Forget Limbo, Newcastle United are in Decay

If you're a Toon fan (or not) an insightful piece about the club's current woes and then some, taken from TTimes:

Two little things. Two episodes which, in the context of relegation, a club up for sale, with no manager and no new players, have escaped much notice and yet which illustrate vividly the corrosive nature of recent events at Newcastle United. Two little things which demonstrate how Mike Ashley’s inadequacy - the polite term - has rippled out into a city, a region and beyond.

This Wednesday will herald a psychological moment at St James’ Park or, more precisely, Newcastle’s training ground, where players will reconvene for pre-season training. The same highly-paid failures (with a few exceptions), who were incapable of living up to their own inflated reputations will return to the scene of their humiliation. None have been sold, none bought.

They will encounter not Alan Shearer, but Chris Hughton, the first-team coach. Many will know (or certainly hope) that, come August, they will have been bought by or loaned to some other mugs and yet still they must go through the motions of pulling on an adidas training top and showing a commitment they cannot possibly feel. This will be the public face, the public farce, of Ashley’s Newcastle.

The two little things are a little less obvious but, in their own way, just as cutting. On April 24, it was announced that St James‘ would host a special match on July 26. A recreation of the 1990 World Cup semi-final between England and Germany would be held on Tyneside, with the proceeds to be donated to the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation. Sir Bobby, of course, was England manager at Italia ’90.

(A small word about the foundation. To date, it has raised around £1.3m; some it has already been spent to good effect kitting out a specialist cancer trials unit at the Freeman Hospital and establishing research posts. Every penny will be spent combating an awful disease - Sir Bobby is fighting it for a fifth time - under the NHS banner and across the North East)

So far, so good. Old pros such as Peter Beardsley, Des Walker, Paul Parker, Peter Shilton, Steve Hodge and Paul Gascoigne have all confirmed they will participate in what should be a marvellous, nostalgic occasion. Celebrities will be involved, too. For local fans, it is an opportunity to recall an iconic event which continues to influence football and support a deeply worthwhile cause.

The day could not have been organised without Newcastle’s backing and yet, in the middle of June, the club revealed that on the same day as Sir Bobby’s big day, the first-team would be playing a friendly game against FC Utrecht.

This was perplexing, for a variety of reasons. Newcastle’s pre-season match would take place in the Netherlands, not too far away from where Sunderland would simultaneously be playing in the Amsterdam Tournament. In terms of logistics, it is baffling: the police are unhappy about rival supporters traveling and congregating together and Sunderland fans had already purchased the cheapest flight tickets and hotel rooms.

There is also the fact that a natural constituency for the England v Germany fixture will now be heading abroad, as will players and staff members who would otherwise have been eager to support Sir Bobby’s charity. Now, while it is only natural that the first-team must be the priority at Newcastle, as elsewhere, this is the kind of thing that happens when a football club is left to rot. To employ a fashionable phrase, where is the joined-up thinking?

Something similar applies to the bid by Newcastle Gateshead to serve as a host city for either the 2018 or 2022 World Cups, should England be successful in attracting the tournament to this country. By any criteria, there are strong arguments in favour of the bid, from sporting facilities to hotels and travel infrastructure and while Newcastle United is an official partner, leadership on the project is emanating from Newcastle City Council and Gateshead Council, rather than the club.

A declaration of interest: Newcastle is my home. It’s one of the most vibrant and lively places in the world and the prospect of an English World Cup taking place without it is unthinkable. Equally, my hope is that Sunderland are also awarded host status, allowing the north east to truly showcase itself, to change perceptions and demolish stereotypes. It would be sad if it effectively came down to a competition between the cities, but nor can it be ruled out.

At the official launch of Sunderland’s bid last week, Niall Quinn, the club’s chairman, spoke eloquently about the devastation caused to the area by Thatcherism, Wearside’s gradual reinvention, the fundamental role the club plays in the city’s life. Afterwards, he was happy to talk football; about the relegation clauses he will sensibly insist on inserting in all players’ contracts, the kind of characters he wishes to attract to the Stadium of Light. It was Quinn’s usual, stirring stuff.

Look back to Newcastle and you stare into a vacuum. In his two years plus on Gallowgate, Mike Ashley, the owner, has never spoken publicly. Not once. There is no chairman. Derek Llambias, the managing director, has been on the radio. Once. When Alan Shearer was appointed manager for the final eight games of last season, Llambias performed the introductions and then scuttled off the stage. No questions, please. No scrutiny. Shearer has lent his firm support to the Newcastle bid, but as we all know, Shearer is not an employee of Newcastle United. Not yet, anyway.

Information about the 2018 World Cup and the Newcastle Gateshead bid (as well as Sunderland’s), can be found here. The tournament may seem distant, but outline bids from potential host cities must be submitted to the Football Association by July 8 and officials from Soho Square will visit the candidates on July 14. Final bids must be made by November 9.

Whoever you support, the entire area would benefit, economically and spiritually, from involvement in a World Cup and, in a different way, the same applies to lending backing to the Sir Bobby Robson Trophy. It promises to be a grand occasion, adult tickets cost £10 and £5 for children and they can be purchased here. There are some good people at the club who have worked hard on both projects, but from the top ... nothing.

Two little things. But two little things (and this is without going into the job losses and redundancies which are taking place), which jab at the heart of Newcastle’s mismanagement and decline. All being well, we are entering the end-game of the Ashley era - new ownership could be announced by the middle of next week - and the sooner the better, because what we are witnessing is not limbo, but decay.