THE most extraordinary aspect of the breakaway football club’s attempts to form a European Super-League is that they backed down so quickly.

True, there was almost unanimous criticism and total condemnation of the plans, but you would have thought they would have hung together for at least a couple of days so that they could wring some concessions out of Uefa before rejoining the fold.

Perhaps the super-rich foreign chairmen are a spineless lot: they didn’t even dare put up a spokesman to explain their plans.

The big question now is whether football can take the impetus provided by the outburst of fan power and use it to reform the game.

The uproar has shown how distant the club owners have grown from the grass roots supporters. In Germany, where clubs did not join the breakaway, fans own 51 per cent of a club and so can prevent it from turning its back on them.

Another suggestion is a “golden share” where fans can veto a proposition by the club owner.

It is to be hoped that football can now seize this momentum and bring some democracy and accountability to club ownership. Certainly Newcastle fans will be hoping that big change is in the air.