General NUFC stuff

[HaydnNUFC]

2 hours ago, BennyBlanco said:

Thought this might be the best place to ask this question as it’s been nagging at me for a while now. 
 

Why are we so bad at organising protests and mobilising when the club is clearly in the doldrums? Man United organised not only a storming of the training ground but a mass protest at the ground that ultimately got a game postponed and their message was televised all over the world - Im

not condoning that sort of action but you have to admire the speed and precision in which it was planned and acted out. What have we done in relation to both Ashley’s mismanagement and the Premier Leagues blatant attempt to pull the ladder up? Absolutely fuck all. A couple of hundred down to london that barely made the news. For a so called passionate and loyal fan base we ain’t half shite at organising action. Is it apathy? Are we too split as a fan base to organise anything effective? Suggestions are most welcome.

 

 

 

 

Posted it a few times now, imo the fanbase has always been like that in terms of mass protest. Boycotts never work; United Supporters For Change's boycott of Leeds at home in August 1989 resulted in a crowd which was the in the top 5 gates that season, 2 of which were derbies. Attempts under Ashley have fallen flat on their arse (with perhaps the exception or Spurs 2015, even still that's a stretch) and it's resulted in me thinking calls or wishes for boycotts are pointless when it comes to Newcastle fans, they've always failed even before the PL. Gates fall with poor results and league position: 1978-1982, 1988-91. TBH, boycotts are doomed to fail at any Premier League club whilst they are in the Premier League imo.

 

Mass protest? The fanbase has got far too many egos, excuses and is far too fractured now to get anything like a big storming of the pitch off the ground. 

 

Newcastle though is far too myopic in its thinking and for the most part always has been.

 

 

Edited August 12, 2021 by HaydnNUFC

[christ]

1 hour ago, TBG said:

Thing is, we aren't bad at organising protests at mobilising a movement.

 

We had two of the best in Sack Pardew and Ashley out, but a large section of the fans couldn't get behind it cause it affected their day out on the lash, and apparently the only way they can bond with their kids. The same kid that spends all the match on it's phone. 

 

Why continue organising protests when your fellow fans will give you abuse for doing something whilst they sit on their arse 'supporting the lads'. 

Those are the only two that have had any sort of sustained presence, and IMO that was because of the qualities of the people on here who drove it. Every other campaign falls to bits because of the egos involved and the general feeling among our fanbase that any small disagreement in either action or desired outcome means the only response is to call the protesters twats.

 

That said I don’t see much value in protests at the moment. Not until this takeover stuff has went through the courts. Let people get enjoy themselves for a couple of months. No one is going to want to do anything right now for a variety of reasons.

[geordie_b]

1 hour ago, ManDoon said:

There was also legit fans giving you stick for taking part in it. I haven’t been able to protest since cos frankly fuck them. Scabs 

 

Likewise, difficult to continue when you are physically threatened more than once for simply wanting better for your club

[Yorkie]

3 hours ago, christ said:

 

That said I don’t see much value in protests at the moment. Not until this takeover stuff has went through the courts. Let people get enjoy themselves for a couple of months. No one is going to want to do anything right now for a variety of reasons.

 

Keeping the heat off Ashley right now is as dangerous for our future as it has ever been. He's made it absolutely clear that it's this takeover or nowt*, so it's probably going to be nowt and we're stuck with him for another decade or more. If fans stayed away it'd motivate him to fuck off despite the inevitable collapse of Staveley's consortium.

 

[*Digressing, the pretence of him wanting to sell it to someone who's going to 'bring the club the success it deserves' is a hilarious lie, and there isn't a facepalm smiley big enough for anyone believing or repeating that. Ashley wants to sell to the Middle East because he's always wanted to sell to the Middle East. That's always been the only option.]

 

I think the posts above have nailed it when it comes to organising protest, and the reasons why some gain traction and some don't, so the bigger question is why isn't there the near-universal appetite that is required to make a meaningful impact? 

