By Chris Wright
Amen
As a mark of just how desperate things are getting at Newcastle United, a priest has felt in necessary to called God to help rid his beloved club of the blight that is Mike Ashley.
Father Stephen Foster, a long-suffering Newcastle fan, was moved to write his prayer after seeing his side slump to their eighth consecutive defeat at the weekend – a dismal 3-1 duffing at the hands of Leicester City.
Now, with Newcastle teetering just two points above the relegation zone, Father Foster has pleaded for a bit of celestial intervention in a bid to save his club from the abyss.
Railing against the insult of paying hard-earned cash to watch “passionless, mercenary football” in return, the former Newcastle season-ticket holder doesn’t pull any punches in asking the Good Lord to smite Ashley and his particularly callous approach to ownership.
Foster told the Chronicle: “It’s a prayer to the Lord to try and change the mentality of the owner and the club.”
Here’s his ‘Prayer for Newcastle’ in full…
“Dear Father in Heaven
Listen to our prayer in the midst of our suffering.
To be at St James Park is where we want to be. To win is great. To see passion, excitement, endeavour and skill is ecstatic.
To lose is always terrible. It takes some time to recover. But now we are being attacked from within. We are more financially secure now, but the cost is great. No involvement in cups is allowed. Best players sold. Mediocre mid-table finish is what is demanded.
The balance sheet has become the most important thing.
But this is not what we want.
And so Heavenly Father, grant that the owner will see more to this than profit and balance sheet. That there is more to life than money. It’s about families and belonging. Being happy.
If you spend your hard-earned money on a match ticket, it’s an insult to witness passionless, mercenary football.
Our family is Newcastle. Give us what we want.
But, if he is not prepared to change Heavenly Father, give him the insight to know it’s time to go.
Give us a new owner (or a new mentality for the present owner) who will take our spirit and not crush it but revive it. Give us someone who will not rename our stadium from St James Park, not change the colour of our strip. Not rebrand us into something we are not.
We’ve had highs and lows. Notably the Fairs Cup. That was a great year. But too many lows.
Help us now,
Amen.”
Sadly, God could not be reached for a response.
(Via Chronicle)