Newcastle Fans MUST be Patient With New Signings

In an article written by The Chronicle, I got a chance to say I had already written about that weeks ago. But it gives me a good opportunity to reinforce that point, and back it up with some more facts. The article stated that while the club is spending money, fans will have to be patient with the new signings.

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We Newcastle fans are a rambunctious group. We love seeing players being signed, and we expect that they’ll be superstars as soon as they step out on the pitch. When they don’t perform up to par with our expectations, we get mad, crazy, and we start creating crazy chants. It’s part of the Newcastle United fan experience, but it’s also us setting the bar too high.

Fans of course should have high expectations for new signings. If those signings don’t perform well, they should be booed, and we have a right to complain. But how long should we give players before we start the booing, and complaining? Enough with the “Out” campaigns. As soon as Steve McClaren was hired, I saw a #McClarenOut before he even got started.

That was ridiculous, and completely unprecedented. Take Remy Cabella for instance. Fans are furious with his performances, seeing as he only scored a single goal for the club in his first season. He came from France, like many other Newcastle United players, and like most fans, I expected Cabella to perform right out of the gate. I had failed to take into account his inexperience with the Premier League, and the change of scenery.

Make no mistake, Newcastle United is a very big club. A large stadium, a huge fanbase, and more money than Mike Ashley lets on. So while our performances may not give too much pressure to players, the three things aforementioned are enough to make a player nervous.

So we take a look at Wijnaldum, Mitrovic (who has yet to play with the club), and soon to be announced Chancel Mbemba. Exactly how well do we expect for them to perform? Do we expect Mitrovic to be the league leader in goals? Should Wijnaldum lead in assists? Should Mbemba clear the ball every time it comes his way? Or should we expect them to be human beings, and struggle in their first season?

I expect a lot from Wijnaldum and Mitrovic. They both came from clubs where they were undoubtedly successful. When you bring two successful players to a highly underwhelming club, you’re going to get results, but when it’s a completely different league, the competition is different, the expectations are different, and the fans are of a different breed. The good thing is that the fans warmed up to Mitrovic and Wijnaldum early, but that’s due to the circumstances surrounding their signings. As soon as Mitrovic misses a couple of shots, fans will turn on him quicker than the United States turned on Lyndon B. Johnson.

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There will be insecurity, and players will begin to question their true ability when they begin to struggle. The fans are also to blame for that insecurity. The best thing you can do, as a fan, is to understand that these things will happen, and the more supportive we are, the more these players will perform. They will understand that we have their back, and that is the key to any successful footballing career.

We cannot expect fresh Premier League players to be superstars right away. Charlie Austin was a sleeping giant. Yeah, it was his first Premier League season, and he shined, but not everyone will do that. And while it would be amazing if our new signings could do that, don’t get your hopes up.

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