Why we must beat Newcastle

[villafan306]

This Sunday we find ourselves with a glorious chance to rid the Premier League of Newcastle. But why is this such a big deal?

The whole country will have its eyes firmly fixed on Villa Park on Sunday. Aston Villa vs. Newcastle United. A match that in the past has had various implications - but probably none as big as this week. If they are beaten, Newcastle United will be relegated.

From most of the posts on this board over the last few days it is clear that we want to see Newcastle go down. This is more than just a case of winning a football match - heck it seems that most of us don't even care that the win may take us into 5th place. However, the prospect of sending Newcastle down to the Championship leaves a warm fuzzy feeling inside us.

I include myself along with the majority and here is my reasoning.

Newcastle United are NOT a big club. To be a big club you have to win things. Now I haven't done my research here but isn't it around 55 years since they last won anything at the top level? They have a very large catchment area for fans - however that does not make them the best/most passionate fans in the country. Now I'm not for one minute saying that Villa have the best fans in the country but I will be interested to see the attendance figures for Newcastle vs. Peterborough should they fail to save themselves on Sunday.

And I surely can’t be the only one who is annoyed and puzzled by the media coverage they get. Granted though, they bring that on themselves. That club is a circus. They have had four managers this season - none of which have managed to get results out of a team put together by their "Messiah" Kevin Keegan. Or was the team put together by Dennis Wise. It's just so hard to keep track of it all. Still, while Joe Kinnear seemed to steady the ship he has been affected by health problems (which of course no-one likes to see - get well soon Joe!) and after a few months the reigns were eventually handed to the might Alan Shearer. It took owner Mike Ashley (who tried to sell the club early in the season before finding out that no-one would meet his asking price) too long to appoint Shearer who has come to a team in a run of terrible form for the last few games to try and save them.

The Times wrote a fantastic article regarding their treatment of James Milner which can be found here. Oh how I'd love for James to score the winner on Sunday, but in truth I don't care who scores as long as we win!

It's also clear that relegation will have catastrophic implications for the Geordies. They will be the new Leeds United - except with the current financial climate this could be on a much bigger scale. Ashley's reluctance to pump more money in the club coupled with their massive debts could take them to the brink of administration. Add onto that the fact that most of their starting 11 will seek pastures new and you come to the realisation that we would see a very different Newcastle team next year.

And take a moment if you will to remember that a win on Sunday could give us fifth place, ending the season on a positive note. This of course means we will enter the prestigious (ahem) Europa League one round later which would be nice. It will also give the fans and players something positive to take into the summer break.

But can we win? We have been shocking of late - especially in defence. So can we withstand a barrage of Newcastle attacks and can we break through a defence scrapping for their lives. But here is another fact. One which has been over looked by most people looking at the big match. Newcastle aren't very good. The table doesn't lie. We are in 6th place and they are in 18th. The players we will be putting out on the pitch will be better than theirs.

So the real question should surely be can Newcastle win? Can they break through a midfield which consists of an England international and the Bulgaria captain? Will they be able to contain the PFA Young Player of the Season and a winger that was their best player at the start of this season? How will their frail defence cope against the pace and power of our attack? And with talk of us bottling this game have we over estimated our opposition? A team whose loses both their first choice Centre Back and first choice Central Midfielder to suspension? A team who have won only twice away from home this season and a team who have everything to lose? Let's face it - we have nothing to lose but they do. And that pressure will be the difference maker in my opinion. I think (and hope) the inexperience of their manager and their inability to win games will be their downfall.

[Jon]

The club is a joke.

Cashley is an absolute prick, and a club that has 5 managers* in a season, with the final one an egotistical billy big bollocks who the fans think walks on water, deserve to go down, IMO.

*Big Sam (v harshly sacked IMO, largely by cashley trying to pander to the "fans"), KK, Chris Hughton, Joe "Feckin" Kinnear and Mary Poppins.

