10 Reasons Why Newcastle Fans Wish It Was The 1990s Again
6. The Club Weren't Afraid To Attack Cup Competitions
It is a damning indictment of Mike Ashley's eight-year stranglehold in the St James' Park boardroom that Newcastle have only progressed past the third round of the FA Cup just twice and once to the League Cup fifth round. To offer an analogy; Ashley is content for the club to tread water in the Premier League's midsection and cup competitions are considered the shark that he fears will drag Newcastle under the surface.
Compare that to the 1990's when the Magpies were regular challengers for domestic and European silverware, reaching the FA Cup final in consecutive seasons where they lost to Arsenal 1998 and Manchester United 1999. Defeats they may have been but it gave supporters two trips to Wembley, fruitless they may have been, and genuine hope of winning a first trophy since Joe Harvey's heroes brought the Fairs Cup back to Tyneside in 1969.
Contrary to the current policy of instructing his managers not to prioritise cups, Ashley has proclaimed that he won't sell Newcastle until he wins something - constituting either a trophy or Champions League qualification. It's a promise that was met with cynicism from supporters who've witnessed the deployment of weakened sides in cup fixtures and have digested too many unfulfilled Ashley promises in the past.