Why Newcastle fans are one of the marvels of the modern game - and I've got the numbers to prove it

[TheMoog 0]

From the Mirror:

If you haven’t seen the crowd figure from St James’ Park yesterday here it is: 49,644.

 

Read that again. And again. And marvel.

 

Just short of 50,000 fans turn out to see a Championship match, in sub zero temperatures, on a weekend when money is at its tightest and Christmas shopping beckons.

 

Seeing thousands of happy Geordies trooping off home for Christmas with their club back on its feet, storming away at the top of the league, was a heart-warming sight.

 

Remember these are the fans who are still coming back for more despite two years of turmoil on and off the pitch.

 

They’ve stayed ridiculously loyal, despite the most testing year to be a fan in a generation.

 

Fervour, passion and devotion is what you get from the men, women and kids in black and white shirts sitting in the cold yesterday.

 

Rival fans should remember that crowd figure when they next thrown mud at the Geordie Nation. 49,644.

 

Liverpool, Chelsea, Aston Villa, Spurs, Manchester City, Birmingham, Fulham, West Ham, Everton. None of them can beat it.

 

Even local rivals Sunderland, last home crowd down to 34,000, despite generous offers of £19 season tickets for kids, can’t get close. To nick a phrase from one acerbic observer who taunts his Mackem mates: “It’s Niall Quinn I feel sorry for.”

 

Newcastle have also taken 7,000 on away trips to the likes of Barnsley.

 

So next time you hear the old cliches being wheeled out: Newcastle fans expect too much success, they get managers sacked, they think they are better than everyone else, they are always crying on the telly. Just stop and think.

 

Newcastle fans are actually one of the marvels of the modern game.

[Tom 14021]

Mass suicides in Sunderland and North London Eel shops.

[1892 0]

[B&Wsy 0]

Mirror link

 

Mr. Bird trying to get back in the good books eh.

 

He's still & always will be a complete cunt.

[wykikitoon 21364]

Whilst its great and I am proud of it, Newcastle like Leeds is a one city football club.........

[MarkyMark 0]

Speaking as someone who invested in a season ticket at the start of this season I can say I'm proud to have been there yesterday. It was great to see that many of the empty seats filled again.

 

We are the greatest.

[Andrew 4954]

Whilst its great and I am proud of it, Newcastle like Leeds is a one city football club.........

 

thing is, and I know this isnt that relevant to attendances etc, outside the big three, liverpool and obviously burnley, newcastle shirts are easily the ones I see most often here, we are very well supported all over the country and its great to see people walking around in toon shirts here and looking damn proud to be wearing them despite all the shit

[Tom 14021]

A good old 24 page thread just on our attendance on the mackem board.

[Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0]

Mirror link

 

Mr. Bird trying to get back in the good books eh.

 

He's still & always will be a complete cunt.

His twitters are very pro-nufc fans/nust and anti-ashley. In hindsight Kinnear was the cunt.

[snakehips 0]

NUFC winning = bums on seats.

[Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0]

A good old 24 page thread just on our attendance on the mackem board.

They're not bothered about us tho

[brummiemag1 0]

I've always argued that Newcastle have the best fans in the world. Some people laugh when I say that but:

 

Can anyone else name a club not just in England, not just in Europe but in the whole world that has not won a trophy for 40 years or a domestic trophy for 54 years but gets an average league crowd as high as we do? And for the doubters calculate an average league crowd over the last 10, 20 or even 30 years, I think we still have the highest.

 

I would even say is there any sporting club in the world that can beat us? Possibly the Detroit Lions, certainly can't think of anyone else.

 

Please post and let me know if you can name a football club or even a club in any sport in the world who has been as unsuccessful as us but get a higher average crowd over a period of time. There certainly isnt many if any.

 

We are truly the marvels of modern sport

Edited December 21, 2009 by brummiemag1

[Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0]

I've always argued that Newcastle have the best fans in the world. Some people laugh when I say that but:

 

Can anyone else name a club not just in England, not just in Europe but in the whole world that has not won a trophy for 40 years or a domestic trophy for 54 years but gets an average league crowd as high as we do? And for the doubters calculate an average league crowd over the last 10, 20 or even 30 years, I think we still have the highest.

