PISTON
Striker
I don't think he was a die hard either, he swayed more towards Newcastle but he came from an era where it was quite common to have a fondness for all North East teams. Also leaving the area as a young man meant he never would have had the same level of support as a common fan would.
I'm not so sure about this tarnished view of the club and fans. He was an intelligent man and I doubt that he would let a minority of supporters who called for his head overshadow the majority who didn't. Look how he was treat by England fans and the F.A, disgracefully but would he let this effect his patriotism and love for the national team ? of course not.
agree with the first part and its highly unlikely he racked up thousands of motorway miles following either club. it's similar to steve bruce and most other professionals who claim to support a club when in reality it would be almost impossible to "support" once a career takes off.
maybe it didn't tarnish his view with all but i got a sense that he was a bit uneasy when amongst the fans. maybe it just put an element of doubt in his mind after once being a 100% hero he must've known that many weren't totally behind him. the time i met him he was smiling and nodding etc but you could see he didn't really want to slow up.
not that it means much but he stopped and talked to me for 10 minutes.