It was not so long ago that the previous regime had to resort to effectively giving away 10,000 half season tickets to fill up St James' Park. Now, you can't even get a seat for Newcastle United's home game against Brighton on Saturday. In fact, that fixture sold out more than a fortnight ago.
Newcastle have been a club transformed since the takeover last October and, as obvious as it sounds, that is never more apparent than on a match day. Even Kieran Trippier admitted the atmosphere is 'something I've probably not experienced in my career'.
Rather than being daunted by that passion, as some managers bizarrely have in the past, Eddie Howe has rightly viewed it as the club's main strength. Whether it is desperately wanting to build a team the fans will enjoy watching or leading his players on a lap of appreciation after every game, Howe has tapped into support from the terraces in recent months.
