The Apathyometer: Not to be confused with the Relegationometer.

[Yorkie]

46 minutes ago, arnonel said:

From 10 to 1 for me

 

Been a supporter for 30 years, but had enough and started watching international football more. 

I am 100% back now. 1 all the way

 

I'm pretty grateful to the England team tbh. Last summer was the perfect tonic to everything that was going on at NUFC and it agitated my football receptors. It jolted my muscle memory, and I dare say that's helped me get back into Newcastle more quickly than I perhaps would've, without that timely reminder of what it feels like to really get behind something. 

 

I was completely out when Bruce was here, but (apart from near the very end, when I was just utterly sick of the sight and sound of him) I was glad it was him. Replacing Rafa with a vaguely progressive coach wouldn't have made a lick of sense; Bruce was perfect. 

[Guest HTT II]

2 minutes ago, Yorkie said:

 

I'm pretty grateful to the England team tbh. Last summer was the perfect tonic to everything that was going on at NUFC and it agitated my football receptors. It jolted my muscle memory, and I dare say that's helped me get back into Newcastle more quickly than I perhaps would've, without that timely reminder of what it feels like to really get behind something. 

 

I was completely out when Bruce was here, but (apart from near the very end, when I was just utterly sick of the sight and sound of him) I was glad it was him. Replacing Rafa with a vaguely progressive coach wouldn't have made a lick of sense; Bruce was perfect. 

Aye, following England and taking in the WC and Euros was a great pick me up for me and gave me my footy fix in the absence of NUFC!

[NE27]

I'm fully invested, all in, hugging strangers and throttling my lass when we scored yesterday*

 

It's the thought that Ashley is no longer involved. Everything is new & fresh & exciting and when I used to dream during the depths of Ashley's reign, telling people if nufc was ever taken over and the owners showed a little ambition that this club just connects and builds up momentum

 

Early days of course, but tell me you can't feel that momentum building right now, and its cautiously on the crest of something big.

 

 

 

 

*Not greenwood throttling.

 

[BergenMagpie]

Loving every second of this. I've been the laughing stock of my friends (all support Man Utd, Liverpool, Chelsea or Arsenal) for the last 14 years. So excited for what the future brings!

Still havent been to Newcastle, but ill definitely make it happen this year 

[Superior Acuña]

I care a lot again. I put 2, I don't think I can ever be a 1 -like I was pre-Ashley, especially Keegan to Bobby era. As great as it is, I don't think winning something now could ever be as sweet as it would've been then - I think the joy of football has been soured by 1) the increased dominance of finance since then, and how we've become rich and 2) VAR. Nevertheless, it's great to really care again - the wins lift my whole week and I'm desperate to go to games.

 

 

Edited February 14, 2022 by Inferior Acuña

[Wallsendmag]

It's a definite 1 for me. Haven't been this excited about NUFC since 92-96!

[Thiago]

Down to a 3 from a 10 and not even watching games. 

 

The threat of relegation still has me nervous, but I think it'll take time for the apathy of Ashley to truly dissolve. 

[Wolfcastle]

2 hours ago, Wallsendmag said:

It's a definite 1 for me. Haven't been this excited about NUFC since 92-96!

Actually yes. When I think about it. During the Sir Bobby years as great as they were I knew we'd never overhaul Man United (nor would anyone else)except in a one-off at that point, maybe cause a chain-reaction at Arsenal by pushing them down a place whilst limited by Highbury and claim 2nd was the dream.

Under Keegan there wasn't any mental limitation, like now, even if it doesn't come to pass, its a very nice mentally freeing feeling.

 

 

Edited February 14, 2022 by Wolfcastle

[Paullow]

1 or 2 for me, but put down 1 in the poll.

 

It's just such an amazing contrast. Not really bothered if we won or lost, first thoughts were laughing and thinking that Bruce would be suffering if a likely rival scored during a televised game, completely forgetting we were playing during the Burnley league cup defeat until about 30 minutes after full time (something that's never happened before), being on my laptop during televised matches, and having the Newcastle match very much on in the background, whereas now I'm lurking on league rivals forums and loving their disgust when we score. I'll watch all the pre match build up and post match discussion to games, I'll listen to NUFC podcasts at work, even 606 as well for general football discussion. I'm on here a lot more than I used to be, I'll be all over Twitter for news and opinion.

 

Obviously the bar was so, so low that any change would have made a massive difference, but I've definitely got my love for the club back, and it feels great, and even a bit weird .

