Flat Cans

Well, here we are again - No takeover and the supporters’ hopes completely crushed once again. The worst part this time is, Mike Ashley isn’t even to blame.

There is more of an empty feeling this year. A takeover collapse happens every year on Tyneside yet this one feels more depressing than the rest. Hurdle after hurdle until it reached the Premier League, the very people who were petrified to make a decision on this takeover and got the outcome they wanted.

In all of these takeover stories and especially this one, there has been no thought for the most important set of people in all of this, the supporters. The ones that pay their hard earned money and attend games. The only thing Newcastle United supporters have is their loyalty towards the club, that has gradually eroded over the last decade or so. After yet another takeover collapse, what is left for the supporters? They are constantly served rubbish, treated like second class citizens by an owner who’s simply not interested. Additionally, that very owner is even less interested in the club now (Never thought that was possible).

Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

Should Newcastle go into the new season with the current owner, with the usual lack of investment - The only way is down. It will spell a third relegation under Ashley’s ownership and the chances of a Premier League return would be slim. This isn’t Newcastle United, it is not Alan Shearer breaking records, Tino Asprilla shocking Barcelona, Kevin Nolan embarrassing 5under1and nor is it a club that makes you feel happy anymore. It is tiring, the supporters are drained, battered and have lost all hope of a brighter tomorrow.

The supporters have been treated with utter contempt by the media and the Premier League throughout this farce of a takeover. Being told how they should feel, how it’s not right to want more for this football club. Were it say, Manchester United or Liverpool for that matter.... It would have been a completely different story.

For all the joy this takeover brought at the very start, where there were cans flying all over social media in celebration, Saudi flags in profiles and google translate was firmly bookmarked - The reality now is Newcastle United is a lost football club, left in the middle of nowhere to rot and to fester.

The supporters deserve answers, though they will never get them. Their club lost its voice a long time ago and the Premier League will likely produce a very veiled statement that will only lead to more questions than answers. The supporters, players, manager and staff have all been caught in the middle of this circus that has been created by the Premier League. The transfer window is now open and while other teams strengthen, Newcastle are left licking their wounds once again.

Photo by Newcastle United/Newcastle United via Getty Images

There is only so much shite you can take as a supporter and for Newcastle’s loyal fan base - They’ve had their hopes dashed far too many times. It is about time that those at the very top, whether it’s at the football club itself or the Premier League, football without fans is nothing. Watching football being played in empty stadiums has been like watching a sequel to one of your favourite films, only to be bitterly disappointed.

The sad thing is, Newcastle supporters will be caught out again, perhaps in January or next summer. Hopes will be lifted, hopes of a return to the good old days, only for them to be let down once again. It is on repeat each year, this is groundhog day for Newcastle supporters and they’ve been living it for over a decade.

There is no ambition at this football club, no sense of identity and a continuous sense of doom. It takes its toll to be battered and bruised every year when all the supporters do is just that... Support. There has to be a light at the end of the tunnel at some point, for now the supporters will keeping walking in darkness.