Benwell Lad

I'm not sure if this article is based on fact, i.e. it is cast in stone as official NUFC policy. However what is a fact is that the football transfer market is changing radically and any club which wishes to survive will have to start living in the real world. If the written article really outlines a new policy then good - it sounds quite sensible, but I doubt it would or could be rigidly adhered to as should an exceptional case arise - i.e. an exceptional player at the right price - then we would have to go above the stated amount and it would be foolish not to.

On the surface a draw away from home against one of the league's better teams who are bang in form looks like a decent result. However the performance was woeful with a midfield so pedestrian it was unbelievable. That said I can't agree with some who say Swansea should have hammered us or even beaten us - you can play good football all day but if you've got no killer instinct you don't deserve to win. Positives ? Colo is a class apart in this division and Carroll despite his shortcomings can certainly head a ball if a decent cross is provided.

Another bitter (and fat) mackem journalist putting the knife in to Newcastle while trying so sound like he's on the fans side. What a surprise. Article should be titled "Why Brian McNally's latest ramblings suggest he will never be a decent journalist" Fat lazy c*nt.

Lets face it the run had to end - no one expected it to last forever. I predict a white knuckle ride between now and May. Hold on tight.

Sorry mate, but if Gazza wasn't a "world class player" then I'm still waiting to see one.

the loudest ive ever heard sjp. Was working away and my son had my ST. Remember how excited he was when I called him later.

I can remember that game - it was the first game of the first ever season I saw every home match - aged 10-11 and all in the Leazes End. All this talk about a "singing section " etc - I really wish some of the younger fans could have experienced the old Leazes End. It was on another planet compared to today.

I remember being down at Joker Park as a young 'un and I think we came back from 3-1 down to draw and Ollie Burton was swinging off the cross bar after he scored the equaliser. John MacNamee did the same once and probably Wyn the Leap too.

nufc.com has a great archive section Macca which should be able to pinpoint the match and date for you.

Great Post, well said. And fortunately most people agree with this.

I'm sure people said that about the home tie at Christmas too. But truth is we pretty much did - without scoring - it was one of those strange games. Derby will go for a win tonight and that should mean a better more open game.

I loved the Pink, it was a good read for the first hour or so in the pub, especially the non-league section if I'd scored the previous week. I could have written that myself !

Metro Radio started off going to the games 5 times as that was the limit and then they started doing the full second half before doing the full match. The Pink was about as good as you could get before that. Supporters are spoiled rotten these days. I really miss the Pink, I remember some evenings waiting in a crowd at the newsagent for them to arrive - almost a Saturday evening ritual - or buying one in the pub after the match. It narks me that Sunderland, despite it's shortcomings and a few other smaller towns still publish a Saturday night football paper but big city, football daft Newcastle doesn't. Maybe we need a bring back the Pink campaign.

Was it your English lesson? Beat me to it ! Looks like that caretaker has a lot to answer for.

Remember writing the same in a similar thread a few years ago, but here goes - it's old git time again. First match was January 18th 1964 aged 7, Grimsby Town home won 4-0. I remember someone telling me the Grimsby directors presented a case of fresh fish to teams they visited. I supported them before that (from birth I suppose as there was never going to be an option) and had been nagging me fatha to take me. Went again later that season and we got beat by Bury 4-0 at home - and we think it's been bad lately ! Of course I haven't been to every game since, but I think I have been at every game in spirit, anxiously waiting for news or the result. It's so much easier nowadays. In the old days you knew nothing until the full time scores on telly and sometimes had to wait until the next day for midweek matches. I think the arrival of Metro Radio was the first time away matches were broadcast and we could hear the action live.

Weren't Man United pretty s*** in the years after he first joined Spurs though? Seem to remember spurs were a top 4 club in the late 80s/early 90s and Man U were scrapping around mid-table. Anyway, sorry Gazza like but you've had plenty of second, third, fourth and fifth chances Just wonder if SAF would have been a better mentor for him. Rooney was a bit of a troubled boy when he went there but has matured beyond recognition. Anyway it's all if's and but's and unfortunately Gazza is where he is right now.

He is a real nice guy - maybe too nice - and a very vulnerable person. A living tragedy in some ways. Was the best English player I'd ever seen but Rooney has surpassed him now. Wonder how it may have turned out if he'd gone to ManU instead of Spurs all them years ago ? So Rooney's a better player than Shearer? Or did you just not see him play? It's a bit daft to try and compare two very different players, Shearer was probably the best traditional CF I've seen play but Rooney is the best all round player I've seen. Prior to him it was Gazza. And to answer the other daft question - yes I did see him play.

He is a real nice guy - maybe too nice - and a very vulnerable person. A living tragedy in some ways. Was the best English player I'd ever seen but Rooney has surpassed him now. Wonder how it may have turned out if he'd gone to ManU instead of Spurs all them years ago ?

They're called Bayer Leverkusen by the way... nothing to do with "Bayern" (bavaria) I know only one letter, but still But I think more of Schalke. Came close to win the title few years back, great fans as well. And maybe even Hamburg, also coming close to win the title in recent years and buying "great" players like Van der Vaart and now even past-players like RvN. So they are also a bit similar to us imo. I'd rather be compared to St.Pauli but I may be kidding myself - although we're both top of our 2nd divisions right now and we do have fans who like to party ! The earlier St.Etienne comparison was a good shout too.

