The fact that Newcastle United were booed off following their dismal defeat to Sunderland last month came as a surprise to former England manager Roy Hodgson.
For the second time this season, Newcastle United were dreadful against Sunderland, and sections of the club’s support at St James’ Park booed the team off the park.
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Newcastle have actually been booed by their own fans before this season, following a home defeat to Brentford.
It’s really nothing new in the grand scheme of things, even if this is relatively new territory for Eddie Howe’s side.
Hodgson, however, was surprised to see it happening.
Hodgson says Newcastle fans never used to boo their team off
The 78-year-old was speaking on The Wayne Rooney Show earlier this week.
He spoke of the idea that booing appears to be coming far more commonplace these days, and cited the reaction to Newcastle’s defeat to Sunderland as an example.
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Newcastle United chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan in the stands at St James' Park, Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe looks to the ground
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In Hodgson’s view, Newcastle fans just wouldn’t have done that in years gone by.
“I mean, take Newcastle,” he said. “I mean, I saw that they were booed off the field by their fans. Now that’s almost unthinkable.
“Newcastle was one of the teams that didn’t boo the fans off, even if you go back 20, 30 years. But, you know, they had the temerity to lose a game, which they were not supposed to lose.”
Newcastle United players look dejected after Brian Brobbey scores for Sunderland.
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Why Newcastle United were booed by their own fans
Well, that obviously doesn’t take a genius to work out.
They were so bad against Sunderland once again, and supporters would have seen their second half collapse coming long before it actually happened.
Booing your own team is always likely to spark debate among fans. What is clear, though, is that Newcastle gave their supporters nothing against Sunderland, and the emotions of the game always meant that such a reaction was likely.
In Howe’s defence, he fronted up and talked about needing to react to those boos. Only time will tell if anyone in the team is actually listening at this point, however.
Whether one agrees with the notion itself, it’s hard to suggest that those supporters who did boo weren’t within their rights to.
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