OPINION
If there is one thing that the start of this season has highlighted, it is that Newcastle United fans will not always turn out in their numbers if they feel their club isn’t being run properly.
The summer transition saw the departure of fan-favourite Rafael Benitez, who was eventually replaced by Steve Bruce, who had been in the Championship for many years.
Fans were clearly unhappy with controversial owner Mike Ashley, and many took to social media to call upon their fellow Magpies’ to boycott home fixtures at St James’ Park throughout the campaign.
There have been many a protest over the years surrounding Ashley in the North East, but this potential boycott could be the first that has hit the owner in the financial bracket.
In the opening game against Arsenal there were clear spaces in the stands at St James’ Park, and the second home fixture with Watford, those trends continued – with a strange silence surrounding the ground compared to the usual noisy standards set in previous years.
In a report from the Chronicle, it was revealed that the game against Arsenal only saw an attendance of 44,157 – the lowest gate at St James’ Park since 2012 – as the Magpies finished the summer with 10,000 fewer season tickets sold.
The Shields Gazette further highlighted the fan trouble on Thursday, with just under 9,000 general sale tickets unsold for the visit of the Seagulls.
Those numbers simply prove that a couple of positive results will not change the fans’ minds, and Ashley will soon get the message if these sorts of attendances continue.
After two disappointing results at the start of the season, it didn’t look good for Newcastle, but an impressive 1-0 victory away at Tottenham was followed by a 1-1 draw with Watford.
The Newcastle squad will surely have been hoping that positive results will have seen St James’ Park packed for the visit of Brighton, but it is clear that will not be the case for that game and maybe many more.
