A shambles. That remains the overwhelming opinion about Newcastle United among outside observers following this summer's events at St James' Park.

It is easy to understand why, for reasons we will explore, and shambles it could yet prove at a dysfunctional club so prone to disarray.

Talk to those closest to the dressing-room, however, and all is okay. Some are even suggesting the mood is better for a change of manager, that the atmosphere around Steve Bruce's training ground is lighter and more relaxed compared to that of Rafa Benitez's regime.

For Steve Bruce and his Newcastle players, their season rests on an uncomfortable knife-edge

Such opinion, of course, will jar with a large number of supporters. Those, for example, who will boycott Sunday's opening game at home to Arsenal in protest at Mike Ashley's running of their club, an uprising motivated by the loss of Benitez, fuelled by the arrival of Bruce and underpinned by a mistrust of the owner.

As ever on Tyneside, the climate is turbulent, the situation fragile. Even before a ball has been kicked there is a feeling this season could unravel very quickly, accelerated by those who are waiting - and wanting - to turn on Ashley and, by extension, Bruce.

Those people do exist, you cannot deny that and, equally, there is justification to their cause. Listen to the argument of the Empty for Ashley movement - a collective of 10 supporter groups leading the boycott - and they will detail the owner's neglect and lack of ambition and how, for them, losing Benitez has been the final straw. In a statement this week they warned Ashley that 'this will not blow over'.

So when Bruce says he will be judged on results, never has that oldest of footballing cliches felt more true. In the short-term, he needs wins simply to maintain a ceasefire, and that is a daunting task with five of last season's top six to play before the end of October.

Fail to win any of the first 10 matches, as Benitez did last season, and they will be calling for Bruce to go, of that there is no doubt. Benitez had so much goodwill in the bank that the home support never once turned on the manager inside the stadium, even if there were occasional murmurings of discontent in the city's pubs afterwards.

Some Newcastle fans will boycott Sunday's opening Premier League game against Arsenal

Fans are protesting Mike Ashley's running of their club, motivated by the loss of Rafa Benitez

But there was also, it must be noted, a narrative that emerged during the final 12 months of Benitez's reign at odds with a boss who could do no wrong in the eyes of supporters.

There were voices, close to the club, who spoke of Benitez refusing to spend money when the hierarchy were willing to invest, only for the Spaniard to later publicly bemoan the lack of ambition.

We have been told that one such deal from last summer involved Maxi Gomez, the Uruguay striker who recently joined Valencia from Celta and was wanted by West Ham for around £44m.

Ashley said as much in his interview with the Daily Mail last month, but those same sources insist that nothing was ever enough for Benitez.

They also claim the club will be better off without his agitating and politicking. Again, not a popular opinion in these parts, but an interesting one nonetheless.

That Benitez then went to China, having previously been so sceptical of such a move, has also left a sour taste among many in and around the club.

Benitez, who was adored by Magpies fans, departed for Dalian Yifang in the summer

Ashley says he could have done nothing more to keep Benitez, and maybe that is true, maybe it's not. But either way, you cannot dress up his departure as being anything other than detrimental to results on the pitch. On that front, he delivered, keeping a squad little more than decent in the Premier League for two seasons following promotion.

So even if some of that group do prefer Bruce's man-management, the loss of Benitez's tactical nous and attention to detail - not to mention the 23 goals of Salomon Rondon and Ayoze Perez - can only leave them weaker.

Newcastle have reacted to that deficit in goals with the club-record signing of Brazilian striker Joelinton (£40m) and French winger Allan Saint-Maximin (£16m), and the early signs are promising, certainly in the case of the former. Then there is the return of Andy Carroll, a rare PR masterstroke from the Magpies.

And supporters like new signings, especially ones who score goals and wear the No 9 jersey. So if Bruce does make a winning start against Arsenal, and throw in a goal for Joelinton, then St James' will be bouncing, you cannot escape that. There will be no sign of protest or unrest. That is just the way it is up here, and history has proven as much.

The majority - yes, the majority - want to go the match on a Saturday afternoon and cheer a winning team, or at least one that gives their all. Either side of that they want to debate the good, the bad and the ugly over a pint in a city for which the football club remains the biggest and most important institution.

Newcastle will be hoping club-record signing Joelinton will turn into a fan favourite

The return of striker Andy Carroll is a rare PR masterstroke from the Premier League outfit

That willingness to support their team is not a weakness, it is what should make Newcastle United so strong.

Yes, their dedication has been pushed to the limit under Ashley's ownership and a bad run of results in the coming weeks will quickly lead to toxicity and civil war - that is the other side of the coin with such an intense following - but if their team is winning and the likes of Joelinton emerge as a new favourite, or Geordie midfielder Sean Longstaff continues his meteoric rise, then Newcastle supporters will attend and they will support.

Take last season's 2-1 win over Manchester City, at a time when terrace mutiny was in the air. St James' was red hot on that freezing January night and a new wave of protests were quickly washed away.

Sadly, for the militant protesters intent on making a stand, these things do blow over as long as there is something to get behind on the pitch. Again, recent history tells us that.

And Bruce's cause is not impossible, far from it. We have already stated that the team is weaker without Rondon and Perez, but the addition of Joelinton is an exciting one. Behind that they have a solid midfield, defence and goalkeeper. Finding a new way to score goals is the key, and Bruce knows that.

Matt Ritchie, however, caused a stir among some fans this week when he called for unity and said that he could not understand the threat of supporter revolt.

Matt Ritchie caused a stir when he said he could not understand the threat of a fan revolt

'I don't understand the unrest, I've got to be honest,' said the midfielder. 'The club has gone out, we've spent money, we're pushing and trying to compete with the teams we can compete with.'

Ritchie has also made positive sounds about Bruce, as have others, on and off the record. The new head coach is a likeable man. A decent man. There is, you have to say, little mourning for Benitez, despite the respect he commanded among the players.

They, like most footballers, have moved on. They care only for what is ahead, not behind. They are impressed by the new signings and management team.

There is, they would argue, no sense of their preparations having been a shambles, despite concern during those managerless weeks earlier this summer. And it is those on the pitch who, ultimately, will determine the success or failure of this season.

So crisis club? Shambles? Not yet. But for Bruce and his players this new season already rests on an uncomfortable knife-edge - never have results been more pertinent.

P.S. There is no Dubai takeover and several sources have suggested there never was once it became apparent, to those inside the club, that the group's motivation for publicity was, well, publicity. A takeover will happen one day and we won't know anything about it. Until then, file it all under fabrication, falsehood and fantasy.