Not living up to our reputation?

This is not an article about our perennially underachieving football team but about the fans of Newcastle United, of which I am one. Over the years we have been well renowned for being some of the most loyal football supporters throughout the world of football, turning up in our droves to watch a team who haven`t won a trophy since 1969.

However I don`t think we are as good as we think we are and we have developed the rather worrying habit of turning on our own players which was evident in the terrible treatment of Alan Smith at the hands of his OWN fans during the friendly against Valencia on Saturday.

Quite what Smith has done to deserve this treatment is beyond me. Now I will readily admit that his performances haven`t been good enough since he came to the club and his lack of goals are a serious concern. But surely this doesn`t mean he deserves to be booed. He is one of the hardest working players at the club and will always put his body on the line for the cause. It seems his only fault is to be linked with a move away to Everton, which he has distanced himself from, and has been caught up in a feud between owner and manager.

Surely that doesn`t justify the disgraceful booing that he was subjected to and I hope that Newcastle fans will soon sit up and realise that in Alan Smith we have a player that as long as he pulls on the black and white stripes of Newcastle United will give absolutely everything he has for the Geordie cause. Alan Smith doesn`t need the booing and certainly doesn`t deserve it.

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