I am in the fortunate position of earning a living writing about Newcastle United – the club I have loved for over 40 years.
But nowadays, it is more of a torment than a thrill.
As a football writer, I want nothing more than to produce articles that will bring good news to fellow Newcastle fans, and give people hope and excitement for the season ahead – but at the present time, I am not able to.
Unfortunately, Newcastle have stolen that excitement from me, and other Newcastle fans around the world, and it is ruining our summer.
Usually, the fixture announcement is one of the big days of the off-season, and marks the drop of the curtain on the old season, and raising it for the new one.
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This season, however, the release of our yearly nightmare opening run of games merely brought a realisation to Toon fans that we are another step closer to the first game, and still have every issue that needed addressing at the end of the season, unresolved.
We are into the back half of June, and a mere 16 days away from the start of pre-season training and we have no additions to strengthen the squad, no word on the ownership of the club, effectively managerless, directionless, ambitionless, and it all feels hopeless.
Without a doubt, trepidation has replaced excitement. Worry has replaced hope. Relegation thoughts have replaced those of top half finishes.
The club has maintained absolute silence throughout these concerns, and by doing so have simply exacerbated a situation that is spiraling out of control.
Newcastle want fans to commit without offering anything in return
Newcastle United want fans to renew their season tickets. But fans need answers. We need belief. We need purpose.
Why should supporters fork out hundreds of pounds without a single answer to the many questions being posed of the club?
The answer is: blind loyalty.
They expect fans’ love of the club to outweigh the uncertainty.
But they may be in for a shock.
If a band I love starts selling records with nothing on them, I am not going to keep buying them just because their name is on the label, no matter how great I think they are.
And the same will happen at St James’ Park. It will reach breaking point. No matter how much fans love the club, there will come a time when they simply say “enough is enough”.
If things do not start progressing quickly in the next few days at NE1, this summer may be that point.