Bye Bye (2)

Many of you will have already read Bongo's thoughts on our relegation. There's two of us actively writing for Beyewatch and we don't always get the chance to consult on posts. Needless to say I echo many of Bongo's sentiments which were undoubtedly written with raw nerves on show. Whilst I distance myself from the profanity which doesn't usually grace the pages of Beyewatch (well done on the asterisks by the way) I wanted to stick my two penneth in....

Tomorrow I will be buying a new Newcastle shirt. Not because I like it, not because I want to line Mr Ashley's pockets and most of all not because I think it will make a difference to the club. I will be buying it to show people that I support my club. I watched the game, like many, away from home in a room with Hull, Boro and Sunderland supporters. I was proud to wear my shirt but I cannot say I was proud of my team.

I was recently told that the difference between a fan and a supporter is that one will make a choice about whether to buy a season ticket and the other will simply buy a season ticket because they must. I personally don't hold stock with such elitist rubbish. It's part of the reason that the southern press think we're idiots. Just ask the many Newcastle fans who don't have season tickets how they felt on Sunday and I can't believe that it will have been palpably different to a season ticket holder. We all suffered. Together.

I leave it up to the choice of the individual as to how they support their club as it is undoubtedly their club too; it is our club. Mr Ashley would be well advised not to pretend he's one of us. But if he stays he must understand us. Sure we'll buy the shirts and we'll all hope Shearer stays. Attendances will drop, no doubt, and the southern press will snipe. We'll still have bigger gates than 90% of the Premier League and our support will leave a hole so wide that Sky and Setanta won't know what hit them.

The biggest tragedy will be if we simply become Ashley's punters. Blindly renewing a season ticket seems a strange show of support when it ultimately benefits an individual. Mr Ashley must do the honourable thing, whatever that may be. I suggest that Newcastle United's product is not football, selling shirts or gaining TV revenues. Newcastle United's product is hope, it is dreams, it is the thought that we can be better than we are and that we can show others that we're not all flat caps, whippets and stupid accents. We don't expect, we hope. We have passion and we have soul and that in this day and age of political correctness, equal opportunities and an ever expanding north / south divide is unpalatable to many.

So next season I'll pull on my shirt and support my team in whatever way I see fit. I'll be the judge of how much I love my team and nobody can tell me otherwise. Howay the lads.