ABSTRACT
The defensive weakness of Newcastle United must be seen structurally and systemically, as a symptom of something more than the deficiencies of individual players. The defence, and the club, was carrying too much weight of expectation and emotional investment. The shipyards and the cranes were part of an evocative and historically resonant urban landscape–the site of the yard was the location of over two thousand years of industrial history. Change was of course inevitable, and loss had to be faced, but this did not mean that the irreplaceable engineering traditions which had sustained the yard could not be put to good use. The shipyard served as a good symbol of a wider process of loss, as a ship was a creative and highly visible and concrete product of labour. As the sun set over the yards the famous but underachieving football team were stirring again.
