Wandy

Yeah but my point was that if those private investors make a big success of Man Utd, might PIF think that there is no need for SA to own two PL clubs. I hope that the Qataris get MUFC as it would just intensify the rivalry between the two nations and therefore the two clubs.

Looking extremely likely that Man Utd will be the next oil takeover as the Qataris have apparently put their bid in, and a Saudi consortium also about to hoy a bid in. Must admit that them also having Saudi owners makes me a bit nervous for our own future. Would it be compromised? If Man Utd do better than us under a Saudi consortium then would PIF lose interest in us?

I want them back in League One, never mind the PL, and would happily never play them again. As shit as they usually are when in the top league, it's killing their frail little egos not even being able to play in it, and its also hurting them that they don't even have the opportunity to take us on. The longer they stay out of the PL, the smaller they get as a club. And they know it.

Both years it was a case of hoping for an upset, but knowing that this was unlikely. We were unfortunate in that we played the PL Champions in both games. We didn't lay a glove on either of them and they never got out of second gear to beat us. This game should, in theory, be a lot closer. They are currently better than us in midfield and attack but the margins are a lot closer than they were back then. So while in those days a win was pretty much a fantasy scenario, this time we have a fighting chance.

A member of my family just got the same call and now has a ticket. I tried to get it off him but he's not having any of it.

Completely agree with every point. 60,000 isn’t enough, 70,000 is the sweet spot but we could also fill 75k+ if we established ourselves as a club that wins trophies in every decade.

West Ham fans are only unhappy about the move because the design of the London Stadium is horrendous for watching football. A properly designed football stadium with a 70K+ capacity could still be a brilliant venue to experience a game.

You can say that for any club though, including Man Utd.

Watch these shithouses be the ones to end the unbeaten run and do the double over us. Would gladly take a draw to go into the final not on a total downer. I'd also really love to beat them as, after the Mackems, these lot have taken our takeover the worst.

It's definitely the case that in the coming years we are going to have an element in our fanbase that is one of the worst in the country. Let's just hope that they are a very small minority and the majority can keep these tools firmly in their box. However I do think that most fans now have their eyes and hearts on the final, so a performance like that tonight has got people panicking. Today was absolutely turgid but the nature of the performance was unlike any other we have seen under Eddie Howe. We were genuinely dreadful in almost every outfield position. Let's just hope it's largely down to some subconscious nervous energy leading up to the final because we couldn't string two passes together out there tonight, and if we do that again in the next two matches we will get mullered. I'm not that bothered about a top 6 finish compared to winning the cup so I'd gladly take one last heroic performance of the season to win the cup, and therefore sacrifice any kind of Europe-qualifying league position.

He is finished here, and is fast turning into one of the most overrated players to wear the shirt. His runs contribute nothing because the final ball or shot are absolutely shit and he regularly loses the ball or misplaces a pass. Will be playing for someone like Palace next season if he is lucky.

That was absolutely atrocious.

What a shambles that was, easily our worst 45 under Eddie. They all look absolutely gassed.

Interesting thoughts, and yeah I agree about the accoustics problem of taking the current Gallowgate roof off and replacing it with Level 7 one, which is why I've stressed how important it is to make the Gallowgate a safe standing Kop end if they do simply extend the current design. I would be amazed if they did completely build a new stadium more or less on the current footprint but I'd certainly welcome it if it gets rid of the East Stand problem. The real issue here is that they could spend £500m on extending the Gallowgate and coming up with a compromised solution for the East Stand, taking capacity to the low/mid 60K capacity...only for the club to even outgrow that within 5 or 6 years and they need to go back to thinking of building a new stadium again. A new build would probably cost £1.5b+ so maybe they are thinking long term?

They have, but its been left rotting for so long that its going to take much more time, effort and money to fix it.

Again, not disagreeing with that. But if something isnt done soon it wont be long before some of the buildings are looking like they did in the 70s. The city has a variety of nice archirecture but it needs some serious maintenance right now. The Tyne Bridge has been allowed to rot though so I'm not holding out much of hope of anything happening any time soon. Its not just the buildings though. The streets are covered in bedded-in white stains which I can only assume is bird shite or flattened chewing gum. Whatever it is though, its just minging and its something that I havent really noticed when visiting other city centres.

It would be something to be proud of if it was in good condition, but it isnt. I agree about who is to blame for that though.

I was refering to Leazes Terrace, not SJP.

Yeah I know it's the council and government to blame for the state of the city centre. Just making the point that the architecture within it is anything but beautiful right now. I obviously do not want to see Granger Town go as it is right in the heart of the city, but something has to be done to renovate it because its in an embarrasing state at the moment. Leazes Terrace though can go for me as it serves no purpose to the city, due to its location. It is absolutely not a tourist atttaction and nobody local goes anywhere near it except when going to the match.

I would like to know when that photo was taken. Not any time recently I bet. Next time you are walking up Granger Street take a close look at the brickwork. It’s absolutely filthy.

Honestly, the Georgian architecture in the city centre is wildly overrated. Grey Street is holding up quite well but the buildings of Granger Town are in a dreadful state. Absolutely filthy and signs of rot everywhere. It’s actually quite embarrassing seeing how badly the city centre has been allowed to decay and God only knows what visitors to the city must think. And don’t get me started on all of the embedded chewing gum on every street. It’s absolutely rancid.

I would raze it to the ground in a heartbeat. Completely pointless building in a part of the city centre that literally nobody goes to unless they are going to the match. The benefits to the city in getting rid of it are 100 times greater than those in keeping it.

Are you near the back row though? Being at the back of it is a very different experience to being in the front rows.

If the club continues to operate as one of the elite then of course we can fill a 67K stadium every week. This isn't the honeymoon period, this is the celebrating the divorce from Ashley period. The honeymoon is when the trophies roll in. If NUFC becomes one of the established elite then it will basically become the club of the entire North East, with a fanbase that stretches from the borders down to Darlington. That is a seriously large catchment area.

The Bernabeu is the best stadium in the world IMO when getting the balance right of stadium size and layout of the tiers around the it. And the modernisation of it with the all new roof will make it even better.