside what our current squad are all about. The first half was a football lesson from the technically superior Gunners followed by a second half full of grit and determination from those in the black & white camp, both on and off the pitch. No other English crowd would have seen so few deserters after such a dismal first half and likewise the passionate support sparked by the remote hope which was given by Diaby’s sending off. That unity of players and fans suggests there is a real spirit there which can be built on, do the club though have the faintest idea of what a great ‘brand’ they are sitting on?
Tuesday’s hurried release of season ticket ‘plans’ suggests a definite element of opportunism in the wake of Saturday’s thrilling fightback, season ticket details released before Valentine’s day? While there were undoubtedly some positive elements within the club’s press release such as the ten year price freeze without being tied in and discount in recognition of having committed to your season ticket in the Championship year, you can’t ignore the shocking elements it also contained.
0-1 To get the benefits of price freezes and/or discount you will have to buy before a penny is spent, or not spent, in the summer – or potentially without even knowing which division United will be in!
0-2 As for making every season ticket holder pay an extra ‘membership’ tax of £15, what is the justification for that?
0-3 As a club and set of supporters, we have all been through the mess that ended up in the ‘save our seats’ court case, the principle of throwing fans out of their seats was wrong but the club’s counter argument of thus being able to maximise corporate turnover was potentially valid from a purely ‘business’ perspective. Fast forward to 2011 and up to around 1,500 (plus of course those who pay match by match) are going to lose their seats due to the disbanding of the ‘singing section’, the almost unanimous reaction of fans being that this is simply to break up the section of the stadium that predominantly directs chants at the owner. If ever there was a match where the result wouldn’t have been achieved without the fans it was Saturday, now the starting point for much of the atmosphere is being cast aside without a care. The reason given being that it is needed because of demand for extra family section places, what about the demand for a singing section that already clearly exists!
0-4 As for allocating an extra 1,000 spaces to away fans, it just beggars belief. Taking the last two home matches (Spurs & Arsenal) as prime examples it means that if this change had been in place then potentially a thousand less of our fans would have got to see these great games, with the only unsold tickets in the corporate areas. When you couple this with NUFC often refusing to try and maximise the support at away matches, with examples such as taking only 1,500 tickets for the Chelsea Carling cup thriller and only taking 2,000 for the Emirates each season, why can the club not buy into what a powerful weapon the fanbase is if they really want to take this club forward.
The team scored some proverbial own goals in the opening forty five on Saturday, do we really need to start four down off the pitch before we even get a sight of next season?
