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48,000 fans expected to attend Newcastle United vs. Manchester United

By Durim Halimi

NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 21: A general view inside the ground prior to the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Brighton & Hove Albion at St. James Park on September 21, 2019 in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 21: A general view inside the ground prior to the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Brighton & Hove Albion at St. James Park on September 21, 2019 in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images) /
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Newcastle United will enjoy the presence of 48,000 fans at St. James’ Park on Sunday, which is 8,000 more fans than their last home game against Brighton.

According to a new report from Tyneside, St. James’ Park is expected to host around 48,000 fans for Sunday’s game against Manchester United, which is a season high for Newcastle United. A lot of empty seats have been visible at Newcastle United home games this season as fans continue to boycott games with the aim of hitting Mike Ashley where it hurts most: his pockets.

The Magpies enjoyed the presence of 47,000 fans on opening day against Arsenal, but the numbers have dropped since then with an average attendance of 43,000. In terms of attendance, Newcastle United are on track for one of their worst, if not the worst, attendance totals as a Premier League club since the expansion of the stadium in 1998. The key questions to ask regarding this spike in ticket sales are why the sudden interest and will the presence of more fans benefit the team?

Interest in Sunday’s Game

I think an obvious factor contributing to ticket sales for Sunday is the fact that Newcastle United are hosting the most popular club in England and one of the most popular clubs in the world. In addition, the Magpies and Red Devils have historically played in some close, interesting games that make for great entertainment. The last thriller between these two sides was actually last season when the Toon took an early 2-0 lead at Old Trafford, but the hosts came from behind in the final 20 minutes to win 3-2.

Motivation for Players

Steve Bruce will certainly remind his players of the result they earned in London against Tottenham earlier in the season, but seeing St. James’ Park filled near capacity should serve as the primary source of motivation for the team. The presence of more fans will be a double-edged sword, though.

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If the team puts in an awful shift as they did against Brighton then I doubt they will see attendance get close to 50,000 again all season. However, if they put up a good fight or even earn a positive result then I would not be surprised to see fans gradually return to watch the team in action at St. James’ Park. It really comes down to effort from the players and this Sunday is a perfect audition for them and for Steve Bruce to show that this team can turn things around. We shall see what happens.

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