How a text from David Beckham led to Newcastle United’s attendance drastically dropping months later

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A 2019 text message from Sir David Beckham would play a role in the attendance figures dropping at Newcastle United only a few months later. 

Beckham admires Newcastle United as a club but his message to a former Manchester United teammate was part of a chain reaction that led to some bleak times at St James’ Park. 

Indeed, back in 2019, Steve Bruce was appointed as Rafa Benitez’s replacement as manager by former owner Mike Ashley. 

Bruce was never a popular figure at St James’. A former Sunderland manager of course, his time in charge brought very few highlights and plenty of backlash amongst supporters. 

Interestingly, it was Beckham who helped convince Bruce to take the job in the first place. 

• READ MORE: Steve Bruce shares what Mike Ashley was truly like behind closed doors at Newcastle United

Sir David Beckham told Steve Bruce to take the Newcastle United job  

Not long after his appointment, Bruce was asked if some of his friends in football had urged him to take charge at Newcastle, despite it being a difficult place to work at the time. 

Bruce revealed he had received backing for the job, including a text from Beckham. 

“Yeah, tons of them [friends],” he said.

“’You’ve got to do it’, people said. I don’t want to mention names, but David Beckham was one of them. I’ll have to show my daughter that text message.” 

A few months later, Newcastle fans made their feelings very clear. The club were heading nowhere under Ashley and Bruce.

In December of that year, Ashley was forced to offer season ticket holders a free half-season ticket to help fill St James’.

Indeed, the attendance record at Newcastle’s stadium fell to just 42,303 during a home game against Southampton in December 2019. 

That was the lowest in nine years at the time, such was the ill-feeling towards the managerial and ownership regimes at the time. 

Bruce stayed on until the takeover but eventually made way for Eddie Howe, who has transformed the club.

Newcastle United’s average attendance record in 2024/25 season

Thankfully, Newcastle United are a very different club now. 

The PIF takeover in 2021 changed the club forever and, in March, they ended their 70-year wait for a major domestic trophy by winning the Carabao Cup. 

Clearly, fans are back on side under the Newcastle United owners. St James’ is full again, and there’s even talk of moving to a bigger new stadium to help meet the demand for tickets. 

Per Transfermarkt data, Newcastle’s average attendance was the sixth-highest in the Premier League during the 2024/25 season. 

On average, almost every seat was full for every home game during the campaign.