In very recent years are. Historically, they are canny massive compared to us. Yeh. I'd say Paris St Germain are more similar (despite their Cup Winners Cup win). And in Germany, Schalke is probably closest. What about Italy?? I can't immediately think of one. Genoa Cricket and Football Club - aka Genoa - springs to mind. Would definitely concur with the Schalke and FC Brann comparisons and in Spain Athletic Bilbao may be worth a shout despite their mackem connections.

But we are when it comes to making an atmosphere. A lot of the supporters in the east stand have been supporting the club longer than most the people in the LC have been alive. Theyve seen it all before and grew out of the shoes off stage years ago, just because they havent got their heads stuck up their arse doesnt make them lesser supporters. It may take a lot to get them excited but dont confuse that with a lack of passion. The LC is a singing section, its hardly any surprise then if they sing more than the rest of the ground. It would be sad reflection on their commitment if they didnt sing, especially as the rules the rest of the ground is subjected to have been significantly relaxed in the LC. Try standing up for more than 30 seconds in the east stand and therell be a steward feeling your collar in no time. All in all the amount of noise generated by the LC is on a par with what you would expect from a singing section and all this were better than everybody else stuff is infantile; creating the impression those in LC are more interested in bragging about how brilliant they are than anything else. Its comes across like its all about them and not actually about supporting the club... hey, look at me, arent I great. LC makes more noise than other parts of the ground and deserves some credit for this, but its also largely populated by kids and has an immature attitude that is starting to grate on the rest of the ground, with the overuse of the your support if f***ing s**** chant being a good example. At the end of the day the demand for a singing section stemmed from a decline in the atmosphere across SJP. The question that has to be asked now is if the LC has helped improve the atmosphere in SJP, or just created a clique of kids who stand in the corner with an overblown sense of their own importance. If its the latter it would be in the interest of NUFC to get rid of it. At the end of the day few of us like to sing in isolation and the influx of family orientated fans resulted in the more vocal supporters being divided into little groups spread across the ground. So when the singing section was created it was understandable that some chose to move up to LC and the safety in numbers it offers, while others decided to stay put and support the team in parts of the ground where supporters who want to sing are outnumbered by more bashful supporters. Unfortunately, the exodus of singers to the LC has made the problem across the ground worse. Not all of those in the LC moved up there of course, the ultras had been knocking around L7 long before Mr Ashley saw an opportunity to shift tickets for the crap seats/reduce policing costs. Perhaps if improving the atmosphere had been his motivation wed have ended up with a singing section that invigorated the whole ground instead of the divisive influence the LC seems to be becoming. This post may seem like a criticism of the lads and lasses in the LC but its not. I go up there sometimes and by and large theyre a good bunch who support the team well. It is though a heads up to those who are quick to slag off the loyal supporters who have filled the other 35,000 seats this season. What would the atmosphere be like if there were only a few thousand home fans in the far corner of the ground? How would the team respond to playing at a virtually empty stadium? Top post, sums up this strange situation perfectly.

Geordie lad from Gateshead I think, been in the game decades as player and manager. I was really surprised when I found out Alan Carr was his son.

Theirs too much dross in the PL this season and that will cushion their inadequacies. This is about the third time recently they've made significant investment in the playing side of things and yet they never seem to make any progress at all.

how the mighty have fallen. Gallagher, Milburn, Cole, Beardsley, Shearer, McDonald etc AND Best forgetting shinton,rafferty,clarke,macdonald (rob),shoulder. Just what I was thinking too. I need a set of those rose-tinted memory specs. We almost forgot Mitchell (Kenny that is), Pingel, Riley and if we're going as far back as Hughie and Jackie we may as well throw in Barry Thomas and Ron McGarry as well.

If you go to matches or buy merchandise, you are just as responsible - if you don't like the system, boycott it...but how many will ? As for the 'Free Market', what about the Zils that the hierarchy in the Soviet Union used to ride around in whilst the plebs were making do with the oh-so-reliable Moskvitch ?? Fans of Socialism are like St Augustine - 'Oh Lord, give me chastity - but don't give it YET..!' They want it to happen, but not for themselves. Yeah your right, social reform is a bad idea. Lets ban the minimum wage in this country while we are at it that way we might even be able to afford to give the corporations CEO,s and the bankers a bit more on their bonuses, poor souls. Who mentioned Bankers ? However, it has obviously escaped your notice that the politicians(including those pretending to be 'On the Left')have wrecked the UK by making its economy dependent on Financial Services - what the hell else do you think has allowed the current shower to keep spending money on non-jobs to keep them in power, other than the huge tax revenues the Chancellor has been picking up from the spivs in the City of London ? The Germans(and the French)have kept - and subsidised - their basic industries while UK companies were being merrily sold off to the highest bidder...WITH the approval of BOTH major UK political parties. Wake up and smell the coffee mate - the Asian nations like China & India are making stuff at a FRACTION of the costs in the West because of low wages, and unless outsourcing is stopped that will continue to wreak havoc on Western jobs. EVERYONE in Europe or USA that wants cheap goods is to blame because they BUY them... If you feel that strongly about exploitation of the workers, DON'T buy cheap goods from China etc...trouble is, you'll have a bit of a job finding similar products made in the West that are anywhere near the price for the same quality... Over to you......go on, tell me I'm wrong.... Best post I've read this year. Nowt much to do with Ashley but sums up very succinctly why the UK is f*cked. I.E. a vastly bloated public sector created by politicians who want to be re-elected and financed by tax revenues from the now much maligned banking sector, which afore mentioned politicians turned a blind eye to when it was getting out of control becuase it was paying for the vastly bloated public sector............................... and so on.