Wandy

It's hardly a bubble. About 95% of people backed the takeover in that survey when the Saudis were trying to get the club. There is already an astronomical amount of people wanting to get back into SJP. We could sell out a 75k stadium right now, and probably even more. The bubble is the tiny minority who don't want the Saudis here. I'd wager that when these people say they are uncomfortable with the ownership, what they mean is that they are uncomfortable with all of the negative reaction that comes from the media & other fanbases. But they say they are "uncomfortable" with the ownership, simply to save face. If people were truly uncomfortable then they simply would stop their usual support of the club until a new ownership came along, it's that simple. My opinion. Personally, not only am I delighted that these people own us, I also get an extra buzz from the insincere wailing from the media & other fanbases about it all. It's the icing on the cake. No NUFC fan should feel guilt or discomfort at our ownership. Look at Man Utd fans, begging for the Qataris to take them over. And they haven't even gone 70 years without a trophy either.

Ask yourself this. How many people in the outside world have you encountered who say they are uncomfortable with the ownership?

You basically just spoke for 99% of the fanbase.

We are in a partnership with the country of Saudi Arabia. They provide us with the funding to rebuild our football club and we provide them with the exposure to help them build a sporting empire, and thus increase their overall power & influence within the western world. I don't have a problem with that at all. Having away kits that mimic the Saudi national team's, and hosting international games that feature their national team, is a very small concession to make. This thread is not an accurate reflection of the overall fanbase. The vast majority are not uncomfortable with these people as club custodians. In fact they very much want them to be here.

I don't know why any NUFC fan goes on there to have a sensible debate about us as they simply are not capable of it. Just log on, then cram into every post as much mockery and piss-taking of them as possible, until the inevitable petty ban drops down on you.

Seeing the way he speaks now, it's very easy to fall into the trap of thinking that he wasn't that bad for us. But the simple fact is that, if Eddie Howe had those players in 2011/12 he'd have got that team into the top 4 in that season, and top 6 for any season after that.

It will be Rigg. Not that surprised he hasn't come here because he'd be miles off a starting place. We could have bought him and loaned him out though.

Their hatred of the Saudis is based on thinly-veiled racism. They've now got a problem with Yasir Al-Rumayyan being addressed as "Your Excellency" by the NUFC interviewer, even though that's his title. You just know that these fuckers are itching to let loose and say that all Saudis are "dirty arabs" or suchlike.

They've blended it into the main thread on Parsnip. I'm genuinely intrugued to see how this lot will react if we start winning stuff. David Attenborough will need to do a documentary on it.

Someone I know went to our game at Spurs and wasn't impressed with the noise. One thing that perplexes me about that place is that it hasnt even got a roof that gives decent cover from the rain. It's like they designed it as if it was situated in Spain. If we get a new stadium then it had better have a proper roof, ie one that goes all the way up to the pitch and also keeps the sound locked in.

The general public will have their say, and there will undoubtedly be NIMBY killjoys who oppose it, but this isnt the debate. The only question that we are asking is whether the fans would want the move.

When you mentioned Chronicle readers and Radio Newcastle listeners etc I assumed you were refering to the general public rather than NUFC supporters.

70k is definitely the sweet spot. As long as the club always shows the ambition to punch its weight, we'd always fill a stadium of that size for league games.

Disagree with that I'm afraid. Season ticket holders, yes. The other sizeable portion of the support who are now locked out may have a different view on it IMO. I don't really give a monkey's what anyone outside of the fanbase thinks about it anyway. Their opinion is irrelevant, it's all about what the support wants that counts here.

These polls are always dubious but even that one shows that more than twice as many people were in approval than those who were opposed. I think the club caved in far too easily back then. If anything now though, the "friends of the park" lot have been more receptive to the move, providing that the club do their bit in bringing the park back to it's former glory.

I think Mehrdad may regret saying that. Anyway my own interpretation of what he said was that the stadium will never leave the city centre.

Did they? First I've ever heard of that mind. Got a link? I will happily stand corrected if so. The circumstances aren't particularly different either. If anything the club was higher in profile back then that it is right now.

For those who weren't around in the 90s, I'd also point out that when John Hall put forward his proposal for the new stadium on Castle Leazes there wasn't a peep of opposition from the fanbase. So if anyone is expecting a surge of protest, if a new super-stadium is proposed, they might get a surprise.

Don't get me wrong, I am in full agreement that the majority of the fanbase at large will pick option 2. I just think that the study will show that the current SJP will never allow the club to reach it's potential and therefore keep up with the other footballing elite. I don't think people realise how big the game might be about to become. The PL is now the unofficial Super League and the top clubs within it could become "Super Clubs". If we want to be one of them, then there may need to be some compromises accepted by the fanbase.

Exactly. People keep coming out with this overly-emotional stuff about moving away from the city centre. It's simply never going to happen. The owners know that the club's primary & unique power lies in the fact that it has a stadium in the heart of the city. They are not going to wreck that.

This is basically it. I will grudgingly accept an expanded SJP that allows an expansion of at least 13k. But in reality we could do so much better with an all-new stadium that is more-or-less on the same site.

I'm talking about the fanbase in general. Not a tiny selection on a football forum.

I could have went with option 2 or 3...but went with 3, because I have a feeling that the feasibility study will show that there are simply too many barriers to making the current SJP into a world class stadium with a significant increase in capacity. I have to say, it's exasperating reading the same old stuff about "losing the matchday experience", even with a move to Leazes Park. It's like people aren't engaging their brain before writing the words. We'd lose NOTHING. You'd use the same transport & route to get to the stadium area, drink in the same pre-match & post-match bars, and have the same walk up to the stadium, albeit with a further 200 yard walk up Barrack Road. I'd bet money that those who want to stay at all costs, already have season tickets.

For the scenery & general ambience I agree, But the actual beaches at Whitley & South Shields are as good. South Shields in particular has a superb beach.

Exactly. Don't get me wrong, Seaburn is nice. But Tynemouth, Whitley Bay & South Shields are equally as nice and would be the first port of call for anyone from Tyneside before going there.