 

I wish I had the answer. Having thought about this a lot, I think there probably is a significant number who align with the idea of staying away - tens of thousands of people probably. The problem is that, on the other side of the fence, there is seemingly an endless conveyor belt of people who continue to attend because: A, they don't believe protesting/resisting is a worthwhile exercise; B, they're not aware of the bigger picture; or C, they don't care about the bigger picture. There is another minority who I think have a reasonable excuse (i.e. those for whom going to the game is important for their mental health; and even those who've got kids begging them to go to the game, I think it's pretty forgivable). 

 

If you're in column A, I think there's a broader societal matter at play there; ultimately it's the same as people not bothering to vote, or not walking to the shop this time (instead of driving), or refusing to consider including a vegetarian meal in their diet: the 'how can such a tiny contribution make a difference' crew. God knows how you solve that problem because it's a deeply-ingrained cultural issue that our government seems to have little impetus in remedying. 

 

If you're columns B and C, then it's equally difficult to overcome. Ultimately it again comes down to changing people's attitudes and I think what we lack is a truly galvanising force. Anonymous voices did well with SP and AO but that can only go so far; divisive 'celebrity fans' like Steve Wraith or whoever are never going to unite people, the Trust have made it perfectly clear it's not their bag - so it needs to be someone with a universal following. Gary Neville delivered one impassioned rant during the coverage of a Sunday game on Sky and all of a sudden you've got supporters across the country storming stadiums (I still think the actions of fans was overstated during the collapse of the ESL but that's by the by, the point is they mobilised and did make a difference at least partially off the back of that coverage). 

 

If Shearer went on MOTD for 45 seconds questioning matchgoing fans, even just putting the idea in people's heads, I think people would listen and it would have an effect. Maybe if there was an existing group like AO to leap onto the message and carry it. Sadly though, him doing that is simply another pipe dream. 

 

So I think, at the end of the day, the forces simply aren't there to evoke widespread protest and probably never will be. We'll just have to put up with this version of the club indefinitely and I'm gonna convince myself not to get wound up with the matchgoers; it's a waste of emotion. 

 

#longpostsoz

[BennyBlanco]

Some top replies here and the ideas of apathy definitely resonate. I keep coming back to the idea that there must be a straw that breaks the camels back somewhere. When that will be though, I don’t know.

[Guest HTT II]

On 12/08/2021 at 16:47, Yorkie said:

 

Keeping the heat off Ashley right now is as dangerous for our future as it has ever been. He's made it absolutely clear that it's this takeover or nowt*, so it's probably going to be nowt and we're stuck with him for another decade or more. If fans stayed away it'd motivate him to fuck off despite the inevitable collapse of Staveley's consortium.

 

[*Digressing, the pretence of him wanting to sell it to someone who's going to 'bring the club the success it deserves' is a hilarious lie, and there isn't a facepalm smiley big enough for anyone believing or repeating that. Ashley wants to sell to the Middle East because he's always wanted to sell to the Middle East. That's always been the only option.]

 

I think the posts above have nailed it when it comes to organising protest, and the reasons why some gain traction and some don't, so the bigger question is why isn't there the near-universal appetite that is required to make a meaningful impact? 

 

I wish I had the answer. Having thought about this a lot, I think there probably is a significant number who align with the idea of staying away - tens of thousands of people probably. The problem is that, on the other side of the fence, there is seemingly an endless conveyor belt of people who continue to attend because: A, they don't believe protesting/resisting is a worthwhile exercise; B, they're not aware of the bigger picture; or C, they don't care about the bigger picture. There is another minority who I think have a reasonable excuse (i.e. those for whom going to the game is important for their mental health; and even those who've got kids begging them to go to the game, I think it's pretty forgivable). 

 

If you're in column A, I think there's a broader societal matter at play there; ultimately it's the same as people not bothering to vote, or not walking to the shop this time (instead of driving), or refusing to consider including a vegetarian meal in their diet: the 'how can such a tiny contribution make a difference' crew. God knows how you solve that problem because it's a deeply-ingrained cultural issue that our government seems to have little impetus in remedying. 

 

If you're columns B and C, then it's equally difficult to overcome. Ultimately it again comes down to changing people's attitudes and I think what we lack is a truly galvanising force. Anonymous voices did well with SP and AO but that can only go so far; divisive 'celebrity fans' like Steve Wraith or whoever are never going to unite people, the Trust have made it perfectly clear it's not their bag - so it needs to be someone with a universal following. Gary Neville delivered one impassioned rant during the coverage of a Sunday game on Sky and all of a sudden you've got supporters across the country storming stadiums (I still think the actions of fans was overstated during the collapse of the ESL but that's by the by, the point is they mobilised and did make a difference at least partially off the back of that coverage). 

