NUFC: Who are The Magpie Group?
- rosemcleanwriter
- Dec 8, 2018
- 4 min read
In July 2018, a number of NUFC fans congregated at the Tyneside Irish Centre in Newcastle to talk all things Newcastle United. The meeting was part of The True Faith Press Forum, where the long-despised ownership of Newcastle United was up for discussion amongst the local journalists and NUFC fan group representatives in attendance.
On that night, a man named Colin Whittle from the NUFC Supporters Trust proposed a plan of unity. He called members from fan groups such as True Faith, AshleyOut.com, ToonNetwork, NUST, NUFC Fans United, #IfRafaGoesWeGo, Wor Flags and Wor Hyem to join forces and use their collective expertise to help drive change.
It was here where The Magpie Group was born.
Merging their motivations, the fans met on several occasions and found a significant amount of common ground. For Newcastle United to reach its true potential, they believed that money had to be spent. Subsequently, 2 main aims of the group were identified;
1) To persuade Mike Ashley to support the manager in the summer transfer window
2) To persuade Mike Ashley to invest in the club’s infrastructure, making it a more competitive footballing institution
The group agreed that, if those aims were not fulfilled, they would pursue a third and final objective – persuading Mike Ashley to leave the football club.
After yet another unsuccessful summer transfer window in 2018 with the club spending just £23m on new recruits (£94m less than front-runners Liverpool), and having seen no change in club investment or policy, The Magpie Group (TMG) began their quest to end Mike Ashley’s 11-year tenure at the club.
What are they doing?
Speaking with the chairman of TMG, Wallace Wilson, he believes that this current period in the club’s ownership is the “most frustrating” he’s experienced over his 55 years as a fan.
It is for that reason the group have ramped up their efforts to make Mike Ashley’s position as owner of Newcastle United as “uncomfortable” as possible.
So far, this has involved a range of protests around the city, with vociferous demonstrations taking place on Northumberland Street, outside the Sports Direct store and outside St James Park.
More protests were proposed during November and December, with walk-ins and boycotts timely planned prior to the January transfer window;
“We’re not telling anyone what to do. Those who don’t participate are in no way worse fans” Wallace says, acknowledging that TMG’s actions can be divisive.
“However, we believe the only way we can express our dissatisfaction and force change is by taking action”.
Online Presence
As well as physical protests, The Magpie Group have been actively involved with online campaigning. SportsRedirect.com, a website committed to driving customers away from Sports Direct by ‘re-directing’ them to other competing brands, have been working with The Magpie Group to disrupt one of Ashley’s major retail assets.
These initiatives have paid dividends, as the barrage of negative publicity has forced Sports Direct to remove their profile from Trust Pilot and prompted PR firm KBA — partly owned by Ashley — to take down their Facebook and Twitter pages.
“I think we’ve been massively successful online”, Wallace states, vindicated by the success of these online campaigns and The Magpie Group’s 11K followers on Twitter.
But, the journey doesn’t come without its pitfalls.
The Sticking Point
It’s evident that we are entering the most testing period TMG have experienced and will perhaps experience in their existence.
On Monday, news broke of a potential takeover at the club. In an interview with Sky News, Mike Ashley stated he was in talks with a potential buyer and is “hopeful” the deal will go through before January.
This caused mass conflict amongst fans;
Due to the calamitous fall-through of the Staveley takeover last December, and with his comments coming just before the planned boycott of the televised Wolves match, many believe that Ashley is purposefully diverting attention to escape blame for spending nothing during the January transfer window — yet again.
However, some fans get the feeling that this time feels different. Therefore, many have implored The Magpie Group to cancel the boycott on the 9th December, fearing demonstrative action may turn away potential investors and have a negative impact on Sunday’s result.
In response to this enduring pressure, TMG released a statement on Thursday morning informing fans of a “suspension period” whereby the boycott would be postponed;
📷CC: @TheMagpieGroup_
This prompted social media backlash with fans questioning TMG’s credibility and branding them “bottle-jobs”.
Yet, following Monday’s news, and the well-earned draw against Everton on Wednesday night, the majority of fans stated they would not be participatingin the boycott (@NUFCFanRevolt), suggesting that it would have been unfruitful.
So, if The Magpie Group are to fairly represent a whole fan base, the decision to pull out is fully logical. In addition, their dedication to the cause has not wavered having promised to resume protests if the takeover falls through.
Why are they doing it?
All of this hassle then begs the question, why bother?
Receiving countless messages of criticism, hatred and ridicule from twitter trolls would wear anyone thin. But, as Wallace highlights, The Magpie Group may potentially serve a bigger purpose.
“When Rafa joined, he seemed to just lift the place. He gets the club, he understands it’s place in the city. He sees it as part of the community”.
Newcastle is a working-class place, and football is at the beating heart of it. Over the years, whatever has happened on the pitch has seemingly fed down to the stands and streets. If NUFC win it’s a utopian wonderland, if they lose it’s a dystopian deluge. Arguably, the club dictates the city.
It was the initial buzz that Benitez’ appointment generated that gave not only NUFC fans a taste of what could be for the club, but the people of Newcastle a taste of what could be for the city.
Since then, with the help of false promises from the owner and board respectively, this bubble of enthusiasm has been slowly deflated.
This is why Wallace believes that holding onto Rafa Benitez is massively influential for the flourishment of both the club and the community;
“If and when Rafa leaves, hope goes with him.”
The Low Down
There is no egotistical motivation or hidden agenda behind The Magpie Group. Despite the current period of uncertainty bringing a barrage of abuse and growing murmurs from cynics, the group continue to persevere.
Through adapting their approach and postponing actions, they give Ashley a clean-shot at selling the club and stifle his ability to blame the fans if it doesn’t materialise. And if that is the case, the group reassure fans that normal service will resume — suggesting it’s not over until the fat man sells.
In the end, it’s a black and white issue — we’re all United Against Ashley.
Twitter: @NUFCFanRevolt
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