Poll: Do You Want Newcastle to Get Relegated?

By: Daryl | April 21st, 2009

So far, not so good for Alan Shearer’s attempt to rescue Newcastle United from relegation. Big Al has taken just one point from the first possible nine, and Newcastle are four points away from safety with five games to go.

Question for neutral fans is: Do you want to see Newcastle go down, or would you prefer to see them survive?

There are compelling arguments both ways:

The argument for hoping Newcastle stays up would be that they’re a big club with a lot of impressively passionate fans. The Toon Army would obviously be heartbroken to see their team fall out of the Premier League, and maybe you shouldn’t wish that on supporters who’ve already suffered enough.

Newcastle and their fans definitely add some extra excitement to the Premier League, especially for those of us old enough to remember the cavalier team that Kevin Keegan sent out to lose games 4-3 for our entertainment.

And then there’s the Alan Shearer story. Whatever else you think about him, the man is a Newcastle legend. He gave some of his best years to the club in an effort to put black and white ribbons on a trophy, but had to settle for two FA Cup runners up medals. If the Geordie Messiah could rescue Newcastle despite having no managerial experience, that has to make you feel good inside.

The argument for hoping Newcastle goes down is that they’re a big club who’ve been run terribly. Too often it seems like big clubs make terrible mistakes and flirt with relegation, but always manage to get away with it. Just once I’d like to see a big club pay for their mistakes with relegation, just to reassure me that the whole thing isn’t rigged against the smaller clubs.

I’m still tempted to see Newcastle’s current plight as the result of replacing Sir Bobby Robson with Graeme Souness in 2004, which may very well be the worst firing and hiring decision of all time. And the Newcastle of today may be defensively inept, but the swashbuckling Newcastle of the mid-90s is long gone.

And then there’s the Alan Shearer story. Yes, he’s a Newcastle legend. But he’s a man with zero managerial experience who was appointed to appease frustrated fans. If Newcastle really wanted to stay up, there’s an argument that they should have hired a proper manager instead of a figurehead.

So, those are two ways of looking at it.

Let us know how you feel in the poll:

Do You Want Newcastle Get Relegated?
( online surveys)

Some Related Stories:

Category: English Premier League

« Daily Dose: April 20th, 2009 | Home | Blanco’s Bunny Hop and Other Signature Footballer Moves »

The Offside RSS Feeds

bill

poor newcastle...poor shearer.....
Jmay

2 weeks on and still no win but not down yet...no one in Newcastle is under any illusions (except the muppets they stick in front of the Sky Sports cameras maybe) - apart from all the problems we've had this season, which would break any club, we're currently playing the worst football in the most disorganised fashion ever seen, with a bunch of players who look past it or disinterersted apart from one or exceptions. Whether we like it or we fully deserve to go down on present form. I for one don't care. I've had great trips to Peterborough Derby and all the rest.
Tom

Newcastle wont get relegated. They will finish 16th on 38 points, joint with Blackburn who will be 17th due to goal difference. Hull will be relegated with 37 points, along with Middlesbrough (31 points) and West Brom (27 points). Hull, Middlesbrough and West Brom all have hard games. Newcastle do too, but at home against middlesbrough and portsmouth you'd favour a win, against Liverpool a big loss and at Fulham and Aston Villa tight draws due to their respective forms. I only hope im right...
Weston (@wpazzurri)

the only team in england i really want to go down is Manchester United -- its tough hating the richest sports team in the world.
Mustafa

lol @ toby... that sounds like one of those "worst case scenarios"

Guy 1: "I heard you guys went to a hole-in-the-wall Thai super buffet last night... how was it?"
Guy 2: "Man, the food was disgusting and afterwards, I was in the bathroom all night.... it was almost as bad as a Tuesday night away trip to Doncaster in November"
Guy 1: "Dude, that really sucks"
j

Steve, Canada - I can answer that quickly for you. No
Steve, Canada

I know it'll sadden all those Magpies fans, but honestly the team has been mostly mediocre or dreadful this season. The whole concept of promotion-relegation is terrific and I wish it existed in North America, but I doubt we'll ever see it in my lifetime.
Former assistant manager John Carver is winning admiration for his work on turning around Toronto F.C. around and people wonder if he'd be tempted to return to Newcastle to bring them back up, should they drop down to Championship.
j

I'm a little shocked to reading how anyone would consider the drop to the Championship being beneficial unless you long for the days to tell people of when Newcastle was at the heights of the game. For Newcastle the drop will put further pressure on the massively eroding cash flow’s and asset base. It will not assist the club in any manner whatsoever and severely jeopardize a climb back up in the foreseeable future. I've long since edited this out of my posts since no-one wishes to discuss financial fallout / business aspect but a drop will cause extraordinary stress on the overall club’s operations and a massive series of difficult changes, despite any public statements they make.

Of the many problems the club is having, in part it stemmed from the arrival of Dennis Wise and the resulting exodus of many supporting members of the staff who are now displaced around the football world. The majority of these was, with respect, “smaller” support staff but is integral to a clubs success. As they left that support structure fell apart and is impossible to replace easily. However all this pales to massive erosion the capitalized value of the parent co which is precisely why the club wasn’t able to fund the needed acquisitions. This is the root of the problem and regardless of whether like a certain manager or not, you cannot consistently over achieve without the talent and financial backing to compete.

For true Newcastle supporters a drop will be apocalyptic but they could easily serve as the first major example of the world financial market collapse in Football.
Corey

If Leeds can go way down the leagues ladder for being poorly run, then Newcastle can too. And they probably should.
Lowe

As a longtime Magpies fan from across the pond, I agree with both points. I hate seeing Newcastle being run the way it is- they definitely need the wake up call. Get rid of Kinnear- he was a huge mistake. Maybe a year or two in the championship will get those in charge thinking straight. On the other hand, a relegated Newcastle may give me a better chance at seeing a game when I come to England. Selfish, I know.
Rob

I actually think going down might be the best thing for them in a sense, sometimes you have to take a step back to take two forward. As painful as it inevitably will be for them it'll give them a chance to strip everything else away, take a little time out of the limelight, and sort everything out and come back up.
Wayne Farry

It'd be interesting to see how the Championship would be affected by having the Magpies down there. As much as it would be awful for Newcastle, I think getting relegated will give the club's board the reality-check they desperately need.
Ginge

I'm a Peterborough United fan and would love an away trip up to St James park next season.