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It shouldn't be my job as a Newcastle United supporter to do this. I should actually be one of the reasons on this list, frankly. It seems, however, that "win for your supporters who travel all over the country, turn up at St. James' Park match after match, year after year and buy lots of merchandise to support this club" isn't a strong enough motivator. Neither is "personal pride as a professional footballer". As a result, I have sat down and drummed up a couple of other reasons that representatives of our club, Newcastle United, should want to really take it to Manchester United on Wednesday.
1. We're "just a wee club from the northeast"
I'm sure you remember it... just before his retirement, Sir Alex Ferguson couldn't resist taking a swipe at Alan Pardew and Newcastle United. Pardew had criticized Ferguson's interactions with the referees which led to this gem:
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"I'm the manager of the most famous club in the world. I'm no in Newcastle, a wee club in the northeast". Regardless of your ideas about the club you currently play for, surely you can understand that it is anything BUT "a wee club". Even still, this "wee club" has been able to rise up and take a victory every now and again over "the most famous club in the world." This is the time. Your opportunity to become part of a great day in the history of a great club. Carpe diem.
2. They Took Our Name
This club is my club
made out of two clubs
to form United
Oh what a great club!
We'll always be there
Win, lose we don't care.
We are the Geordies of N U F C
Here is where I can accept that you may not be fully familiar with the history of Manchester United and Newcastle United. If you are not, I encourage you to start here. That story will describe the origins of Newcastle United. A club that was formed when Newcastle West End and Newcastle East End were United (novel, right?). I would link you to a similar story describing the origins of Manchester United, but I can't. In fact, Manchester United chose the name United because, well... it sounded good. Lo these many years later they, a club for whom United is a word that just sounded nice, claim domain to be called simply "United". Of course, over recent years, we haven't done much to dissuade them from this attitude. That's where you come in. Together we are United. Go show them.
3. They Ruined Jose's Pilgrimage to St. James' Park
In October of 2012, @joedodger17 made the 5233-mile trek from Los Angeles to St. James' Park. The match that he viewed was a 3-0 loss at home to Manchester United. The goals that day were scored by Jonny Evans, Patrice Evra and Tom Cleverly. Not only were they rude guests on the day, they ruined his trip. Evans, Evra and Cleverly, for the love of Pete. If you won't or can't do it for the club or for your own personal pride, do it for Jose.
4. Still the Points, guys
The unconvincing win on Saturday over Aston Villa left us with 35 points. Two more wins give us 41 points, which is beyond the mythical 40-point Premier League safety barrier. If you beat Manchester United on Wednesday, you will need only one more victory before you can well and truly start your summer vacation. If you get the points out of the way now, you could have as many as 9 truly meaningless games to close out the season. Surely you don't need me to point out the attractiveness of this proposition. (Although still, YOU DON'T HAVE TO STOP AT 40 POINTS!)
5. From Someone Who Would Know:
It is important to remember that Manchester United and Manchester City were ultimately so unfulfilling that a fan group broke away and founded FC United of Manchester. And this:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-cards="hidden" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/CHNOSotP">@CHNOSotP</a> because all of the decent fans went to FC United.</p>— IWantCurlyHair2™ (@Iwantcurlyhair2) <a href="https://twitter.com/Iwantcurlyhair2/status/572625056636907520">March 3, 2015</a></blockquote>
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It worked against Villa, so hey. Maybe we lightning can strike twice. These are your reasons to want to defeat Manchester United. Do with them what you will.