Newcastle United Fan View: Wor Flags fly the flag for fans

It is late at night at St. James Park, the concourse lights are on but there is an eerie silence inside the ground. There is hushed chat running through the long, cold, concrete corridors of the Gallowgate stand but there is no one sat in the stadium, there is no match being played out in front of 52,000 people, it is still a week until the next home match when the stadium will take on a more familiar presence. On this cold, dark night, there is a small group of fans preparing something special for the match; a home game against Liverpool in front of the Sky TV cameras; even Sky haven’t arrived this early to prepare. The group carefully unfold gigantic, stadium filling flags and banners, there is a strong smell of paint and turps in the air as finishing touches are made to designs. Empty boxes and bags are stacked neatly against the cold, grey walls ready for the clear up. Just as the group are leaving, they take in a sneaky glimpse of the hallowed St. James’ Park turf, lit up orange in the pitch black sky under the heat lamps, home to their beloved Newcastle United and then they leave, hardly noticed.

Fast forward a week, Newcastle are taking on Liverpool at St. James Park and thanks to the magpies’ great start to the season, hopes are high, optimism fills the air and the fans heading to the game are in high spirits. A mile away from the ground, at the North Terrace pub, the same group of fans from the weekend before, with a few added extras, have gathered. They enjoy a pre-match pint or two, discuss the football, the previous games and what their predictions are but they are also there to do a job.

The group walk to the ground, together, united. They wave flags, they wear their black and white shirts and they sing songs. Inside the ground there are chants of Rafaaaa Benitez! Rafaaaaa Benitez! Newcassul, Newcassul, Newcassulllllll! The crowd are excited, they are optimistic and they are fired up. 10 minutes before kick off, a huge tifo is unfurled which reads: “Nostros te seguimos a todas partes, siempre te respaldaremos, por todas las mentiras que nos digan, jamas te dudaremos. Estamos contigo.”

That translates as: “We will follow you everywhere, we’ll always have your back. In spite of the lies they tell us, we’ll never doubt you. We are with you.”

Alongside the banner is a 10-foot-high portrait of Rafa Benitez on a flag. Make no mistake, Rafa Benitez is adored on Tyneside. Rafa Benitez has truly united Newcastle United and the fans are firmly on his side. The hard work from the weekend before, the nights spent painting, designing and folding, the time the group has spent away from their loved ones has well and truly paid off. The sight is magnificent.
The flags, tifos, surfers and banners are the work of a small group of fans better known as Wor Flags (formerly known as Gallowgate Flags). The displays have been a regular fixture at home games this season with the first display occurring towards the back end of last season in a match at home to Huddersfield Town. The group’s aim is to raise the atmosphere inside St. James’ Park, something that most fans will readily admit was desperately needed and something they are most definitely achieving.

Newcastle United fans’ loyalty has never been questioned; under Mike Ashley’s reign over the last decade, despite two relegations, the ground has regularly sold out of tickets for home matches and season ticket sales have remained high but St. James Park on match day has become quiet, very quiet indeed. No ambition, no hope, but the fans remain. A lot of fans had become disillusioned with the club, under Ashley there has been no ambition, no reason to get excited but football in these parts is like a drug, you don’t stop going, ever. We have watched the likes of Allardyce, Carver, Pardew and McClaren lead our beloved team over the years and the football has been nothing short of dire. We have signed players who saw us as a stepping stone, they did not know anything of the club’s history, they weren’t even told about it. Put simply, there has not been much for Newcastle United fans to shout about.

Then came Rafa.

Since Rafa took charge the club has been transformed, we won the title in the EFL Championship last season and are sitting relatively comfortable in 11th place this season. The club has been revitalised from the bottom up, Rafa has changed the way the players train, the way they eat and indeed the way they play. The football might not be pretty at times but for the first time since the Keegan/Robson days, the Newcastle fans are united behind the manager and we’ve all bought in to his vision. Fans recognise that the rebuilding of the once great Newcastle United is a slow process, they accept that, and they want to be a part of it.

Off the field the club has improved too, the PR is better and the fans are finally being listened to. The club have worked closely with Wor Flags, allowing access to the stadium to prepare for the displays and they have created singing areas within the ground following a request from fellow fan group Wor Hyem. The fans have responded to Rafa and the club has recognised the response in a superb way.
Donations from Newcastle United fans far and wide have allowed the displays to happen but do not let that take anything away from the fans involved in creating these displays. Time is spent away from friends and families, working for nothing in the ground night after night setting the displays up, working with other group members, recruiting volunteers and fundraising for new and exciting ideas. They did not have to do this, they are not being paid to do this, they want to do this.
Wor Hyem state their mission is to be a voice for all toon fans who want to make a difference and create that atmosphere that has been missing for some time.

They know not all fans want to go to a game to scream, sing and shout and they do not expect that of any fan but they want everyone to share the same positivity and euphoria, to get behind the lads for the full 90 minutes no matter what and make St. James’ Park a fortress again; a cauldron of intimidation for the opposing teams stepping foot onto that pitch consumed with stress on how they can silence us.

We might not have the world class owner that we are hoping for right now but we have a world class manager and a world class set of fans. The players want to fight for their manager, the club and the supporters, they give their all on the pitch and the atmosphere at St. James’ Park goes a long way in allowing that to happen. Well done Wor Hyem, well done Wor Flags.

You can read more about the groups, including on how to contribute to their fundraising efforts, on their website and Twitter account.