A club that has been on the front pages as much as the back in recent decades. Off-field turmoil - especially under the Mike Ashley era - has never been far away from St James’ Park.
With something usually always going on, step aside Eastenders, Coronation Street and Emmerdale, because Newcastle United are the most compelling soap opera in town. However, on rare occasions, that drama takes a humorous tone.
Geordies are renowned for their comedic nature and, at times, that translates to the goings on at Barrack Road. The bizarre, black and white world is never dull and, in this article, Shields Gazette has profiled the five most random times Newcastle have gone viral.
1. Colo's Party
Newcastle had just endured a tough season in May 2013. They failed to capitalise on the previous year which saw Alan Pardew’s men finish fifth - ensuring a return to European football. Heavy defeats to Sunderland and Liverpool weeks earlier cast a dark cloud over Tyneside, with questions beginning to be asked about the manager’s future. But what cheered Toon fans up was an end-of-season bash at skipper Fabricio Coloccini’s plush Darras Hall house. Sammy Ameobi let the cat out of the bag by posting a picture of the entire Newcastle squad - including backroom staff - crammed into Coloccini’s abode. This provoked a wave of satirical responses from fans. Our favourite included comments about youngster Adam Campbell being too young to have a drink and John Carver working as a doorman. The hashtag #ColosParty trended No.1 in the UK on May 16, 2013.
2. The "meatspin"
In February 2020, Newcastle were almost on the end of another FA Cup upset. The Magpies are prone to a giant-killing, with defeats to Cambridge United and Sheffield Wednesday during Eddie Howe’s reign. Hereford United and Stevenage also famously dumped Newcastle out of the FA Cup and Oxford expected to join that illustrious list. However, Allan Saint-Maximin spared Steve Bruce’s blushes with a stunning strike in the 116th minute to send Newcastle into the fifth round. But it was events in the away end which took most of the limelight. One travelling fan got so excited by the extra-time winner he was caught on camera performing what we can only describe as a “meatspin” or “helicopter” in celebration. The move triggered a witty response from Saint-Maximin on social media. He wrote: “That's messed up since we didn't see anything because of the cold night (hopefully). #WeWillRememberYouPenicopter”
3. Goal: A Dream Begins… or does it?
Newcastle supporters had to look twice in 2021 when the club signed young Mexican striker Santiago Munoz (pictured). Surely this was a final joke from Ashley before he moved on? Or was it Lee Charnley on the wind-up? That was because of the 2005 cult film Goal, where, ironically, a Mexican prodigy called Santiago Munez joins Newcastle. Football fans across the country could not believe it, questioning whether the club got their calendar wrong and thought the date was April 1. Unlike the movie, Munoz failed to break into the Toon ranks and did not make a senior appearance for the Magpies. Many sceptics still consider this a PR exercise rather than a genuine transfer…
4. Nick Pope
The Newcastle goalkeeper played just one game for the club when he became an internet phenomenon. Popular social media account @ToonPolls hijacked an online survey from, bizarrely, Burger King, asking whether tomato or gherkin is better. The reply of “Nick Pope” prompted thousands of fans to do the same. And that was it. Before long, multi-national companies like Amazon, McDonalds and EasyJet were tweeting “Nick Pope” to their millions of followers. What the tactic was, it clearly worked as Pope put in a match-winning performance to earn a 0-0 draw at Brighton the following day. We’re still not entirely sure what this was all about…