[SpartanChris]

Even if we go down we will still be bigger than Villa. You are a nothing team from a nothing city!!!!

[toonlad]

Even if we go down we will still be bigger than Villa. You are a nothing team from a nothing city!!!!

well 1st i would liike to apologize for spartanchris

2nd it is actually 40 years since we last won a major trophy

3rd i have to say i am dissapointed you feel this way i guess part of it is because we do get a lot of media coverage and some of villas good work doesnt get the mention you should do where as we are in then news 24-7 but you should realise this is a good thing the less villa are talked about the less pressure there is and the less things the press will try and twist things

4th

about the big club debate we are a big club we are the 7th most succesful club in the history of english football

1-liverpool

2-man u

3-arsenal

4-villa

5-everton

6-spurs

7-toon

though admitadly not in the last 40 years

but also we are the 30th richest club

and also we have a big fan base which is important when you consider a size of a club

[toonlad]

that was meant to say 20th

[Zatman]

re-toonlad

I dont personally care who goes down but a lot of neutrals dont like Newcastle for the media hype you get and the fact you have a lot of seriously deluded fans.

Other reasons i have heard over last few days is

Mike Ashley

Joey Barton

Kevin Nolan

Alan Shearer

These guys are despised around England.

[toonlad]

re-toonlad

I dont personally care who goes down but a lot of neutrals dont like Newcastle for the media hype you get and the fact you have a lot of seriously deluded fans.

Other reasons i have heard over last few days is

Mike Ashley

Joey Barton

Kevin Nolan

Alan Shearer

These guys are despised around England.

i didnt know kevin nolan was despised around england and about barton and ashley if it makes any consolation we would love to see the back of them

about the deluded fans part i will admit we have DEMANDING fans but deluded is the wrong word for it the majority know exactly what our club is and its potential

[toonlad]

also

ask

ANY newcastle fan and they will tell you know 1 is more sick of the media hype than newcastle]

[BosnichSlippedClarkScored]

Listen, I think it's wonderful you Villa fans are trying to drum up an atmosphere for the final game of the season. With the league form having dipped and all, you all need something to spice things up a bit.

As a Newcastle fan, I am delighted to be part of the festival of those trendy psychedelic colours of today, sky blue and maroon this coming Sunday. Now I don't wish to rain on your parade, but I do believe we shall prevail. Who knows, why we might even spoil your big day of celebration by avoiding the drop. Bassong's suspension isn't the end of the world. Should Heskey play it could be argued he'd be our best defender.

Now I myself, even as an outsider had high hopes for Villa's push for Champions League football come the turn of the year, but as that petered out in to a cold, damp squib. I must remind you that this small club, which isn't big at all, as we've all read above. Was itself qualifying for Champions League football on three occasions not that long back. Perhaps with a few bobbles of luck here and there and YOU, yes even YOU Villa fans could be sampling the delights of watching your side walk on to a football field whilst the Champions League anthem plays in the background.

The Holy Grail for clubs outside the top four isn't far off. Take it from experience. Chin up and all that.

So, the next time you're playing in the Champions League in March, in the San Siro. Remind yourselves that this doesn't make you a big club. Oh no. Even if you had been at the Nou Camp last month. I'm of course assuming you aren't in scary Russia and you're fielding Marco Van Harewood and the youth team because you've got Stoke at the weekend.

Titus Bramble played Champions League football, you know.. Titus Bramble. You've got Curtis Davies, there's hope for you yet.

See you all, Sunday. Keep the faith lads.

Yours faithfully,

That small team from the North.

[BosnichSlippedClarkScored]

re-toonlad

I dont personally care who goes down but a lot of neutrals dont like Newcastle for the media hype you get and the fact you have a lot of seriously deluded fans.

Other reasons i have heard over last few days is

Mike Ashley

Joey Barton

Kevin Nolan

Alan Shearer

These guys are despised around England.

Aren't you in Dublin?

