MARCH AGAINST
THE REGIME
HAD NUMEROUS
RAMIFICATIONS
WORDS BY PETER MANN
DONE WITH JUST REASONING
THE FAMED TOON ARMY
TOOK THE STREETS OF
NEWCASTLE IN THE HOURS
BUILDING UP TO THE MATCH
WITH MERSEYSIDE GIANTS,
LIVERPOOL. THE DATE FOR
THIS TIME4CHANGE MARCH
WAS THAT OF OCTOBER
19TH. THE REASON FOR IT
WAS TO SHOW OWNER
MIKE ASHLEY AND THE
CLUB HIERARCHY THAT
THE SUPPORTERS WOULD
TAKE NO MORE.
In a statement from the
organisers prior to the march being
held they stated that this event would
be “a good humoured march attended
by caring, sensible fans who want to
express their hope in a brighter
future.
We not only want to call time on the
Ashley regime but make it known to
the wider, football world that we want
responsible ownership where the fan
base can be respected and consulted.”
Fair and just words when
you bear in mind how the so called
‘Cockney Mafia’ has ran our beloved
club since Mike Ashley gained
ownership some six years ago.
Nothing has gone smoothly, on or off
the field the play, and the buck has to
be firmly planted at the door of those
in power.
20
The statement continued in stating of
the marches proceedings that “we can
only do that by behaving responsibly
and by policing ourselves so that
others can see we are worth investing
in.
“If you’re happy with the
way the club is being run, managed
and funded then stay at home and
don’t march; if you’re not happy,
show you want better and march.”
In accordance with local
authorities, Northumbria Police and
Newcastle City Council, protesters
took to the streets of Newcastle in
order to make a visible protest against
the present regime and a need for
change at the club that have been
well-rehearsed across all media
formats for too long now.
However, there was reasons
that the Liverpool fixture was also
chosen and they were that there was
the significance of the opponents
being such a high profile fixture, the
generation of media interest that was
provided due the game being a live
fixture on BT Sport, and the fact that
Liverpool themselves, set one of the
prime examples of how these
situations can be worked,
Via their own ‘Spirit of
Shankly’ faction and what they
showed can be achieved in such
situations, then Liverpool’s famed
supporters were also invited to join in
said march in what was the spirit of
putting football first.
The protest went without a
hitch, some three hundred plus
supporters taking to Northumberland
Street, past the stadium and
congregating at the Leazes Park
bandstand. The support that invested
their time and body into the
protest carried placards
barracking the regime,
and heard was that
of choruses and
chants aimed
towards both
Mike Ashley,
and the
football
club’s
recently
appointed
Director of
Football, Joe Kinnear.
In talking to the
media afterwards, the
organiser, Graeme Cansdale of the
Time 4 Chang