pinkeye

Just been on for a look, it took 1 minute to get to the site and about 500 seats left dotted around.

The queue moves much quicker than the timer on the website, I went out for a while as I was not expecting to be in until 11:30... when I came back at 11:05 I was already in. Absolutely tons of availability for both games. Looks like there is no on-line queue at all now... I just tested by logging in and went straight to the ticket area.

I just joined the queue. Almost 7000 people ahead of me and close to an hour wait. I only wanted to buy my three season ticket seats... haha... think if they are not available when I get to the front of the queue I might not bother...

Sorry if you're experiencing this. I have not seen anything like it. Frankly I am massively grateful that I have my season tickets - I quit when Bruce was appointed and didn't go for two years. For some strange reason I decided one morning before last season started that I was going to get the tickets out again, a quick check and I found the same three seats I always had in the East Stand were available so I bought them. I then spent 3 months regretting what appeared to be a stupid move until the great news of the take over. I am massively grateful that I did not have to go through what you guys did on Tuesday trying to get a ticket from a very limited release, the feeling of relief when the take over went through and my tickets were secure was amazing. The people around where I sit ribbed me quite a bit about being the luckiest guy in the NE.... I am all for the ground being extended to allow more fans to get tickets, I would even accept a season of disruption of not being able to use my tickets if the East Stand was "under construction" as long as it lead to a greater better and larger stadium for us all.... I am quite against a move from the current location, I would be OK with the ground being shifted slightly towards Leazes Park and even could get used to the idea of it being located where the Arena is now although I would rather it wasn't.... 100% against the rumour of us being interested in Long Benton on the site of the HMRC offices, that would be the worst possible solution.

hahaha, Gayle literally stood in front of the Gallogate doing the "going up - going down" it was a beautiful moment!

Also there is a new club in Birtley, ProSport - I can link you to one of their coaches but, I dont know if they have any really young teams currently

Felling Magpies - good set up Redheugh - good set up Leam Rangers - ? dont know much about them ? Wrekington Nu Camp - good s set up Rutherford - ? dont know much about them ? All near by to Gateshead area. My boy went through Felling Magpies since the age of 6 till 16... No complaints that I would bore any of you with, just the usual club politics but, the Chairman is doing an outstanding job there and really growing the club to offer brilliant facilities to boys and girls. Recently got their own pitches at Wardley. There is a team or two that plays out of Birtley, have the pitches near to the Leisure Centre, also a couple from Chester-Le-Street. If you are flexible and open to travel to Felling, then I would really recommend Felling Magpies!

I used to love the summer time festival / tournaments... nice long day out and tons of matches running at the same time. Great fun. As I said we are done with the Grassroots now so nothing for us over the summer. Instead it is the semi-serious business of a pre-season with the Men's Football Academy at Park View. They plan to have 4 teams of varying ability from the first team that plays in the National Youth League through to the 4th team that is made up of kids that just like to play football but, are not especially talented. As such I have been pushing Joseph to train (mainly running) all summer so far so he maintains some fitness, it would be rough to go to pre-season to find the rest of the lads way ahead of him in fitness. He is aiming to play for the first team, naturally. They play under the banner of Huddersfield Town for some reason connected to one of the coaches. Luckily for him he is a gym addict and in great shape, he will get his cardio fitness up to standard easily. The pre-season starts on 1 August so still a month to go!

Little note for the ones on here who have kids age 4 or 5 wanting to get into football. Felling Magpies run a scheme called Little Kickerz every Wednesday for this age group. Run by properly vetted coaches with the correct qualifications. I was looking at some photos they posted on the Felling Magpie FB page from last night and it looks great!!

Good luck to all those who are trying for a season ticket today.

Lineker claiming to have been racially abused because he has dark skin???? What an absolute pile of steaming shite, the massive sunbed gimp!

We need to have a pretty successful season in this coming one - a European place would be amazing - if we are to start to be more attractive to the top players that we are all keen to sign. Of course from our - fans - perspective, being safe with 40+ points before we head into the final stages of the season would be tremendous. It all depends on perspective and what the long / mid term goals are for our owners and directors.

Wonder how I could become a football agent.... it seems to be a license to print money for yourself...

It says one ticket per supporter number number, not per person. Theoretically if you gather all your mates numbers into one call you can buy them all at the same time and hopefully either together or close by each other. Assuming you get in the queue early enough. I anticipate some very disappointed people though...

The best teams my son played against were the ones that were organized and that passed the ball around effectively. If a child is taught that from an early age, especially to pass then move into some space then they will run rings round most teams they come across in the future. The number of times you see a pass made but, the passer stay in the same spot as if to say "well, that's my bit done!" I always encouraged Joseph to be on the look out for a return pass and to make himself available whenever possible... He was one of the kids, I think like HTT's lad, that seems to take as much delight in setting up someone to score with a great through ball or movement as he would in scoring himself.

Yup, had personal experience of this with my lad and it is rotten....

One thing I learned quickly to not do was to provide a full critique of the match Joseph had just played while in the car on the way home, even at a young age they know what went well and what went badly for them. Kids really do not need us to be going through it all again over and over especially if they feel they could have done something in the match better. I used to do this and realised it was not helping at all - in fact it was starting to make him more nervous as he thought I was watching and judging all the time. Instead after every game, no matter what, I told him that I really loved to watch him play and that I thought he did really well. It was then up to him if he wanted to discuss any aspect of the game afterwards, as he got older he did.. in great detail. It was remarkable how much of the overall game they register and recall afterwards, small transitions in play that went well or badly... give them a chance to talk and you will be surprised. As he got even older, say above 14, and he was a better player than I ever was then my opinion seemed to be pretty irrelevant anyway.... haha!

