You're right I remember this being a talking point a long time ago, maybe 2005/2006 time.
At the time St James' Park was hostile. Players were booed, moans at misplaced passes were huge. We were one of the first to do it to that ugly extent really and we got a reputation because of that. Then 2 or 3 years later every other set of fans in the country were doing it and we'd toned it right down. Still, we kept our reputation and the likes of Arsenal who turned quite vile for a spell didn't get one at all.
You rarely hear Spurs fans chastised for wanting Mourinho out for taking them nowhere and playing dour football.