 

If Shearer went on MOTD for 45 seconds questioning matchgoing fans, even just putting the idea in people's heads, I think people would listen and it would have an effect. Maybe if there was an existing group like AO to leap onto the message and carry it. Sadly though, him doing that is simply another pipe dream. 

 

So I think, at the end of the day, the forces simply aren't there to evoke widespread protest and probably never will be. We'll just have to put up with this version of the club indefinitely and I'm gonna convince myself not to get wound up with the matchgoers; it's a waste of emotion. 

 

#longpostsoz

Good post Yorkie, but if Shearer did that he’d probably get told to pipe down, support the team not the regime etc. by the sheeple…

 

Also, we need to factor in Covid, I know loads of people who hate Ashley and Bruce and jacked their ST’s in years ago who want to ‘casually’ go to a few games after the year and a half or so we’ve had, that and people just want to get out and about and have some normality, especially with friends and family. Football is a huge fix for people, more so here in the NE and with Covid I can see mums and dads especially wanting to take their kids out to as many events as possible and NUFC sadly even today under Ashley and Bruce is still the only big ticket in Toon in terms of events.

 

 

Edited August 13, 2021 by HTT II

[Guest]

I bet we don’t even boo the Premier League walk-out music man.

[Superior Acuña]

 

 

 

 

Edited August 15, 2021 by Inferior Acuña

[ToonArmy1892]

10 minutes ago, Inferior Acuña said:

 

 

 

 

 

[Disco]

I see old Grimesy was at the match to boo the black players and taking a knee. The club plunders new depths every waking hour.

[Foluwashola]

Was there on a freebie and tbf it sounded like it was all West Ham fans booing the knee. Would love to have seen that Grimes nonce and taken his lips off. Fake geordie toucher.

[ScottishMagpie]

As one of the comments to the twitface post alludes to..... kinda loose the right to have a pop about the fucking tellys in the concourse when you willingly but a ticket and attend mike ashley's version of NUFC.

[Sima]

Those TVs

 

What size are they? 24”

[Fantail Breeze]

I like how they’ve attended the match and their biggest gripe is the size of the television in the concourse.

Whilst it obviously looks ridiculous. What about trying to lobby for some investment in the team first?

Sort of person who would buy something from Wish and be shocked when it’s not the same quality as from Harrods.

[Rafalove]

Who the fuck downgrades their television set?

[Ben]

5 minutes ago, Rafalove said:

Who the fuck downgrades their television set?

The same guy that sells jeans for a living but picks his out the skip behind his worst shop in Glasgow 

[mrmojorisin75]

12 hours ago, Disco said:

I see old Grimesy was at the match to boo the black players and taking a knee. The club plunders new depths every waking hour.

 

Darren Grimes was at the game? ahahahahaha

[Rafalove]

13 minutes ago, mrmojorisin75 said:

 

Darren Grimes was at the game? ahahahahaha

 

 

[NEEJ]

Deserves a good hiding for that footwear alone. 

[Danh1]

Didn’t think there’d be someone in that ground as detestable as a Bruce. The horrible little Weasel cunt. 

[Rafalove]

9 minutes ago, NEEJ said:

Deserves a good hiding for that footwear alone. 

 Didn’t even notice that 

[brummie]

I didn't know Grimes 'supported' you lot.

 

I genuinely don't know what to say other than how sorry I am.

 

As if Ashley, Bruce and his media fan-club and all that wasn't enough, now you're expected to put up with this thundercunt?

[Bishops Finger]

I've must have been locked away or something bit I haven't got a clue who this Grimes bloke is. Perhaps I'm better leaving it like that looking at the comments 

[HaydnNUFC]

Hope Grimes was flattened on Barrack Road by an angry driver after the game, the rancid Tory racist cunt.

[Smal]

Not even sure I can associate myself with a club that allows that racist cunt into the ground. The sight of it makes me feel physically sick.