Newcastle United players and staff are 'deathly silent' in the canteen at the training ground. It is a couple of days before the final home game of last season against Arsenal and Wor Flags are giving a presentation to their heroes about the cost and time that goes into each display. These four supporters have not been invited to speak to the group for the fun of it; this has all been carefully planned as group member Thomas Concannon explained.
"Eddie Howe told us he was looking at ways to keep the players inspired and keep their minds focused until the end of the season," Concannon recalled to ChronicleLive. "He thought it was a really good fit to get us in and have a chat with the players and meet them. It was all his idea to keep things fresh for the team."
It certainly kept things fresh, all right. Newcastle, inspired by the electric atmosphere Wor Flags helped to create, went on to defeat a spooked Arsenal 2-0. Clearly, no side enjoys coming to St James' Park anymore; in fact, no team relishes facing the Magpies full stop as Spurs found to their cost at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last month.