 

I would even say is there any sporting club in the world that can beat us? Possibly the Detroit Lions, certainly can't think of anyone else.

 

Please post and let me know if you can name a football club or even a club in any sport in the world who has been as unsuccessful as us but get a higher average crowd over a period of time. There certainly isnt many if any.

 

We are truly the marvels of modern sport

Chicago Cubs haven't won the World Series for over 100 years (1908 was the last time) and haven't been in the finals since World War II.

 

They've averaged about 40000 attendance the last few years. Maybe we should be twinned with them?

[brummiemag1 0]

Yes Chicago Cubs is a good call

[MattM4 0]

A good old 24 page thread just on our attendance on the mackem board.

I love that their rebuttal to the quote claiming NUFC fans are a wonder of the MODERN game is to come up with numbers from almost 20 years ago.

[Marko 0]

A good old 24 page thread just on our attendance on the mackem board.

 

I was speaking to a mackem yesterday who was trying to justify why their attendances are lower than Newcastle, Reasoning that SJP is easier to get to than the SOL and that Sunderland is in the middle of a credit crunch.

 

As if saying, Newcastle fans haven't got any money worries.

 

Pretty funny

[Tom 14021]

Sunderland is in the middle of a credit crunch

 

 

''Newcastle get good crowds, Meanwhile, Sunderland is at the centre of a global finance disaster...''

[Guest alex]

Mirror link

 

Mr. Bird trying to get back in the good books eh.

 

He's still & always will be a complete cunt.

Why, because Kinnear said so? Not like he's ever been wrong or anything.

Kinnear hadn't even read the article in question btw, he'd only read the headline (which Bird didn't even write in any case).

[ChezGiven 0]

Sunderland is in the middle of a credit crunch

 

 

''Newcastle get good crowds, Meanwhile, Sunderland is at the centre of a global finance disaster...''

 

[Guest Stevie]

Don't get me wrong, I myself have criticised our support at times, in terms of quality rather than quantity but we're still better than anyone else. Any uber neo toon fan reading that who is cringing because it's cool to pull every aspect of the club to pieces read it again. WE'RE STILL BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE.

 

I challenge someone to tell me a club on earth to go through what we've been through...

 

* Sacking of a legend in favour of a universally hated figure

* Absolute proof of scores of occasions we have been lied to

* Promises not delivered

* Four managers in one season

* Club for sale, then not, then back up, then not

* Laughed at by every football supporter in Britain for the circus that has went on over the last 3 or 4 years

* An almost universally national celebration of our relegation

* Players earning 100k a week who care less about the club than horses

* No money to spend

* No leadership at boardroom level

* No apparent long term aims

* Comparitively speaking reasonably expensive pricing systems which remain, which rake in far more money than at least half the Premiership

* Joey Barton

* Champions League to Championship in 5 years and 9 months

 

....someone tell me a club on earth who would be averaging 44,000, getting 50,000 at some games in the second tier of their football, with all of that to contend with.

 

I'll guestimate now what clubs would get:

 

Liverpool 20,000 absolute tops

Celtic 15,000 tops it's happened before

Arsenal 25,000

Everton 13,000 it used to happen in the top flight

Villa 10,000

Leeds 18,000 it happened to them, they can't even be discussed in the same breath as us.

Tottenham

 

Who knows what we would get if we had another two years down here, my view is 35-40,000, we have proved without question, without pause and without doubt when we sing "we are the loyalest football supporters the world has ever had" that is exactly what we are, and people who mention catchment areas....fuck off, this isn't a big catchment area, we have to share 1m with Sunderland, all of the clubs like Aston Villa, Everton, yids, even Leeds have a bigger direct catchment area than us. We have the best support in football and it's exactly why so many people try to shoot us down in flames, envy, jealousy and insecurity.