 

 

[Hovagod]

Remember getting off a train in Milan and seeing that Rafa had left. It was strange, there was an initial sting and then I just sort of told my brain to not be bothered by it. A bit later and we were playing Arsenal with Bruce in charge- my first game in twenty years without a season ticket- and I watched in sheer apathy- like they weren’t even worth boycotting. They beat Man Utd a few months later with a local lad scoring the winner and I was pretty much unmoved. I was watching that game with a bunch of non-Newcastle fans and actually pretended to be chuffed so as to not let them down.

 

On Sunday, I bored myself with how much I cared and had to apologise to the people I was with for being such shocking company. I had to leave the pub and stand outside for a bit when the seven minutes came up at the end  

[Robster]

7 hours ago, Paullow said:

1 or 2 for me, but put down 1 in the poll.

 

It's just such an amazing contrast. Not really bothered if we won or lost, first thoughts were laughing and thinking that Bruce would be suffering if a likely rival scored during a televised game, completely forgetting we were playing during the Burnley league cup defeat until about 30 minutes after full time (something that's never happened before), being on my laptop during televised matches, and having the Newcastle match very much on in the background, whereas now I'm lurking on league rivals forums and loving their disgust when we score. I'll watch all the pre match build up and post match discussion to games, I'll listen to NUFC podcasts at work, even 606 as well for general football discussion. I'm on here a lot more than I used to be, I'll be all over Twitter for news and opinion.

 

Obviously the bar was so, so low that any change would have made a massive difference, but I've definitely got my love for the club back, and it feels great, and even a bit weird .

 

 

Think I must have something in my eye.

 

 

Edited February 15, 2022 by Robster

[Guest]

Sunday was the first time I’ve looked forward to going to a match since Marseille 2004. Was a great feeling.

[Wallsendmag]

9 hours ago, Wolfcastle said:

Actually yes. When I think about it. During the Sir Bobby years as great as they were I knew we'd never overhaul Man United (nor would anyone else)except in a one-off at that point, maybe cause a chain-reaction at Arsenal by pushing them down a place whilst limited by Highbury and claim 2nd was the dream.

Under Keegan there wasn't any mental limitation, like now, even if it doesn't come to pass, its a very nice mentally freeing feeling.

 

 

 

 

Yeah this. Under KK the sky was the limit. He had us believing we would be the biggest club in the country, we could beat anyone, we could buy anyone, but that was Keegan. He had the players believing that as well. Just an amazing character.

 

Under SBR we always knew we'd be playing 3rd fiddle behind Man Utd and Arsenal. Still great times Under Sir Bobby but that ceiling was in place by then and we knew we couldn't break it.

[Guest HTT II]

1 minute ago, Wallsendmag said:

 

Yeah this. Under KK the sky was the limit. He had us believing we would be the biggest club in the country, we could beat anyone, we could buy anyone, but that was Keegan. He had the players believing that as well. Just an amazing character.

 

Under SBR we always knew we'd be playing 3rd fiddle behind Man Utd and Arsenal. Still great times Under Sir Bobby but that ceiling was in place by then and we knew we couldn't break it.

And that ceiling under SBR was fortified once Abramovic come in. Under KK he had us believing we could be the biggest club in the world and that was the aim.

[maze]

I'm all in again. But I'm not buying any kits or merchandise unless I can be 100% sure it's not from Sports Direct. I absolutely hate Mike Ashley.

I also hate what football has become post Abramovic. I find it quite sad that NUFC depend on the richest man on earth to have a chance  becoming a top 4-6 side.

I do agree with the sentiments above, and miss the old days under Keegan, where dreaming was free and the sky was the limit.

 

The good thing is.... I'm just as crazy (and naive?), I'm just older But it's a nice feeling having owner that actually cares, tried and does so much good things on and off the field

But as the "cricket guy" above wrote I'm not actually running around screaming what team I support. I rather just go around and smile and laughing whilst watching everyone else have a total fucking melt down, because they know what the fuck is going to hit them soon.

 

NUFC is going to be HUGE, and I hope we will become everyone's favorite team.  And I need this

[NE27]

1 minute ago, maze said:

I also hate what football has become post Abramovic. I find it quite sad that NUFC depend on the richest man on earth to have a chance  becoming a top 4-6 side

 

Whilst I'm getting on, I'm not quite old enough to understand the sentiment among fans at the time around the inception of the PL.

