1. Location, location, location

Just as St James’ Park looms over Newcastle upon Tyne, so Newcastle United are the essence of the city. Count the replica shirts, listen to the bar-room gossip; everyone has a rumour. A “goldfish bowl” is the description attributed to Jermaine Jenas (he has denied it) and there is an intensity about football that can be suffocating as well as exhilarating.

2. Yearning

Some call it expectation, but most Newcastle supporters expect torment. After all, this is a club who have not won a domestic trophy for 53 years, who are defined by underachievement. It is a desperate, aching pressure. “For too long people have talked about this being an unlucky place,” Kevin Keegan, the former manager, once said. “They even added a second magpie outside the ground to stop people thinking ‘one for sorrow’.”

Expert View

If Ashley cannot parade Allardyce’s successor in time for the match with Manchester United on Saturday, this is amateur night at the Roxy

Martin Samuel

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Background

• Newcastle forced to fight for Redknapp

• Redknapp: 'I am happy down on South Coast'

• Allardyce ‘not bitter’ as he takes break

• Why Newcastle is nothing more than a slog

Background

• Harry Redknapp is favourite for Newcastle madhouse

• Ashley must dig his club out of another mess

• Allardyce will be looking back in anger

• Alan Shearer is the man for the fans

Background

• Wilkinson angry over managerial departures

• Talk of move for Redknapp has familiar ring

• Martin Jol ideally placed to step in

• Newcastle madhouse: what the fans say

Multimedia

• Vote: Who should be the next Newcastle manager?

• Vote: Were Newcastle right to sack Allardyce?

• Video: Watch Harry having a ball during training

Related Links

• Redknapp: 'I am happy down on South Coast'

• Allardyce ‘not bitter’ as he takes break

• Newcastle forced to fight for Redknapp

3. History

Not many fans can remember Newcastle winning the FA Cup in 1955, but every Geordie knows the name of Jackie Milburn, the totemic stature of the No 9 shirt.

And then there is more recent glory. In 1996 and 1997, the club finished second in the top flight. In 2003 they were third. The swashbuckling style of Keegan’s “entertainers”, the twinkle-eyed passion of Sir Bobby Robson and Alan Shearer’s legend are difficult acts to live up to.

4. Quicksand foundations

Since the departure of Freddy Shepherd, Chris Mort, his successor as chairman, has done much to rebuild neglected infrastructure, as well as relationships with supporters, but the continued high turnover of managers does nothing to encourage stability. This is a club of figureheads and overheads. Where are the young players coming through? Restocking the Academy will take years.

5. Bad boys stick together

Right, so we have got rid of Lee Bowyer, Kieron Dyer, Craig Bellamy and Titus Bramble, players who attracted destabilising front-page headlines as readily as Amy Winehouse does. So, who shall we sign now? What about Joey Barton? He seems a decent lad. Robson once likened his job to “firefighting”. On Tyneside, respite is a rare and delicate thing.

6. Stupidity

Away from the hysteria that has surrounded Allardyce, Mort and Mike Ashley insist that they are doing things differently, but the past decade has been littered with crass decisions. Qualify for the Champions League and sign only Bowyer on a free transfer. Dispense with Robson in August (and Ruud Gullit and Kenny Dalglish). Pay a fortune to a reluctant Michael Owen and then give him a get-out clause. Jean-Alain Boumsong, Albert Luque, Barton, ad infinitum.

7. Read all about it

Does any other club attract so much media attention on such a regular basis, particularly in relation to their league position? Why are Everton not in the newspapers so much? Some supporters rail against a constant diet of stories and speculation, but it remains a fact. The ferocity mystified seasoned professionals such as Allardyce and Graeme Souness.

8. We are all billionaires now

Just as the “Big Four” has become a closed shop — remember when Shepherd crowed about Chelsea and Liverpool being “put in their place?” — so Newcastle’s largesse has been diluted. Takeovers at Manchester City, West Ham United and Aston Villa mean that Newcastle can no longer expect players to join them on the promise of ambition and better wages.

9. Mike, your leg is twitching

Why has Ashley bought Newcastle? Is it to ship more units in his Sports Direct shops? Is it a rich man’s play-thing? While Ashley has been visible, sitting with fans on away trips, he has not been audible. How involved is he? More than Shepherd? “One man and one man alone decided what player came to the club and what player left – and it wasn’t the manager,” Souness said recently. “It was the chairman.” Are the old knee-jerk days really over?

10. Shearer, Shearer

It has often been said that he looms above the incumbent manager and while there is an element of truth to that, it is his loss as a player that has been more keenly felt. How many points did Newcastle’s record scorer win by shielding the ball in the corner, with a sly foul, by gaining a free kick, through the sheer force of his personality? He leaves a long shadow.

But there are five reasons why the job should appeal . . .

1. All of the above

Can you think of a barmier, more passionate, brilliant, mind-spinning place to work? “I love Newcastle,” Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, has said. “I love that raw passion. I remember being there once and hearing newspaper vendors shouting, ‘Sensation! Andy Cole toe injury!’ Most people use the word ‘sensation’ for ‘[John] Major resigns’ or ‘Aids spreading over country’. It’s unbelievable.”

2. The clothesline principle

To paraphrase the old saying, hang out 11 black and white shirts to dry at St James’ Park and 52,000 people will come and watch. Big crowds, big job, big attraction.

3. Hero status

How hard can it be to win the Carling Cup, for heaven’s sake?

4. Show me the money

Ashley is a billionaire. Remember that scene in Pretty Woman? Mr Hollister: “Just how obscene an amount of cash are we talking about here? Profane or really offensive?” Edward Lewis: “Really offensive.”

5. Could do better

They could not do much worse.