Despite his surprisingly good start to life in the Premier League with Newcastle United, fans of the Magpies have not been particularly receptive to Steve Bruce, and they have voted with their feet.
Their disenchantment with the manager is either because Bruce is a former Sunderland boss, or because his appointment perceivably signified the lack of ambition of owner Mike Ashley. Whether it is one or the other, or a combination of both, attendances are down and quite dramatically.
During the three seasons Rafael Benitez was in charge, average attendances never sank below 51,000, even when the Magpies dropped down to the Championship. On Sunday against Southampton, St James’ Park recorded its lowest turnout in almost a decade, 42,303, which is not discordant with figures from earlier this term suggesting that the average gate had plummeted to 46,577.
In a desperate ploy to reinstate a capacity crowd at St James’ Park, Newcastle owners announced earlier this week they would be giving away free half-season tickets to people who have already paid for a season ticket. Don’t be fooled, there is no marketing brilliance behind this move, it is merely out of fear that for once the Newcastle fans are exercising what little power they have remaining.
Boycotting games will not hurt Ashley financially, as previous reports have suggested over half of Premier League clubs would be profitable without a single fan. Though where it does hurt the ownership structure at Newcastle is through both in-stadium atmosphere and on television. What is even worse than sitting through a game where fans are booing and protesting, is a fixture with no soul at all. Anyone who has ever seen a match behind closed doors will understand, it is a desolate and eerie experience.
Therefore, by choosing to boycott matches, both the remaining fans inside St James’ Park and those watching from the sofa’s experiences will suffer.
Ashley’s bank balance will not take a sizeable hit, otherwise, they would not be offering the free tickets. But the move is a final daring play by the chairman to try and reinstate the St James’ Park atmosphere of old, in his longstanding feud with his clubs’ supporters. The Newcastle hierarchy is afraid eventually the standoff could become so toxic no potential suiter would dare invest anywhere near his asking price in the North East side.