I can understand Barton not being everybody's cup of tea when you've got a fist full of the The Sun in one hand and a phonecall to TalkSport in the other. But why hate Ashley if you aren't associated with NUFC? ..Or Shearer? A former England captain who scored many a goal for Queen and country.

Now if you're Irish I can understand the Shearer thing a little bit better....

[toonlad]

bosnich

i understand the shearer thing as to be fair he did get away with murder from referees

[OutByEaster?]

Let's face it, Hull being relegated just isn't all that exciting is it?

We want Newcastle down because of your size, not because of your perception of it.

It's nothing personal, if you were Everton or Tottenham we'd feel the same and doubtless you'd feel the same about us if the tables were turned.

I've enjoyed three trips to Tyneside with Villa, enjoyed every one and met fans who are as friendly as any in the country. In other circumstances I'd wish you well.

However, football is drama and there's no story older than the fall of those that tried to fly too high.

Enjoy the show.

[BosnichSlippedClarkScored]

bosnich

i understand the shearer thing as to be fair he did get away with murder from referees

I might be going out on a limb, here. But I expect Shearer to get booked on Sunday by Uriah Rennie for wearing a shirt that clashes with Uriah's black belt.

[MagicM]

Zatman..........Ashley and Barton are despised around Newcastle as well if you hadn't noticed.

1). Do Newcastle fans want to see their club relegated? NO. 2). Do they want to see their club challenging for a place in Europe? YES. Answer this question honestly-do you think The fans are being deluded by hoping for option 2 rather than 1 ?? What are your hopes for your own club? would you be happy to meander along mid table or just avoid relegation every season? or do you hope that some day your team will be good enough to win something or challenge for a European place themselves? Where is the ambition in settling for average season after season? I want my club to do well. Whats wrong with that? All the hype about Messiah's etc etc boring boring is just fabricated bull from the press and you are all being deluded in thinking it's what Geordies are saying-in fact the name Messiah (which didn't originate in Newcastle by the way-I believe it was a lot further south) came from journalists looking to sell newspapers, everyone now jumps on the Messiah bandwagon (apart from Geordies who are sick of hearing the damn name) and prints stories as if the news has come from Newcastle fans-which it hasn't. Truth is, a lot of Geordies went along with the name-it kind of stuck while Keegan was here first time, but the press won't let it go. Now some people are just too gullible to realise that it's not the Geordies who bring it up-Shearer has never been mentioned as any kind of Messiah by Geordies-we wanted him as Manager because he himself is a Geordie and was such a huge influence at club and National level-in other words he was the obvious choice. Why some people can't see all of this i don't know-simple people simple minds maybe? Gullible? believe everything they read in the papers? or like i said earlier-happy with average. Because some people have ambitions for their club is no reason to slate them, most of us would be quite happy in the top 10 just trying to qualify for Europe but does that make us any different to you? My advice to you all is not to believe the spiteful journalists who will print any old garbage just to put Newcastle down. I've supported Newcastle for over 40 years and i'd love them to be successful and you really can't call me deluded for wanting that can you? ALL clubs have fans that believe their team should be doing better than what they are-unless they support a top 4 team of course.

Anyway Why bring up whether Newcastle are a big club or not? who cares? I support them and i'm not bothered in the least whether they are classed as big or medium or whatever, the fact is that people use the the same argument time and time again (We Haven't won anything for 40 years). I've seen TEAMS win trophies but never a club and the actual team is only a part of the club so ALL clubs must be small if you use that criteria because none of them have won anything-the team has.

Personally I find all this anti-Newcastle stuff really shocking, I'm a Genuine football fan and I don't Get a Kick out of slagging other teams or fans off, the majority of us are down to earth fans but put a few carefully selected idiots in front of the tv cameras and the whole country suddenly has an "I've Seen it on tv so it must be true" moment. Surely you don't all believe the garbage in the papers as well?

As for the game on Sunday, I hope we can at least give you a game. No predictions-just hopes.

Villafan306.....who's bandwagon will you jump on if we go down?

