Newcastle United Fan View: Lack of investment means United are staring relegation in the face once again

Another transfer window has closed, another shambles of an effort by the Newcastle United board, another season we are staring relegation in the face. 3 in, 6 out and 1 point above the relegation zone – you couldn’t make this stuff up if you tried.

I said back at the start of the season that I felt the loan market would be our main source of incoming transfers this January window and this indeed proved to be the case with the loan signings of Kenedy, Slimani and Dubravka. All promising players and all probably better than what we have already but no permanent signings, no money spent, no hope, no ambition, no bright future.

The one ray of sunshine we have had this season ended up being yet another heart wrenching disappointment; Newcastle United has a tenancy to do that to you, they show you a glimmer of hope, something positive on the horizon and then BOOM, they tread on it in front of your very own eyes, dream over fellas, move on.

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We all dreamed of seeing Ashley leave the club, we were looking ahead at a brighter future under an owner who wanted to invest in the club. An owner who saw the potential of the club and wanted to give the loyal fans something to shout about but it wasn’t to be, thanks to Mike Ashley.

When the takeover collapsed I stated that there would be no chance Ashley would invest in the side, despite promising to do exactly that should the club sale not progress. Why would he? Why would he invest millions in to the side now when he wants rid of the club? He may well have been able to get his money back through a club sale but given he was struggling to sell at his original asking price, why would someone immediately bid more after we had bought a couple of players?

Reports of him being willing to break the club’s transfer fee were released and met with a mainly sneering set of Newcastle United fans. Names were leaked to the press, players at the top of their game were linked, some fans got their hopes up, some dared to dream. I didn’t, I dismissed every single rumour out of hand and was also very aware that the season ticket renewal deadline is fast approaching. There was no way Ashley was spending money, no way.

Journalists took a hammering on Twitter from a lot of fans; they blamed them for being the mouthpieces of Mike Ashley and PR man Keith Bishop and whilst some probably are (good old Craigy from Sky Sports), others were merely doing their job and reporting on various rumours.

It is sad really as I used to enjoy the gossip, the rumours and daring to dream about a new mega money signing but how I feel now is probably indicative of how most Newcastle United fans feel; I have lost interest, I have become cynical but most sadly of all, I have resigned myself to the fact that we are a dying club under Ashley. Our next step is our 3rd relegation under his ownership but I will carry on supporting the club regardless of the owner and the sign that Wor Flags held up last night prior to kick off was extremely prominent. Some fans have had enough and I don’t blame them, I get it, I really do.

I could easily have made this article an “I told you so” piece and I apologise if that is how it has come across, it certainly was not intended. What I wanted to do was to try and put down in a few words how low I am feeling with everything to do with the club right now; the fact that last season was so good, so positive and such a refreshing change just further adds to the frustration and misery I am feeling right now.

This will of course change in an instant the second Mike Ashley gets out of our club and hopefully that time is not too far away. Hopefully when that day does come, we will still be in the Premier League and we will have a new owner who shows some ambition. Until then we simply have to hope for the best and hope the new signings can re-energise the side.

Slimani and Kenedy are both players Rafa Benitez wanted and were high up his list of targets so perhaps now we might start to see the side forming that Rafa always wanted.

I can’t enjoy the rest of the season though, I kind of just want to fast forward to June in the hope we have survived and a takeover is back on the cards. Life is fun as a Newcastle United fan.