An empty feeling around Toon as surreal effects of virus are laid bare
A CONTINUING ABSENCE OF FANS HITS STRUGGLING UNITED MORE THAN MOST
EVEN one year on since the turnstiles were bolted shut amid a global pandemic, following Newcastle United around the country is somewhat surreal.
The rumblings of the unthinkable - football without fans - began after the club’s last match attended by a crowd last March, the 1-0 win at Southampton.
The journey down had all been about keeping hands clean and using sanitiser but there was barely a mention of wearing a mask.
By the time we had embarked on the journey back games in Serie A were being abandoned due to lockdown despite players being fully kitted up and raring to go.
A few days later football came to a grinding halt as play in the Premier League was suspended.
Return dates came and went during March, April and May but football finally returned in some form, without the supporters, at the end of June as Newcastle pulled off a 3-0 win over Sheffield United.
It is a day that will stay with me for a long time.
With supporters watching back home on TV, St James’ was fenced off with strict access and security on Barrack Road before temperature tests and stringent medical forms were needed to gain access into the stadium.
The usual swell of excitement and tension on the walk up to
St James’ Park was absent and the noise of the fans, smell of the hamburgers and pies and the sight of fans walking out of the Strawberry and up to the turnstiles was replaced by stewards lined up alongside wire fences around the ground.
There are three zones around the stadium - amber, green and red - with only players and backroom staff allowed anywhere near the tunnel. Never mind parking the bus on the field, Newcastle turn up at away games with three Tynedale coaches to ensure there is social distancing on the journey to the ground. It is a strange sight and must have some impact on togetherness and unity going into crucial games. It was the great Jock Stein’s quote about supporters which summed up the game when he said: “Football without fans is nothing.”
It is true but the game has had to limp on without its passionate followers, making for surreal experiences for the handful of journalists who still get to games. London away matches have offered the biggest contrast of all with trains usually full of Toon fans singing songs and enjoying a 7am beer replaced by empty and silent carriages with only a handful of masked-up key workers for company on the threehour journey south.
In London itself, fans usually make a beeline for bars around Kings Cross station but they have been bolted shut while the corridors underground that normally see football fans, shoppers, stag and hen parties and tourists merge into one lively crowd on Tube stations are deserted.
Once into the grounds, the emptiness of venues can be felt in full.
At Brighton in July, signs advertising Mother’s Day lunch at the Amex Stadium had gathered dust as families were banned from seeing each other amid tight government guidelines.
At Bournemouth’s tight and compact Vitality Stadium, the voices of TV commentators Ian Crocker and Alan Smith could be heard by the players as the Cherries’ drop into the Championship began to unfold.
Into the 2020/21 season and journalists had to weave around abandoned beer kegs at Southampton - the venue where Toon fans last attended a game - as beverages that were never drunk were cast aside. Only the bitter taste of a 2-0 defeat at St Mary’s was on the menu that day.
The voices of the players and coaching staff can be heard clearly too. At Chelsea during the recent 2-0 defeat, the voice of Steve Bruce bellowing to fullback Emil Krafth echoed round Stamford Bridge: “Emil, you are too narrow!”
Normally, you can hear very little other than the crowd but the crunch of tackles and yelps of fouled players provides a strange but eerie soundtrack to games. How have Newcastle played during this time?
The results had been mixed but an alarming slide in 2021 has resulted in just two wins this year.
The game has had to limp on without its passionate followers, making for surreal experiences
United were always going to miss their supporters but now it is clear that were fans allowed access there would undoubtedly be calls for change in the dugout.
Social media noise is as loud as it has ever been for Steve Bruce to go and Wor Flags producing banners on Barrack Road urging Mike Ashley to bring in a different boss.
Don’t forget the last game at St James’ Park in front of a big crowd resulted in boos and frustration as Bruce’s side went off after a 0-0 draw against Burnley.
In lockdown, there have been matches where a roaring Geordie crowd could have helped drag the team over the line.
Key games, such as the 1-1 draw with Fulham, when Newcastle supporters may have helped suck the ball in for a winner in front of the Gallowgate End, for example, or the end-of-year stalemate against a faltering Liverpool side could have made all the difference by now.
Even the sound of discontent from the four sides of St James’ Park can prevent the team from going under in games.
Newcastle have lost nine home games in lockdown and won just six in all competitions.
When they go behind, the lack of crowd to pick them back up has been missing and when they are ahead a spark that usually ignites the Toon Army bounces off the pitch and into empty rows of seats.
They took the lead against Manchester United in October and lost 4-1, they equalised against Leeds in January but were level for just four minutes and were beaten 2-1.
Against Crystal Palace they led 1-0 but went down 2-1 and then against Wolves they could not hold on to the lead and dropped two points.
In all of those games, the empty stands handed the visitors time to regain composure and deny Newcastle victory.
Of course, it is also down to game management from Bruce and his coaching staff but the empty stadium is a factor for clubs - especially Newcastle with 50,000 Geordies often making a difference.
Despite the discontent, Bruce has always been eager for the stadium to be full again and last season pushed for free season tickets to be handed out to families of existing season ticket holders.
With talk some fans could be back in the ground by mid-May, you do wonder what state the Magpies will be in by the time they return.
Seven of their last 11 games are matches against teams in the top 10 and they need to find four wins from somewhere.
Bruce and his players will hope safety is assured before May.
If it is not, then fans could offer them one final lift to what has been a difficult 12 months.