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When George Caulkin wrote about Newcastle’s current state of being in Monday’s Times a phrase that came up again and again was ‘profoundly unsatisfactory’. It is, Caulkin told Off the Ball tonight, a club with a profound lack of soul as it trudges from one misstep to another and leaves no room for optimism for its fans.
“On the face of it Newcastle are eighth in the table, which is not a bad position at all, and yet it feels like a very empty football club at the moment.
“Two transfer windows without making a permanent signing.
“A club that sells their best player in January, doesn’t replace him.
“The fact that their season is effectively over in the start of Feb, if not before, means there’s just a strange atmosphere about the place now. Derby defeats to Sunderland have that effect.
While the league table makes satisfactory reading for Newcastle, Caulkin explained why the club – due to actions taken incrementally over recent years – has drifted from supporters and is opening a gulf between its traditions and the methods bein employed now to bring, what amounts to, minor satisfaction.
“There’s a lot of questions being asked about ambition, about purpose, about direction.
“The way I look at it is there’s been chips to that soul over the last few years- Sports Direct Arena, Wonga, you know all those sort of things. You can justify those things – you can justify those little events that chip away at the clubs fabric and history, if there’s a reason for it, if there’s a good enough reason for it. Now, football clubs have to make money to compete...and I think people sort of bought into that for a certain extent, but I think there has to be a football reason for it, and I think it’s very difficult to see a football reason for it.”
Caulkin explained why the relationship between club and supporters is at breaking point and why, even when the club do communicate with fans, what they say is “profoundly depressing”.
Listen to the full interview with George Caulkin via the player below, or on iTunes
