These are turbulent times not just at St James Park but for Newcastle as a city. Whilst Mike Cashley?.sorry?.Ashley weighs up offers for Newcastle United from four corners of the globe, it is the city and its people that will suffer the most.  Perhaps I am being a bit unfair to Ashley, but he has made one bad decision too many.

Newcastle is a vibrant city with a growing economy, a well established cultural scene and a reputation of having one of Europe's finest nights out. It even came close to being voted the European Capital of Culture in 2008, losing out to Liverpool (yes I know, mind boggling). However the city's heart is St James Park and that heart has been broken with relegation to the Championship. It's not quite like when you have been dumped and are all upset with the sudden almost 'unforeseen' action; it is much worse. It is a feeling of numbness that comes with real catastrophe, one that we refuse to accept or come to terms with. Our lives will of course go on, as will the city of Newcastle, but this sense of 'emptiness' will descend upon us and that void will remain till we are back where we belong; in the Premiership!

The season started so well; a draw at Old Trafford, followed by three points at home and the club safely in the hands of Kevin Keegan. The fact the we had Dennis 'the menace' Wise sitting in our corporate box and the 'perpetually crocked' Michael Owen scamming 100,000 pounds a week from the club to go watch his horses race, seemed like mere details and were swiftly ignored. You could even say that we were 'dreaming of Europe'. Now of course this is a state of mind that us Geordies are always in ? we are going to make Europe next season by winning the League Cup (see what I mean).

This was a season of few highs and to be honest, utter confusion on St James Park. The resignation or perhaps dismissal of Keegan, the temporary charge of Joe Kinnear, the contract dealings around Michael Owen and comical management of the club by Ashley and his cronies; perhaps it was fate that the season would end in relegation for the club.

In all my years as a supporter I have never seen such an abysmal Newcastle side on and off the pitch. And mind you I have borne witness to the likes of Titus Bramble and Shaka Hislop on the pitch and dealings of Freddy Shepherd and Douglas Hall of it. Shepherd and Hall were secretly filmed deriding Newcastle women and referring to Alan Shearer as 'Mary Poppins' in 1998. They forever disgraced themselves to the Geordie faithful as a result of this outburst. As for the 'misadventures' of Bramble and Shaka on the pitch, I struggle write or talk about it without breaking into fits of sobbing.

With the exception of Habib Beye and Sebastian Bassong, not a single member of the squad in 2008 ? 09 deserve the wages that hard working Geordies pay them; how Michael Owen goes to sleep at night and has the audacity to ask for 100,000 a week is beyond my comprehension. He has scored 21 goals in 71 appearances whilst the club has spent approximately 36.8 million pounds in transfer fee and salary on him. That is approximately 500,000 a game and 1.75 million a goal. Of course it has been a culmination of factors that has led to our downfall, factors that have been piling up for quite a few years now. Our ambitions have always been unrealistic, we as fans have been impatient and we have been living in a fool's paradise thinking that we should be rubbing shoulders with the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool.


Now that the dust has settled, my mates are bored of pulling my led and we are into a summer where football takes a rest, it is time to take stock and finally 'grow up'! We are not a big club; unless we accept that the likes of Tottenham, Everton, Aston Villa and Manchester City are also big clubs and we certainly do not punch above our weight. Our record against the big four over the last 10 years is woeful and the fact that our 5-0 win over Manchester United in 1996 still makes us stick out our chests is just sad. Don't get me wrong, it was a proud day in our not so illustrious recent history (and after just having watched the goals online, I do have a warm and fuzzy feeling) but it was thirteen years ago!

As much as I mourn our demise to the Championship and still think that it is a bad dream alongside the bad grades and flat tires on a deserted motorway (which really did happen, unfortunately), it really is time for a new beginning. We need to clear the deadwood, find an honest and realistic owner, give Shearer a chance, invest in a youth system and chart out a ten year plan. This of course is easier said than done given the impatience of the Geordie nation, but perhaps relegation has opened our eyes and these are the first steps to Newcastle becoming not just a big club but a great club.

My heart is broken, but as with every heart it can be mended; it just needs some TLC or in footballing terms 'Topping the League Championship' in 2009-10.

Howay the lads!                    

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