Kevin Nolan asks for fan support
Newcastle United captain Kevin Nolan has asked the club's fans to stick with the side over the course of the season.
Newcastle has enjoyed a mixed start to the Premier League and currently sits in 14th place. The team has displayed the quality the club has with a 6-0 win over Aston Villa but poor defending led to a 2-0 defeat to Blackpool last weekend.
Nolan said: "We didn't get too carried away two weeks ago [the win over Aston Villa], and we're going to ask the fans to do the same again. We're going to ask them to stay with us. We knew there were going to be times like this throughout the season, it's happened earlier than we wanted or anticipated but we've got 34 games to go."
Nolan admitted that inconsistency is going to be a huge problem for the rest of the season. However, he believes Newcastle is good enough to finish in the top half of the table by the end of the year.
A strong support base and fan following can have a number of beneficial effects for any football club. However, Newcastle needs to start producing more consistency to convince large sections of fans over the club's Premier League future.
A strong support base
The Premier League throws up some very difficult fixtures both home and away for Newcastle. The club enjoys one of the most passionate sets of supporters in England and the noise the Toon Army makes at game is enough to inspire the team.
This will be crucial in big games against Sunderland, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and many other sides this season. It can be very easy for a team to crumble if the fans are not behind the side during inconsistent periods.
The fans are very important to how Newcastle operates as a business. The side has to play well to keep the fans coming back because the fans pay the gate receipts, which go to all areas of the club. If the results continue to be very up and down then some fans may be put off from making a trip to St. James' Park.
Nolan said: "We didn't get too carried away two weeks ago [the win over Aston Villa], and we're going to ask the fans to do the same again. We're going to ask them to stay with us. We knew there were going to be times like this throughout the season, it's happened earlier than we wanted or anticipated but we've got 34 games to go."
Better consistency
Newcastle fans have not had it all their own way over the last two to three seasons. The club suffered relegation to the Football League Championship and had to endure a period where the manager seemed to change every couple of months.
If Newcastle players, and the club, want to retain the support of the fans then more has to be done to produce greater consistency. This is not just in a playing sense but away from the field as well. When fans have the confidence that the problems of the past are over, they will come out every single week to sing in the stands.
Betting advice
Newcastle can be one of the most difficult places to play away at. When the Newcastle fans are up for a match, the level of noise created cannot be matched anywhere else in England.
Pick your fixtures carefully and monitor how the side plays over the next few games. There will be big games over this season where the fans can make a real difference to the result. If the consistency of results improves then there will be some obvious fixtures where Newcastle will be looking to win games at home. You can take advantage of this.
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