Goal keeper at kids level is sometimes a tough position to fill - at least with a competent pair of hands. While my son, let's call him Joseph for the sake of that being his name, was in younger age groups the keeper was always the fat kid (and I say that without being rude or rotten) who wanted to play football but, was just so uncoordinated that it was impossible. Playing in goal meant he could still be with his mates and not be a hinderance. Dont get me wrong, it is much better for a kid to be involved in some way regardless of ability than to be excluded and I would welcome all abilities into my team if I had one. We have been with managers who made the game all about them and winning was the perfect massage for their own ego which meant the kids who needed the most game time in order to develop actually got the least. Joseph played under a manager at the age of 6 who simply wanted all the best kids from the area and ended up with a squad of around 20 for a 5 or 6 a side game. It was crazy... Joseph didnt get any game time whatsoever.... I asked the guy one time what was going on and why he kept on bringing in more kids while the ones who were there were not being played and I was blasted by him... he is not doing this so I could have a go at him, I really wasn't. he does this for the kids, bullshit..... I realised that we had to leave, the atmosphere was as toxic as hell anyway with the other parents being competitive to try to get their own kid noticed. Remember this was a 6 years old. Joseph really suffered from loss of confidence for at least a year after that, this is why I am so supportive of Tyneside Futsal, we took him along to that and the coaches ( I think it was the owner at first whose sessions he went to) were fantastic. They teach the kids individual and close ball skills. In futsal it is often more about holding the ball and going past other players using extraordinary skills rather than passing as a team game, that comes later. We stayed with the futsal for 6 years, while also playing for Felling Magpies on the weekend. The progression and development was amazing, I watched Joseph become a really strong, quick, two footed player with some really clever tricks that were ahead of his years, in my opinion. Wallsend Boys Club came much later, he just wanted to play on a Sunday as well as a Saturday so I called them and asked if he could join. He had to trial to be even considered but, they took him after just one session and he played their right until this last season as team Captain. I just loved watching him and the teams he played for, it is a treat that I will cherish for all of my life. I have watched pretty troubled kids gain confidence and develop, not only as sportsmen but, also as individuals. I can think of several team mates of Josephs who would not look me in the eye if I spoke to them and their answers were pretty much grunts turn into confident boys that would start conversations with me and come over to ask me about things. More so as they reached 15 and 16 we would talk about what they wanted to do next - after school etc. Great times and I am going to miss it terribly. Those of you with young ones who have just started or beginning their grassroots journey, please enjoy it, really enjoy it... it is over so quickly and it is the best chance you will ever have to properly connect with your kids.

Up until the age of 11 or 12 boys and girls can play in mixed teams. I think it does the girls well to play with slightly more physically imposing players as well...

The biggest issue I can see with girls football is for clubs to have enough players to make a team. They can all start at U6 level but, every club I have ever had any association with has always been desperate to get more players in. Wallsend Boys Club have a great set up for the girls, I think they even call it Wallsend Girls Club but, I couldn't tell you what age groups they have. I can direct you to one of the coaches who is specifically involved with the girls coaching there if you are really interested.

Haha, the parents of the next Lionel Messi.... they can be awful. I have seen it with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears... More than anything I am genuinely embarrassed for them for making such a scene or for their astonishing lack of knowledge on all matters relating to football or even - in some cases - life itself. I also mentioned that now that my weekends are free again I am giving some consideration to giving it a try myself to volunteer to coach or maybe even do the referee course. I have a thick enough skin to put up with the insults and comments from people who are nothing short of idiots and I really feel that I want to give something back to Grassroots as it has given me so much joy for so long! I just need to assess how much spare time I have to play with.

Heaton Hawks are a one of the better clubs in the area, a couple of my sons friends played there in this last U16 season. Sadly the U16 team this year was not as successful as they have been previous years and looked poor by their former standards. Many factors can be brought into play here but, the main one is by the time the lads are 16 they usually have some, let's call them, outside interests and consequently girls / drinking seems to be more of a priority. Heaton lost a couple of their better players through this loss of interest and that hurt them. To your point though, at 8 years old it is absolutely fabulous to watch the kids. They develop so quickly and it is possible to pick out the ones who are slightly stronger, slightly quicker and more "aware" even that that young age. Not that I am a fan of this academy system of plucking kids out at that age group. Football should be first and last a game that the kids love, no way should they be put under pressure so young. Or for that matter any age really.

You should track down Tyneside Futsal, my son spend 6 years with one of their coaches and I can personally vouch for their professionalism, integrity and putting the child first.

That is such a great point. Wallsend Boys Club attracted tons of private ventures offering football "academy" type experiences which they would align with Newcastle College to offer a B-Tech in Sport. My son did B-Tech in sport between year 10 and 11.... this is not a great start to their adult life post education. Hence my son chose the school because he can sit A Levels albeit it will be tough for him as all of the spare time he would usually have to work in the common room will now be spent training and playing football, he will have to work really hard to be successful at both the school and the sport but, he recognised that already!

True enough but, they are not all bad. Just some of them! :-)