 

Was this same scenario not prevalent then, but just on a smaller scale? In place of billionaires we had millionaires changing the landscape?

 

Be interesting to hear thoughts of those who were conscious of the changing landscape of the time and how it compares.

[Interpolic]

Earlier this season I'd stopped watching the games, going shopping instead or even not bothering if I was in the house.  Then I started watching the odd game out of morbid curiosity, fancying a laugh at how bad we were.  Also to watch the fat plank in the dugout squirm and get his comeuppance.

 

Tbh I couldn't switch the obsession straight back on, although I was immediately interested and have watched all the games closely since the takeover.  The transfer window really got me excited about us again, seeing us sign the best players we could find in each position regardless of their age or sell-on value or whatever.  Exactly the opposite of the Ashley era.

 

Life has changed quite a bit so I doubt I'll be getting a season ticket or going to many away games again any time soon.  It infuriates me that so much of my 20s and 30s were pointlessly spent watching such shit teams, but I'm watching the current team from afar and it's wonderful feeling like I give a fuck again.

[maze]

10 minutes ago, NE27 said:

 

Whilst I'm getting on, I'm not quite old enough to understand the sentiment among fans at the time around the inception of the PL.

 

Was this same scenario not prevalent then, but just on a smaller scale? In place of billionaires we had millionaires changing the landscape?

 

Be interesting to hear thoughts of those who were conscious of the changing landscape of the time and how it compares.

 

Rich owners are not something new in that respect. Growing up I could watch English matches for free on TV, whereas today its behind higly-priced subscription services. I grew up with "the masses" supporting Manchester United, Liverpool or Leeds. But other teams not so much. I remember that competition was more even back then, as opposed to now when the top 4-6 has been the same for years. Players also moved between clubs for different reasons than "just the money", and this last part I remember Abramovich came in as an absolute game changer. All of the sudden they could buy "anyone", and they did go out and bought some really good players and put together a team full of stars from across Europe (I knew some of them by playing Championship Manager in the mid 90s, and I remember I was a bit shocked when Chelsea bought the likes of Crespo, Desailly, Vialli, Zola and Casiraghi etc.).

Abramovich's spending spree also influenced both transfer fees and wages, and since that time it has absolutely sky-rocked. 

[Guest HTT II]

50 minutes ago, NE27 said:

 

Whilst I'm getting on, I'm not quite old enough to understand the sentiment among fans at the time around the inception of the PL.

 

Was this same scenario not prevalent then, but just on a smaller scale? In place of billionaires we had millionaires changing the landscape?

 

Be interesting to hear thoughts of those who were conscious of the changing landscape of the time and how it compares.

The changing landscape originally started with the formation of the Premier League which our own club capitalised on arguably the most at the very beginning, along with Blackburn, in thanks to SJH and Walker, two savvy and very influential businessmen who saw huge growth commercially in the game’s future that could be reinvested in their respective clubs to propel them from broken clubs in the lower divisions to champions or in our case, almost champions, competing for the top honours and top spots with the traditional old guard in Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal, Spurs and Everton.

 

Contrary to popular belief/myth, SJH didn’t put any real money into NUFC, our meteoric rise was down to the likes of him, Fletcher and yes Freddy Shepherd and of course KK  (all successful businessmen in whatever they did) being able to harness and tap into the incoming riches from Sky, the media interest, the commercial sponsors like Adidas, the ever evolving tech that allowed clubs to print player names and numbers in huge volume and distribute and sell so many replica kits in huge volume too, which also opened up other revenue streams in the form of magazine subscriptions (Black ‘n White), VHS tapes, pencil cases and even club branded wallpaper. 
 

If a club was not in at the start of the PL journey from the start, it was very difficult to break into it initially despite a club’s size and fanbase, and just as difficult to stay there if already in for many an established club. SAFC were completely left behind, Sheff Wed and Forest couldn’t keep up and soon even the likes of Everton and Spurs were becoming  second class citizens to NUFC and Chelsea.

 

Which takes me onto Chelsea, they had, like ourselves, been big spenders and able to sign top players and pay big wages in line with Man Utd, Liverpool and Arsenal and the top end of the PL was really becoming a big 6 really in the late 90s and early 2000s, even if ourselves sometimes didn’t finish in the top 6, we could still blow the likes of Everton and Spurs or Villa away with transfer fees spending and on wages.

