Jonathan Woodgate used Newcastle fans, as well as other rivals, in a bid to keep Middlesbrough supporters on his side over the weekend, after being criticised online, reports Tesside Live.
His claims are unfounded, and it seems he thinks that Boro fans would not be critical of him or his side, despite them being in the Championship relegation places.
After his side drew at QPR, the former Newcastle defender said: “The players are not getting booed, I’m not getting booed. Okay, social media has the odd thing, but you get on with that.
“These are the real fans. How do you know who they are on social media? They could be Newcastle fans, Sunderland fans, Hartlepool fans, we don’t know who they are, do we? Keyboard warriors?
“These are the proper people. They come down here to QPR to watch the game, then travel home in the p*ssy rain supporting the team, clapping us off.”
Yes Jonathan, all clubs have them. The loyal fans who travel to every game, always back the team and never boo. They are the hardcore supporters, it is nothing new. It is not unique to Middlesbrough.
But to say that any criticism a manager or side get for being third bottom, not having won any of their last nine games, and with only two wins all season, must be from rival fans, is nonsensical.
Newcastle fans are not interested in Middlesbrough’s fortunes
I hate to break it to him, but Boro simply are not relevant enough to warrant Newcastle fans taking to Twitter to criticise him, or his side.
A small group of fans that applaud him after an away game on a weekend is not representative of a whole fan-base, and it would be incredible if not a single Middlesbrough supporter was unhappy enough to voice their opinion on social media.
It seems a desperate ploy from a struggling boss, who is looking clearly out of his depth at a Championship club for his first real foray into management at a senior level.
It is the second time he has used such a tactic, with his previous ludicrous suggestion that Boro’s recent history is better than that of Newcastle.
If he is hoping to use fans of other clubs to try to keep his own on-side, it is surely destined to fail. Only winning games will keep the vast majority of Boro supporters with him, and that looks very unlikely on current form.
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