"warm fuzzy feeling inside us" ?????????? that's just so sad i'm afraid.

[BosnichSlippedClarkScored]

A lot of people get themselves worked up when they see the support outside the ground on Sky Sports News and the like.

As much as they'd hate to admit it, they probably have a sense of emptiness that they rarely get scenes like this outside their own stadium. Whether the news be good OR bad.

Maybe we have more die hard fans, and they'd gladly go down to (in this case) Villa Park to stand with thousands of like minded souls each time a big breaking news story hit their club. But alas this isn't to be, and the whole "I hate NUFC and their stupid fans" argument probably stems.

I'm not saying people aren't passionate for your own clubs. It just seems there's a bigger tie in with the city and as such, the public NUFC represent.

Sky Sports coined most of the terms that seem to be latched on to our club, by the way.

[rockingchairfan]

Well said toonlad. I think I get as sick as others about the stupid coverage of nufc, about as sick as I do about how people buy into the media image of nufc fans.

Most of the things you claim to hate about nufc and its supporters Villafan, are media myths. We want the same things for our club as any other fans - success and hopefully some decent football along with stability. Why shouldn't we want that?

As toonlad says, we don't need anyone to tell us how badly run our club is. But while that's not our fault, it does explain why the media love us so much. Half the time it's like being in a panto.

It's a shame though that you cannot find any empathy or sympathy for other supporters. I prefer to talk up my own team than slag off others, especially their fans. You have a gift for confusing the fools who have run the club into a circus with the people who, like yourself, support their team and pay their hard earned cash to do so.

I suspect your image of our fans is a result of watching Sky Sports News and reading a few rags - it's definitely not based on actually talking to any.

I have nothing against the club you love and I think you have a great manager who is well supported by the heirarchy. You've been patchy mind but things take time and you are doing well, hence your improved gates.

Talking of which, that is one place you really do not want to be going when having a dig at other clubs. Ours will drop if we take a drop, but it's worth noting that we've filled our place to pretty much the same percentage of capacity as Villa this season (low 90's I think), but with very different events on and off the pitch. I'd guess that if you were in the same boat, you'd be back down to those windy days of not so long ago, maybe around the low 30K mark. I'm not trying to to score points, just pointing out that you are on very dodgy ground if you want to talk attendances for cheap hits.

You lot are sorted this season, so just because of the way you've had a go for no good reason, I hope we spoil your party this Sunday and I hope it's Hull that take the drop, not the mackems. My head says that's dreamtime, but my heart will still believe up to tea time on Sunday.

And by the way Spartan - that nothing city you are on about rivals Manchester as the second biggest in the country you daft knacker.

[OutByEaster?]

I think you'll find "rivals Manchester as the second biggest in the country" will be taken as an insult here in the second city rockingchairfan.

Other than that good luck to you.

[Lanky]

The Geordies

Plenty of myths surround Newcastle United FC and the Cartoon Army. The "Indomitable Geordie Nation" has always considered themselves a big club with the world's best support and this idea (insert myth at your discretion) is supported by journalists and knowledgeable pundits throughout the country ready to fawn over at the first opportunity this sleeping giant with their fans so deserving of a smidgen of glory and success.

Only recently North East football correspondent for the Daily Mirror, Simon Bird said of Newcastle’s support:

"I have always regarded the most magnificent sight and sound in football to be served up by Anfield's Kop, scarves aloft singing in a match under floodlights with 'You'll Never Walk Alone'.

It is an occasion that bombards your senses and emotions. But on Monday night the Geordie fans at St James's Park surpassed themselves.

In eight years covering Newcastle games, this was up there with the most noisy, raucous, body reverberating occasions I can remember. Quite magnificent."

Yadda yadda yadda....we've heard it all before Simon, along with the roaring silence and boos and hisses that both Anfield and St James' Park can generate on them not-so-glorious nights.

