‘Little strokes, fell great oaks,’ are the words of Benjamin Franklin, who believed that small but persistent efforts can lead to big results. It may seem a stretch to connect such a theory to that of the last 12 months of Newcastle United but if you look closely at what the current owners have done in that time, you can argue that the small moves are laying the foundations for what’s to come.
Upon reflection of the last year under Amanda Staveley, Jamie Reuben and The Public Investment Fund, a lot of the attention will be on the appointment of Eddie Howe, the arrival of Dan Ashworth and the millions spent in the transfer windows. It’s understandable, and to those outside of Tyneside those factors provide intrigue to some as much as they do criticism for others. Yet for many who follow United, it is the little things that the owners have done that matter the most.
It’s the communication from the owners, whether it be through the media, social media or in the street. It’s the relocation of Alan Shearer’s statue or the renaming of his bar. It’s the decoration of the stadium concourses. It’s the cleaning of the windows. It’s the removal of the Sports Direct signs. It's the backing of the women's side. It's the support of the foodbank.
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To those looking in from the outside, it will seem somewhat bizarre that a statement on a club website or a lick of paint on a stadium wall was celebrated like collecting three points on a Saturday but after 14 years under Mike Ashley, it’s a reminder of just how far the standards had fallen.
On October 7th 2021, the takeover was finally complete. Nearly three years after the group had come to the table, they finally had the keys. Being up at St James’ Park on that day is something that will stay with me for a long time - it was a party of the like we will never see again. Yet, it was also a reminder of how detached fans had become from their club.
The love for it remained but the joy and hope had gone. People were going to games out of tradition, and even that was becoming a chore. Ashley had beaten the passion out of one, if not the most, loyal fanbase in the country with his unambitious approach to running the club.
People that day I spoke to weren’t after world-class signings or a quick route to Champions League football - they just wanted to feel like their club could do more than simply exist. They wanted an owner to love the club like they do, to show love and care to the cathedral on the hill, to have a plan of progression and more than anything to communicate and give them hope for a better future.
After so long under Ashley, we all knew that was never going to happen. The very basics, in my view, of running a club, should be that communication and respect for a fanbase. That was not Ashley, burned by previous mistakes, but it very much seems it is at the forefront of the current owners’ approach.
In a special episode of The Everything is Black and White Podcast, I've got the views of a panel of Newcastle fans from across the globe. When I asked them about the best thing the owners have done over the last 12 months the same answers came back - communication and hope.
Kendall Rowan noted: "What stands out for me, is the communication with the fans and the way they've embraced us," while Chris Nove said: "The biggest thing is to bring back the hope and the excitement of going to the game."
It serves as a reminder of how the basics were not being done under the previous ownership - and perhaps more than anything, the realisation from the current ownership of the benefits, as Chris notes, 'of everyone pulling in the same direction.'
Moving Shearer's statue or cleaning the windows in the grand scheme of where the owners want this club to go is small but it is these small gestures that have laid the foundations between the club and its fans. These are gestures that didn't need to happen but that the club wanted to happen - the same as putting a bit of colour on the concourses or replying to fans on social media.
The moves also represented more than just pleasing the fans, they were the final paragraphs in the final chapter of what had gone before. The way club legends had been treated and the disregard shown to the stadium had hurt - relocating Shearer's statue and removing the Sports Direct sign felt very much like the last bullet point in a horror story. Or, alternatively, the first sentence of what many believe will become a story of success.
Some might argue they are 'easy wins' but even the best of strikes can still miss an open goal. It's these small gestures that can provide the building blocks for the bigger achievements - the training ground, the transfers and success on the pitch - because a happy and united fanbase really allows the work away from the stands to get on.
It's something Ashley never truly understood - and you can't help but wonder if he caught the game against Arsenal at the end of last season or the 3-3 draw with Man City this campaign, in which the crowd were at their very best, and if it's left him sitting with a tinge of regret.
But this is not a time to dwell, it's a time to applaud the ownership for realising the power of a loyal fanbase, for providing them with the basics things they want - namely communication, ambition and hope. That's what made that night on October 7th 2021 so special - the sense of relief but also the sense of hope.
Hope that this great club could one day be the very best it can be - it won't happen overnight and there will be bumps in the road but if the owners continue getting the little things right, the basics, then the future is certainly bright.
Why does it matter? Well Chris, the season ticket holder from Chester, sums it up just as well as anyone could in a message for the owners. "They've brought back the excitement - it feels like it did under Keegan the first time around, and I never thought we'd get that back again. From my perspective, thank you for that but not just for me but for my kids."
And that's what struck me about that day up at St James' Park 12 months ago - the generations of family and friends who came out to celebrate and left as one big extended family. Strangers hugging each other, some crying, some in disbelief - all relieved Ashley had gone.
At heart, Newcastle is a community club and the current owners not only recognise that but have harnessed the benefits you get from having such an asset in the centre of the city. It's just the beginning but they certainly seem to understand that when you strip everything away, the transfers, the funds, the football - it's the fans and community that make this club great, and if you have them on side then you're halfway there to building a truly unstoppable force.
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