What seems to be the problem at Newcastle United? Last season there was a plethora of excuses to choose from and each would swerve attention away from the first team squad and instead splat the blame all over Mike Ashley's perverse desire to see his staff at Sports Direct work harder than his under-performing number nine. Ashley's cavalier approach was a welcome distraction that deflected attention away from the ninety minutes on the football pitch and savagely etched its narrative into Newcastle fans' minds. Tyneside became infected with commercial bile, sub plots and cries of revolution and left football - the one thing that once brought the whole city together - gasping for air as it slipped into John Carver-induced coma. Ashley agreed to bring in some urgent medical attention but rather than shelling out for some premium overseas healthcare he turned to an unemployed Derbyshire professional who despite being fully-qualified hadn't operated at the highest level since he messed up a relatively simple procedure at Wembley in 2007. Like a shot of Botox, the initial response was good but you're left craving another perhaps more substantial dose further down the line. McClaren's appointment (alongside the signings of Aleksandar Mitrovic, Georginio Wijnaldum, Chancel Mbemba and Florian Thauvin) breathed life not only into the club but across the city as well. Football talk had returned and it was now down to the manager and players to get fans excited again but after eight games, zero wins, three draws and five defeats it seems a disconnected, ambitionless, money-saving chairman wasn't the only problem. So what is?
NCTJ-accredited football writer with an MA in Sports Journalism. What Culture football editor. Write for the official Newcastle United programme. Former video reporter at North News. Featured and published in the Sunderland Echo, Shields Gazette, Mail Online, The Mirror, The Sun and others.
