Benwell Lad

Jesus. We had 23 in our last match alone (mind, it was Villa). You wouldn't enjoy watching sunderland. Nobody enjoys watching sunderland. A lot of macums don't even enjoy watching sunderland any more.

A good read. http://onbarrackroad.com/2012/10/16/i-have-friends-who-are-mackems/

Prior to "internet hardmen" like Wireside, and before strict segregation and ticket allocations, i.e. when it was a much more level playing field, Sunderland were generally regarded throughout football as a pushover. Quite cowardly really that they have waited until regulations tipped the odds heavily in their favour before they started mouthing off and picking fights. so true- I used to go to Roker in the 70s and 80s, even went in the away end once when Ipswich were there, we always thought they were a bit of a joke tbh. I was probably in Sunderland parts for more Roker Park derbies than our end. Not for any sinister reason, it's just that our tickets used to sell out instantly (first come first served) and it was always easy to get tickets down there as they never sold out even for the derby games. Remember there being loads of Geordies in there when you arrived but don't really recall any trouble. They just sort of accepted that we'd be in there.

If there is disorder at Sunday's match due to the new area for away fans , then surely Sunderland Football Club and their owner Ellis Short are culpable for going against police safety recommendations and putting self interest before the safety of the general public.

Prior to "internet hardmen" like Wireside, and before strict segregation and ticket allocations, i.e. when it was a much more level playing field, Sunderland were generally regarded throughout football as a pushover. Quite cowardly really that they have waited until regulations tipped the odds heavily in their favour before they started mouthing off and picking fights.

Ok i'll have a go. Without mentioning the years of utter one-sidedness, the sub 20pt relegations, the drubbings.... - None of our players have had to 'tweet' about their own fans racially abusing their mothers - Our current club captain hasn't felt the need to visit sunderland and kick s*** out of parked cars - Our manager hasn't been caught on camera as refusing to denounce bigoted sectarian chanting - Our fans manage to celebrate a derby goal without running onto the pitch to assault the opposition 'Aye but yeez smash up ya phone boxes hahaha bouycoutt 9-1 FTM!!111LOL!' Insignificant tramps Has he apologised for fabricating the story about "referee visit" at half time last season, or can he still be justifiably described as a liar ?

Getting to feel a bit like a school exam. Should pass, but just reaching a point where pass or fail just want it over and out of the way now.

Has there been an outbreak of rabies on Wearside prior to the derby?

I go to Sunderland uni () but travel from Newcastle every day and I know loads of people that do. In general if people from outside the area want to go on a night out or out shopping they'll come through to Newcastle, it's only really the locals that try and tell everyone nightlife in Newcastle is s***. In my 3rd year now and I've been out in Sunderland a grand total of 3 times, it is appauling. There is a reason i'd never been over to Sunderland before I started uni You can just tell the whole place is on its arse, the centre is far closer to Wallsend or Shields highstreet than Newcastle, it really is a dive. Will they be giving you a free ticket for the derby then ?

Geordies may have been taking the piss out of Sunderland for generations but didn't cheeky scouse scallywag comedian John Bishop just sum it up perfectly in a few minutes ;D

One thing for sure, Wonga must be fuckin loving this so far and have probably got their money's worth already. They've certainly picked a "big club" to sponsor if the media interest is anything to go by.

Our friends down the road being paid to support whitewash operation by a company that has exploited some of Africa's poorest people for decades.

Anyone ever had to pay for an un-arranged overdraft with EPL sponsors Barclays ?

I think the issue with these payday loan companies is that they're unreasonable when it comes to those who, either due to stupidity or bad luck, are unable to pay back the amount within the agreed time. So whilst it's reasonable to charge £250 for borrowing £200 for a week, is it really fair to be charging e.g. £600 if the person can't make the repayment until a month after the deadline? It's not like Wonga would turn £200 into £600 by putting the money into a bank. It's undoubtedly extortion. E.g: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=3279644 To put it in context, if high street banks, mortgage lenders, credit card companies, etc, did this when e.g. going over agreed limits or being unable to make payments due to unforseen circumstances, all hell would break lose, even though the exact same arguements of "it's your fault for not being more responsible" could be used. Instead, the majority of us benefit from a degree of protection provided by various regulatory bodies/the government/good practice/etc when it comes to these areas (mortgage holidays, lenders being required to provide assistance where possible, capped overdraft or late payment fees, etc etc). I don't think Wonga are an evil company, or that they should be banned. Just that there needs to be a bit more regulation to protect people who do fall foul of these lenders. Fair comments. I suppose the payday companies would say that all of the extortionate fees are the price of getting a quick no-questions-asked loan in the first place. Which again, people clearly want. And obviously it's the way they try to enforce getting the money back on time. Following on from my earlier comment, it'd be really interesting to see how much of their operating profit is made up of charges from people failing to pay the initial loan back on time. Risk is the primary factor in setting any form of credit or interest payment. Just ask the govenments of Greece,Spain,Ireland,Portugal etc...

The Wonga storm in a tea cup isn't even in the same league as that squalid arrangement.

season-ticket holder, said he wouldn't set foot in SJP again. Dug out an email and asked him if he'd sell me his ST for £50 then. No reply yet... Aye, rather than telling NUFC how to run it's business he might be better off trying to work for his constituents. Sadly his limited intellect means he's doing very little to help them on the national or international stage, so maybe the cheap publicity shots are his best hope of keeping a job.

Noone batted an eyelid when it was Northern Rock. A company that offered 125% mortgages to customers that were allowed to self-certify their incomes. Aye, it's unlikely that Wonga's greed will ever result in a credit crunch which will change the world we live in. Used to like the Blue Star best meself like.

Notice a "Newcastle supporting" local MP jumped on the bandwagon yesterday with a cheap rent-a-quote-buy-a-vote interview. Maybe if he'd been a little more vociferous when Gordon Brown, Ed Balls and Co. were kissing the bankers arses, mortgaging the UK to eternity, ruining the NHS with their PFI's and introducing back door legislation that has made the UK the money laundering capital of the world, then there'd be a lot fewer desperate people needing pay day loans.

Possibly the most intelligent post I've ever seen on here.

But the gambling, alcohol and African exploitation whitewash deals are perfectly OK ?

I wish someone with your common sense had been running our country's economy during the last decade instead of Gordon fucking Brown and then Osborne.

canny macktracking there like

Aye they're a right cosmopolitan bunch of saddos. Saw the same buses on barrack Road - at least 6 from Scotland and all parts of the UK but none that seemed to be from Lancs/Mancs.

Anyone else find it strange that our pisspoor local TV news programmes (supposedly riddled with mackems in their production department) chose to lead with an unsubstantiated story, plagiarized from a national Sunday newspaper article about a supposed sponsorship deal, along with quotes from any unrelated person they could find bothered to make a comment, while none of the supposedly interested parties have made any official comment whatsoever? Even stranger that another football club who have a substantial and confirmed sponsorship deal with what most people believe to be a whitewash operation funded by a company alleged to have a record of dubious dealing and exploitation of some of the planet's poorest people got away scot-free. Perhaps Leveson's recommendations were not intended for north-east news operations.

Disagree. We're below par and having a stuttering start. Although they're dire and the worst team in the PL to watch, they're not below par, they're probably at their par or even above it.