Fans of other football clubs can't quite understand where the Geordies get the idea from that they are a big club but the comedy that has come out of NUFC over the last few years has gone some way to neutralise the bile rising in the stomachs of fans from Birmingham City, Leeds United, Notts Forest etc.

As a Man United fan I shouldn't be bothered about them and the predicament they find themselves in late on in this season. They of course are all loyal home born and bred Geordies while I am constantly reminded of where I don't come from, what flavoured sandwiches I eat and how my support is based upon the silver mine accumulating outside the Old Trafford boardroom. Then again they ain't alone in fingering us all with this ridiculous tag.

Any bar room football conversation regarding United and its (magnificent) support will reveal the same sentiments up and down the country and it’s the same on any given internet football forum. However, there is one football forum where this isn't usually the case. There is a football forum out there specifically for Geordies but at times is more like forum for football lovers. They are a partisan bunch regarding their own club but not solely shaded by rose tinted goggles. They talk about all things football and they appreciate all things football. Their non football threads are well informed, imaginative and intelligent and at times a jolly good read. Their perception and outlook on life and daily issues of our land is well balanced and their discussions rarely degenerate into the foul mouthing abuse of each other and visiting fans.

I've been a contributing member of their forum for a number of years and had the privilege of standing in the middle of The Strawberry responding to the euphoric chants of "who the **** are Man Utd" with "We are the Champions, Champions of Europe" safe in the knowledge that I was protected (to a degree) by Wor mates. I guess it's a case of I might be a glory hunting scummy Manc but I'm their glory hunting scummy Manc.

Where other fans wish us to fail domestically and in Europe many of these guys recognise the football we can produce and recognise the fact that we are representing England in and the Premiership in Europe and often leave messages of support. They mean nothing really and yet again they mean so much.

Last week I wished them well in their game against Boro. I don't want Newcastle United relegated. I've grown fond of some of their supporters who are genuinely nice bloody folk. I've met them up at theirs and the hospitality has been marvellous and I've met them down at our gaff on plenty of occasion too. We give them Boddingtons, chips & gravy and they usually give us three points. It’s a relationship I'd hate to lose.

While many Reds recently have been fighting over their perception of how our own world footballer of the year should behave here's what one of them said about him and us recently as the Wigan game was underway. You just won't find this kind of comment on the forums of Liverpool, Arsenal or Chelsea.

"Wigan: they can piss off with their donkey arse featured manager and their smug boring bastard chairman. They can also piss off with their soul free stadium and stay away supporters. Cattermole can do one with his career ending assaults. They can get stuffed.

Man U: let's face it they and their manager are a force of nature and can rightfully laugh at us from their perch as a winning club with a proud history of success. Yes they have a snotty brat in their team but if he was ours I'd just marvel at his ability...yet his cheating means all he will ever be remembered for is being the kind of perma tanned, preening jerk who most decent people would be content to clearing in the woods with a barstool and not the genius we know he is.

He's an idiot. He could have been a contender."

Well good luck NUFC. You too could have been a contender.

[ED]

The club is a joke.

Cashley is an absolute prick, and a club that has 5 managers* in a season, with the final one an egotistical billy big bollocks who the fans think walks on water, deserve to go down, IMO.

*Big Sam (v harshly sacked IMO, largely by cashley trying to pander to the "fans"), KK, Chris Hughton, Joe "Feckin" Kinnear and Mary Poppins.

Big Sam was sacked about 18 months ago mate

[Jon]

The club is a joke.

Cashley is an absolute prick, and a club that has 5 managers* in a season, with the final one an egotistical billy big bollocks who the fans think walks on water, deserve to go down, IMO.

*Big Sam (v harshly sacked IMO, largely by cashley trying to pander to the "fans"), KK, Chris Hughton, Joe "Feckin" Kinnear and Mary Poppins.

Big Sam was sacked about 18 months ago mate

:oops:

so he was.

still a sh*t club though. 4 managers in 1 year, whilst not as impressive as 5, is still some going.

seems i've got my seasons confused.....