 

Once Abramovic arrived, however, everything changed for every club, even the likes of Man Utd. Fees jumped massively and so did wages and for the likes of ourselves and even Liverpool who didn’t quite have the same commercial pull and income that Man Utd had. With Chelsea’s ability to outspend anyone on fees and wages, it put clubs like ourselves in a situation where we couldn’t compete and just trying could put a club in serious debt and trouble (see Leeds). 
 

By that time Man Utd were a well run machine under Fergie who could maintain their spot at the top or remain one of the super clubs, but Fergie new it couldn’t last and certainly not go as unchallenged as they often were, despite Arsenal winning a few titles. Abramovic rocking up was so transformative it meant to compete you needed more than just a multi-billionaire, you needed an oligarch or a state which lead to Man City and now ourselves.

 

There has been many benefits and positives during those changing landscapes, clubs have had to focus more on youth, on coaching, on academies, on scouting and maximising revenues just to compete but it makes it still doubly hard for anyone not now in the PL who are not established big clubs to stay there and to even get there in the first place.

Other notable changes of the landscape was Wenger’s arrival to our game, in terms of diet, fitness, culture and the way the game evolved in a playing sense aesthetically and tactically Rafa and Mourinho and lately Klopp and Pep.
 

It can’t continue the way it is, however, and soon something will need to change again, hopefully after we’ve had our fun and some success, maybe transfer fee caps, caps on wages, more home grown talent quotas every match day, fan ownership or part ownership…

 

 

 

Edited February 15, 2022 by HTT II

[Guest HTT II]

Also the Taylor report and the investments into making stadiums all-seater had a profound effect on the game too and the changes of culture and the experience from a fans’ perspective. Euro ‘96 was transformative as well, and of course, we broke the world record transfer fee for Shearer way before Chelsea were spending big and that had a huge knock on effect too in terms of spending!

[NE27]

TL:DR

 

Just kidding, thank you very much for explaining it. Whilst I was there at the time I just can't remember the attitude to it all.

 

I think the advent of social media has allowed more people to have a voice, and people's opinions on everything these days more prevalent.

[Guest HTT II]

36 minutes ago, NE27 said:

TL:DR

 

Just kidding, thank you very much for explaining it. Whilst I was there at the time I just can't remember the attitude to it all.

 

I think the advent of social media has allowed more people to have a voice, and people's opinions on everything these days more prevalent.

I think, like in any moment in history that eventually carries importance or significance, when you’re actually there in the moment, at that time, in that spell, it’s hard to digest it all and any consequences or relevance during that actual spell. 9/11, obviously that day was very impactful on many a people, but at that point in time, I personally didn’t or wouldn’t have known just how transformative that day was for the world and how things are today.
 

I remember when Abramovic arrived and I found it more exciting in terms of shaking up the status quo and hoping another Oligarch would look at NUFC for example. With everything, in football especially, it only really concerns oneself when it concerns your club, at the time, immediately, it didn’t, we got Parker and Duff from them for example, blowing Spurs and Everton away in terms of what we would pay for them, especially in wages.

 

I think it probably worried those two clubs and Man Utd more or the most at the time…

 

 

Edited February 15, 2022 by HTT II

[Lush Vlad]

I went 4.  

 

I'm basing this compared to my previous seasons.  Where I had a season ticket for 2 years, despite living miles away.  I used to go to aways all the while and I was just all in.  Losing a game would ruin my whole weekend and felt more passionate and tribal than I do now.  I'm not quite like that these days.  Part of it is just getting older, I guess.  But financially I'm in a better position to do it all again if I wanted to.  I'm just not sure that I want to.  I think it will be more like 5-10 games tops per season these days.  As opposed to 20 or so for a good few seasons on the bounce.  

 

That said, compared to how I felt the last two seasons under Bruce.  It would definitely be a 1, shifting from an 8 or a 9.  I wouldn't even get particularly arsed about losing.  I wouldn't care if plans meant I missed watching the game and I barely celebrated goals. 

 

I feel like since Ashley left, the love for the club has been creeping back in.  I felt really down sat in the pub after the Leicester and City games, relegation seemed more likely than not at the time.  But the buzz and being emotionally invested and properly engaged wasn't quite back. 

 

Leeds was great and unexpected, still not quite there.  But the last two games, the Trippier free kicks in particular, have seen me shouting and swearing, jumping about the living room like a twat.  It certainly feels weird getting pre-match nerves and caring, again. 

 

I'm looking forward to the Brighton game.  First home game since Southampton under Rafa nearly 3 years ago!  I swore off home games after he left.  

[La Parka]