Wandy

My memory is coming back to me now. I remember that I was actually at this game, but also taped it on the video recorder & then watched it when I got home. The firework definitely went off in the West Ham corner of the Leazes and I can remember the massive plume of smoke that came from there. No idea if it was the West Ham fans who actually set it off or if one of our lot threw it in there though. Someone can correct me on this if I'm wrong, but I'm sure it was mentioned at the time that this game was the first ever NUFC home match to be broadcast live on TV. Seems incredible that, since it was only late-1986.

Found it already. Goes off at 14:22, and aye it was as loud as I remember. Brian Moore talking about a firecracker in the "corner of the ground", smoke, photographers and ambulance men in attendance. Still sounds more like a f'king bomb to me even now. Ah, the good old 80s.

This is the game I was talking about. I will have to watch it when I get the chance to see when the bang went off.

I'm going to thoroughly enjoy this result, but won't get carried away by it in the slightest. In our 28 seasons of PL football that lot were by far the worst team we have ever played in this league. It was an utter embarassment from them, and like a training match. Should build momentum for us nicely though.

Fawning. Give over man. I couldn't care less about Bin Salman or Saudi policies one way or the other. The issue is far too complicated for me as a football fan to waste valuable time on. What I do know though is that, having regularly experienced the UK media at first hand, that I fucking loathe them, hence why I found Bin Salman's withering comments towards them amusing. I also know that the Saudis have been regarded as a key ally of the UK for decades by successive governments, therefore if their money and assistance is welcomed by our leaders then I'm not going to grumble or protest about investment from them into NUFC either.

Fucking hell, our lot had better not even contemplate such a system here. Makes you wonder how they have maintained a decent away following.

Man Utd fans started up FC United because of the parasitic nature of the Glazer takeover, nothing to do with them being a global brand...which they became long before the Glazers arrived. Scouse Liverpool fans do not complain about their global fanbase or LFC becoming a brand. They have largely appreciated FSG and only turned on them during the Super League debacle.

What? ? How exactly have I defended them then?

You still used the term "minority" though, which indicates that most of their support still feel the same connection. The truth is that "connection" with a club comes when it is doing its very best to fulfil it's potential. Who the owners are at that time is largely irrelevant to most fans.

They don't set the policy but they have the best chance of influencing it. I'm not saying that the Trust don't have a difficult job to do but unfortunately they need to do a lot better with this. Man Utd's plastic support is one of the drawbacks of their success and the last thing we should be trying to emulate.

Right. So what are the trust going to do about it?

You never hear Man Utd and Man City fans living in Manchester complaining that their success has resulted in them "losing" their club, and you never hear it from Scousers living in Liverpool either.

I have nothing against scrutiny but the whole concept of sportswashing is a load of bollocks. Its a term that was probably invented by a bored western-based journalist with a superiority complex, conveniently ignoring all of the ills of western society. If sportswashing was an actual policy by the Saudis then its doing a pretty terrible job. Instead of cleansing their image and helping people forget about all of the controversial policies they deploy, it's actually drawn far more scrutiny and criticism of those policies. The truth is that they don't give a monkey's what the west thinks of them, hence Bin Salman's remarks the other day. Their actions are all about power play, getting a strong foothold in world politics and securing the long-term future of their country. Whether people in the west like their methods of doing this is neither here nor there to them.

Saudi ownership doesn't bother me in the slightest but I would never try to defend their regime. Not gonna lie though, I chortled when I read that quote from Bin Salman about sportswashing the other day. Anyone who basically tells the western media to go fuck themselves gets a thumbs up from me.

Wasn't there a similar incident in the live-on-TV home game v West Ham in 1986 when we won 4-0? I wasn't actually at that game but watched it on the telly, and midway through the game there was a massive bang that went off, and apparently it was in the West Ham end once again.

It's not about the timeline, but rather the actual commitment. For instance if, after they have conducted this feasibility study, they announce an official proposal to extensively rebuild SJP or build an all-new stadium but state that the work won't start until after 2028 then that would be fine. But if they alternatively state that the study indicated that it's not worth spending a lot of money for an extra 15k seats so they just decide to tart up the current SJP somewhat, then that to me will not show an ownership that truly wants to be "number one" and so I'd expect them to start thinking of when their exit would happen.

How they tackle stadium redevelopment will give a very clear signal of what their true intentions are for NUFC, and how long they plan to stick around for. The simple fact is that the development & modernisation of SJP, or a whole new stadium, will require a colossal amount of money. If, in the end, they decide to do a modest upgrade of the current stadium then that will confirm to me that they only plan on fixing the club up somewhat & then flipping it on. The bottom line is that the club needs probably at least a billion in infrastructure development, through stadium expansion/modernisation and a state-of-the-art training complex, to truly bring themselves alongside what Man City & Liverpool currently have. If none of this happens I expect them to have moved on within the next 5 years or so.

The comments section on Craig Hope's youtube reaction video is absolute AIDS. Do we really have so many wankers in our ranks? Doesn't bear thinking about what this lot will be like in a few years' time.

I will give them the benefit of the doubt for now, but if they don’t change the system by next season whereby they decide where you sit after a ballot win then I won’t be buying another membership. Won the ballot for the City cup game but it’s in Level 7, row X….exactly where I didn’t want to be as I imagine it’s right near the back row? Just as well it’s only cost £40 for two tickets because I’d be livid if it had cost the best part of £100 for these.

It’s a great point in the grand scheme of things. This team still has last season’s character in abundance, but the lack of any creativity is a real concern. Proud of them overall though, they gave it 100% effort, no doubt about that. Hopefully the performances will improve now that we have some easier-looking league fixtures coming up. I’m really not sure why Eddie wanted Tonali so badly at this point though. It seems that him and Bruno are best suited to the exact same position so Tonali just looks awkward right now where he is currently played.

I’m hearing from friends who were there in Milan tonight that pre-match atmosphere amongst our lot was good but support at the game was crap. Sigh.

One of the most important changes that needs to happen is that fans need to be able to choose where they sit within the various categories. The NUSC and NUST need to be feeling the heat to get this sorted, amongst all of the other ticketing farces going on.

Just seen this too.. Empty seats? This ticketing situation is shambolic.

What was it like yesterday then? I'm abroad at the moment but watched it in a bar, albeit with the sound switched off ffs, so couldn't get a feel of how the crowd were, until the ending minutes when people finally looked animated? I've read a few reports though that said the place was quiet.

Sorry, yeah I meant the Gallowgate corner. Yeah they never stopped all game. And I thought the songbook was pretty varied too. There were some songs that I have never even heard before.