The role of an assistant manager in a football club is to stay in the shadows and help the manager implement his style better, but it doesn’t appear that Newcastle United coach Jason Tindall got that message.
According to Football Twitter, the 45-year-old might be suffering from a major case of ‘main character syndrome’.
This word is defined as ‘when someone thinks that they are playing the lead role in a fictional version of their life,’ as almost like they are the protagonist in a movie.
Tindall has been buddies with Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe since the two used to play for AFC Bournemouth back in the early 200s and the two have been as thick as thieves ever since.
Tindall worked alongside Howe during his esteemed years at AFC Bournemouth, with the two taking the Cherries from the depth of League One to Premier League promotion in 2015.
He actually worked as Bournemouth’s manager when Howe was sacked in 2020, but was sacked midway through the 20/21 season. After working a bit at Sheffield United, he re-united with Howe at Newcastle in November 2021.
What are the Jason Tindall ‘main character’ memes?
He has helped Howe in implementing major changes and help the Magpies qualify for the UEFA Champions League.
Despite being the second-in-command to the Englishman, it appears that the former Bournemouth just can’t resist the temptation of making himself the centre of attention.
Fans started notice through the course of the 2022/23 season that Tindall kept on forcing the spotlight on himself.
— Jason Tindall desperate to be centre of attention (@jasontindall_) May 7, 2023
This included him trying to greet the opposition managers before or after matches ahead of Howe and even getting too up-close in the manager’s dugout during Newcastle’s matches.
A Twitter account even made it a routine to track the exact moments in which Tindall tried to become the main character and force himself in front of the Newcastle manager.
— Jason Tindall desperate to be centre of attention (@jasontindall_) May 18, 2023
It seems that he’s continued that trend through this season too. In a recent pre-season friendly game between Chelsea and Newcastle, Howe caught up with Mauricio Pochettino to enjoy a pre-game chat.
Out of nowhere, Tindall popped into the picture to start conversing with the Argentine and making sure that the cameras caught his presence.
On most occasions, opposition managers seem to be fine with interacting with the Newcastle assistant coach ahead of Howe.
However last season, the-then Bournemouth manager Gary O’Neill totally left Tindall hanging and shook hands with Howe instead after their match.
Jason Tindall earns Mad Dog moniker
The ‘Jason Tindall Main Character’ meme caught up so much fire that in an interview, Sky Sports straight up asked Howe about if he’s seen his buddy’s antics and his thoughts on it.
He replied: “We’ve spent the last half hour having a laugh with him about certain things he’s been sent. It’s crazy how social media can create these things.
“He’s a good looking guy so when people take pictures of him he gives off a good smile. He’s an energetic personality and definitely more extrovert than I am – that’s why we work well together but at his core he’s a serious coach and he wants to be successful. He has his roles and responsibilities and he does those very well. I’ve heard this Mad Dog nickname and to be fair we have started to call him that now so we have good fun in the coaches’ room about it.”
Tindall’s responsibilities at Newcastle is to work with individual players and help them understand the way Howe wants them to play. He’s often in charge of training sessions, where he oversees everything that is happening.
Despite most fans on social media hating his overly-zealous personality, it appears that Tindall is actually quite popular with the Newcastle fans and was seen taking a lot of pictures with them after a recent pre-season clash.
Twenty past 9 here in Philadelphia, #NUFC are flying back to Atlanta tonight… If the fans let Jason Tindall out of the stadium 🏴🏳️ pic.twitter.com/JAcKaw4dq5
Howe doesn’t seem to mind his friend’s desire to be the main character, mostly because he runs how Newcastle plays and operates on the pitch.
Tindall doesn’t seem fazed by all the memes of being the ‘main character’ and knowing his supposed love for the attention, he’s only going to keep fuelling them with more such antics going forward.
