Such news should be taken with a little salt
Jun 9 2009 The Journal
Paul Dixon has been following Newcastle United for more than 35 years, 16 of which have been as a season ticket holder in the Gallowgate End at St James’s Park. Each week in his column, he takes a wry look at all things football – from a black-and-white perspective.
FOR heaven’s sake, will we ever see white smoke from the chimney at the club? We’ve had the white flag from the players and waving white hankies from supporters.
If you need a little light relief, then for Shear (sorry) enjoyment, you can’t beat the predictions from the experts at the national tabloids.
They all quote either an “unnamed source” or a “senior club insider”. I think we can safely reveal that the name Hans Christian Andersen isn’t “wide of the mark”.
Before you rush to the pub or work and exclaim excitedly: “It’s says here in the Daily Jordan/Big Brother on Sunday, that Ashley has sold the club to Barry Manilow and a hologram of Joe Harvey will be installed as manager”, I would advise ingestion of a large pinch of salt.
Remember, these are the wise sages with their finger allegedly on the NUFC pulse, who:
FAILED to predict the arrival of Ashley;
FAILED to predict the arrival of Keegan;
FAILED to predict the arrival of Kinnear;
FAILED to predict Ashley’s first attempt to sell.
Treat them at face value, you can actually match one story against another, and have a football version of the card game “Snap”.
One bloke even said that season ticket sales were next to nothing, well, as the renewals haven’t been sent out yet, it’s hardly surprising.
While the uncertainly feeds our paranoia, it’s worth remembering that football never stands still.
Moneybags Man City a few seasons ago ran out in front of 3,000 in the League Cup. I know it’s frustrating, particularly when our neighbours are pushing on, but it’s only a couple of seasons ago they were relegated with the lowest points total since politics was honest.
Their manager at the time will be in the Premier League again this season!
The statement from the club yesterday – on the sale price being set – was all about nothing as usual, we can only hope that Ashley does his usual and springs a surprise.
In days of yore, when recruits were needed for our armed forces, citizens were plied with drink by press gangs and forced into service. If I were the club, I wouldn’t discount this as a means of selling tickets for next season.
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