[Guest alex]

I do think it's funny that the Mackems have long said our crowds would suffer if we had to go through what they've been through yet we're getting more than them even they've got a better team in a higher division to support. The fact they're seething about it makes it all the funnier.

[TheMoog 0]

Don't get me wrong, I myself have criticised our support at times, in terms of quality rather than quantity but we're still better than anyone else. Any uber neo toon fan reading that who is cringing because it's cool to pull every aspect of the club to pieces read it again. WE'RE STILL BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE.

 

I challenge someone to tell me a club on earth to go through what we've been through...

 

* Sacking of a legend in favour of a universally hated figure

* Absolute proof of scores of occasions we have been lied to

* Promises not delivered

* Four managers in one season

* Club for sale, then not, then back up, then not

* Laughed at by every football supporter in Britain for the circus that has went on over the last 3 or 4 years

* An almost universally national celebration of our relegation

* Players earning 100k a week who care less about the club than horses

* No money to spend

* No leadership at boardroom level

* No apparent long term aims

* Comparitively speaking reasonably expensive pricing systems which remain, which rake in far more money than at least half the Premiership

* Joey Barton

* Champions League to Championship in 5 years and 9 months

 

....someone tell me a club on earth who would be averaging 44,000, getting 50,000 at some games in the second tier of their football, with all of that to contend with.

 

I'll guestimate now what clubs would get:

 

Liverpool 20,000 absolute tops

Celtic 15,000 tops it's happened before

Arsenal 25,000

Everton 13,000 it used to happen in the top flight

Villa 10,000

Leeds 18,000 it happened to them, they can't even be discussed in the same breath as us.

Tottenham

 

Who knows what we would get if we had another two years down here, my view is 35-40,000, we have proved without question, without pause and without doubt when we sing "we are the loyalest football supporters the world has ever had" that is exactly what we are, and people who mention catchment areas....fuck off, this isn't a big catchment area, we have to share 1m with Sunderland, all of the clubs like Aston Villa, Everton, yids, even Leeds have a bigger direct catchment area than us. We have the best support in football and it's exactly why so many people try to shoot us down in flames, envy, jealousy and insecurity.

 

[wykikitoon 21364]

I know you dont like Leeds Stevie but they got 38k a couple of weeks ago, not bad for a League One game? I understand what youre saying though with the shite we have had to go through from out board, yet were still there!

 

I have to say that Sheff Weds fans have had similar to us and they get on average 20k.

[Guest alex]

Also, unless I missed it, the article fails to mention it was on live terrestrial telly too.

[tooner 243]

I've always argued that Newcastle have the best fans in the world. Some people laugh when I say that but:

 

Can anyone else name a club not just in England, not just in Europe but in the whole world that has not won a trophy for 40 years or a domestic trophy for 54 years but gets an average league crowd as high as we do? And for the doubters calculate an average league crowd over the last 10, 20 or even 30 years, I think we still have the highest.

 

I would even say is there any sporting club in the world that can beat us? Possibly the Detroit Lions, certainly can't think of anyone else.

 

Please post and let me know if you can name a football club or even a club in any sport in the world who has been as unsuccessful as us but get a higher average crowd over a period of time. There certainly isnt many if any.

 

We are truly the marvels of modern sport

Chicago Cubs haven't won the World Series for over 100 years (1908 was the last time) and haven't been in the finals since World War II.

 

They've averaged about 40000 attendance the last few years. Maybe we should be twinned with them?

 

 

The Toronto Maple Leafs (yes it's spelled like that) haven't lifted Lord Stanley's Cup since 1967, and it's still standing room only at the ACC. Granted there are only 20,000 odd seats but you get the idea. And yes I am also a Leafs (yes it's spelled right) fan. There are many similarities between Toon fans and Leaf fans, both can be harsh to coachs managers and player when any of them don't measure up to the perceived potential, both sets of fans are the most common target of jokes in their respective sports. Doesn't bother me in the least though, Law of averages my friends our time is coming, on your side of the pond and mine.