Will Tyne takeover bridge the gap?

Why this most colossal of cash injections will prove to be a blessing or a curse

“Tyne and Weary – where’s it all gone wrong in the North-East?” read the front cover of an issue of the now-defunct football magazine, Shoot. This was the early 90s, and Newcastle United found themselves – as they sometimes do – playing in England’s second tier.

In my head, the immediate answer was, and still is: “When did it ever go right?” As far as I was aware, the Toon hadn’t won anything of note for years. Shoot were also including Sunderland and Middlesbrough in that question, two clubs that have been even less successful, giving my response even more relevance.

But we’ll stick with Newcastle for now, for it’s they who’ve been taken over by a Saudi consortium and look set to become one of the richest clubs in the whole wide world. Which is just as well, as they find themselves bottom of the pile and facing a run of five games that includes fellow strugglers Norwich and Burnley, followed by Leicester, Liverpool and Man City. It’s almost always the case that whoever’s propping the rest up come Christmas gets relegated, and we’ve a few weeks to go until then, but everything bar the money seems to spell doom.

With such financial power at their disposal, and a decent manager in Eddie Howe, it’s conceivable that they could turn things around in 2022 and retain their top-flight status. Yet if that did turn out to be the case, the hard work would only just be starting: the sheer weight of expectation, that fickle Toon Army characteristic, would bear down like never before. Despite most of the glory days being confined to the pre-war era, Tyneside expects, with or without truckloads of lovely loot. With all that cash, the club could become the envy of Europe; yet it could also turn out to contain the most poisonous chalice since Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

A more passionate set of fans you’d be hard-pressed to find, but this is why they’re sometimes their own worst enemy. Before wanted posters with my face on are plastered all over the Tyne Bridge, it’s wholly admirable that those geordies love their club so dearly. If anyone does deserve success, it’s them. But here’s the rub: nobody deserves anything. You can have the most loyal supporters; an array of silverware to rival Buckingham Palace; an unrivalled history – it means nothing. Try talking about success to Nottingham Forest fans – successive European Cups in 1979 and 1980 – and you’ll find out how much past glories matter in the present. Incidentally, when was the last time Newcastle were even in the Champions League?

As has already been pointed out, their own past glories aren’t even in living memory for most. Three FA Cups in five years? That’s a trip back in time to the 1950s. League champions three times in five years? That run began a short while after the end of… wait for it… the Boer War. Since the event of colour TV, the honours board at St James’ Park has looked pretty sparse; in fact, not a whole lot better than my own club, Notts County, who are currently enjoying non-league status.

Ultimately, a great fanbase and finances will only do so much. They’re ideal foundations to work from, but there’s more to finding the X-factor that wins the top prizes, and the fans would do well to keep that in mind over the coming seasons. It may spell an end to any more talk of “Tyne and Weary”, but the good times are, for now, a hell of a long way off.