Newcastle United returned to St. James’ Park on Friday night and some fans took the chance to express their displeasure about the club’s terrible summer transfer window.
It looked as if Newcastle United were finally going to get back to winning ways against Espanyol, after goals from Matt Targett and Jacob Murphy saw them come from behind.
However, Kike’s late equaliser ensured the game finished 2-2 and Eddie Howe’s side are now without a win in all five of their pre-season friendlies.
While results are inconsequential, a victory certainly would have helped lift the mood around a flat St. James’ Park, where all optimism appears to be drained from the fans.
Alexander Isak’s desire to leave the club, with the star striker eager to join Liverpool, would be damaging enough but that’s come on top of every top target – like Hugo Ekitike, James Trafford and Joao Pedro – deciding to go elsewhere.
Newcastle have only signed Anthony Elanga, Park Seung-soo and Aaron Ramsdale this summer and one fan sent a clear message to PIF that that isn’t good enough on Friday night.
Eddie Howe reacts during Newcastle United's pre-season game against Espanyol.
Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images
Newcastle United fan uses new third shirt to send message to PIF
Over 30,000 fans were in attendance on Friday to see the side play out an uninspiring draw with Espanyol, with Seung-soo’s exciting skill the only bright spark of excitement to wake up a sleepy crowd.
The mood from the fanbase has been one of frustration and exasperation on social media throughout the summer, and that clearly translated to the stands.
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One supporter even went to extreme lengths to tell owners PIF how unhappy he is with the club’s lack of success in the transfer window.
The fan was spotted sporting the club’s new third kit with ‘SIGN SOME 1’ printed on the back of it in place of the usual favourite player or personal name.
From the club’s official shop, the replica version of the third shirt (presuming he wasn’t wearing the more expensive authentic version) costs £85 and ‘SIGN SOME 1’ adds £16 to that fee.
That puts the total price of this fan’s message at £101, which shows just how desperate he is for the club to start making moves in the market.
Will more Newcastle United fans make their feelings known against Atletico Madrid?
Though St. James’ Park was only just over half full for the Espanyol game, Saturday’s Sela Cup showdown with Atletico Madrid is a complete sell-out, so it’ll be interesting to see if more fans make their feelings known.
It seems as though PIF may be on the cusp of suffering their first fan backlash since buying the club in 2021, with how badly the summer transfer window has gone.
There has been a real naivety and foolishness in how Newcastle have operated in the market, with dithering over asking prices and a lack of ability to sell the club, seeing them lose out on top targets.
Newcastle have even missed out on Benjamin Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha to Manchester United despite having Champions League football to offer.
With a full crowd in on Saturday, the mood could turn sour if the side suffers a heavy defeat.
Though Howe has had to go deep down his short list of attacking targets, there at least finally appears to be progress with Newcastle closing in on signing Yoane Wissa for £35m.
Target Nicolas Jackson missed Chelsea’s friendly vs Bayer Leverkusen on Friday, too, but it remains to be seen if the club will sign him and Wissa.