bobbydazzla

It'd be interesting to ask these folk why they're sitting down. Is it really that difficult and uncomfortable for the vast majority of people to stand up for 2 x 45 mins All seater stadiums have led to a culture of spectating, rather than supporting Although plenty of other clubs have large swathes of their ground where people stand, at NUFC we seem to be obsessed with sitting down. Both from the club enforcing it and people in the ground taking vigilante action towards standers

I emailed Head of Supporter Services and cc'd a couple of other relevant NUFC people with some brief thoughts on why I feel the new system is flawed - seat allocation, IT system always failing, not enough time between resale and match date etc I didn't try and offer any solutions, just some feedback on my experience My view was that if the Head of Supporter Services was unhappy about receiving a short, polite email with feedback from a match going supporter, then what's the point of having a Head of Supporter Services And also, in any business, if you make a major change that leaves some of your regular customers feeling very pissed off, it's sensible to find out why by engaging with them

that’s the sketchy acoustics due to the stadium design, in Gallowgate corner you can’t hear the away fans put standing / singing sections in each corner and the sound would be audible wherever you were in the ground

The way a match is playing out will always be a factor, but the Gallowgate Corner barely stopped singing last night and it was deafening at times. As is the case most games Create sections like that in the other corners of the ground and you've got a decent atmosphere. It's not rocket science

Yep, apply for a ballot and there's 4 price points to choose from. They can then can put you anywhere in the ground related to your chosen price, you have no say on which stand or block. It's absolutely dogshit. We had an official singing section in the Leazes end around 15 years ago and it was great, but Ashley forced it to disband as we sang nasty songs about him. Since then the unofficial singing section is in the Gallowgate and part of that section got converted to safe standing over the summer. The "unnoficial" standing sections adjacent have had letters from the club telling them to sit down or be banned

I think overall the ballot has had a negative effect compared to last two seasons, but mainly down to the auto-allocated seating and people not being able to congregate in areas where it's acceptable to be stood up and loud Negative season ticket holders is a much bigger problem though. But also much harder problem to solve, because they'll cling onto those tickets for dear life, even when they clearly only go to the match to sit in silence or hurl abuse at our own side At least the ballot issue could be solved by either scrapping it entirely, or giving people a choice on where to sit and more opportunities to sit in groups of friends & family

Beren the Jinx heading back to the hotel with Mehrdad and Amanda last night

Part of the problem this season is that the areas of the ground that were making an effort to create noise have been being diluted. Off the top of my head: There's primary school aged kids being allocated seats in Gallowgate safe standing Seated blocks adjacent to safe standing where people stood and created loads of noise have had letters from the club telling them to sit down or be banned Lads were gathering together in the Leazes and forming a little singing section last season, they now can't get seats together cos of the ballot We were seeing some positive signs, but PSG aside, this season has been shite compared to last season

Might have been answered elsewhere but how come there was there a sizeable section of Dortmund down the front of the Milburn all waving scarves and celebrating when they scored

Don't blame it on the rainclouds, Don't blame it on the crossbar, Don't blame it on the shite ref, Blame it on the Beren

People don’t even need to sing, just getting behind the team with vocal encouragement would be enough. But so many turn up week after week,year after year just to piss & moan even now we’ve got a side to be proud of You’ve got to ask what would make the miserable fuckers happy if they can’t take joy from our current situation

Have put this in Match Atmosphere thread too, but feels relevant for discussion here also Received this email from the Supporter Services this week after I highlighted my frustrations with the ballot and ticketing system It was my understanding that ticketing workshops in the summer were invite only ? We are committed to ensuring supporters everywhere feel as connected to Newcastle United as possible. Going to the match is a unique experience that puts supporters at the heart of the action, and we work hard to ensure as many of our fans as possible have that opportunity by operating a fair ticketing system. I appreciate that ticketing is a key discussion area for many fans, and we will take on board your feedback below as part of our ongoing engagement. Please do keep a look out for future workshops on topics that effect fans and may be important to you – it would be great if you could join us.

Received this email from the club this week after I highlighted frustrations with the ballot and ticketing system, feels like it relevant to match atmosphere discussion It was my understanding that ticketing workshops in the summer were invite only ? We are committed to ensuring supporters everywhere feel as connected to Newcastle United as possible. Going to the match is a unique experience that puts supporters at the heart of the action, and we work hard to ensure as many of our fans as possible have that opportunity by operating a fair ticketing system. I appreciate that ticketing is a key discussion area for many fans, and we will take on board your feedback below as part of our ongoing engagement. Please do keep a look out for future workshops on topics that effect fans and may be important to you – it would be great if you could join us.

Pretty much the same as what I’ve seen in there I’m wholeheartedly in favour of young kids being at the match, I’ve taken mine now and again But kids getting auto-allocated tickets in the only area of the ground where adults are allowed to stand and make a racket is ridiculous

I was up the back of safe standing and it’s like being at a different game, chants never stop The club hierarchy must see and hear that, so why not replicate it in other areas of the ground They need to sack off this daft fucking ballot and reconfigure the ground layout so there’s more standing spread around the ground and more like minded people can gather together through buying tickets in those sections It’s fucking shite that people can’t choose where to sit As an example the last couple of games there’s been primary school age kids in Gallowgate safe standing, I’m assuming they’re ballot winners and at 4ft tall all they’re seeing of the game is an adults back

Scrape a 1 nowt at home against Copenhagen and only cos a pelanty was bottled and that cunt of a commentator and that other cunt Savage are waxing lyrical like they’ve just absolutely battered world class opposition in a footballing masterclass Who can I sue ?

.....or a bag of bugger dust

Champions League build up plus detailed discussion of Tyne Valley train and taxi options I swear this is heaven Not been this buzzing since I necked my first ever cowie and DJ OneDek played Hear the Drummer (Get Wicked) at Wentworth Leisure Centre roller disco circa 1990

Aye, my pal is a corporate drone and nowt to do with the playing side

My pal said the lucky dip ballot was a new thing for them this season Said he had no bother getting tickets through work last season, but this term he was having no joy, was 1/7 in the internal ballots or summat similar to that ratio

Was told recently by a pal at the club that NUFC staff now have to apply for their tickets via a ballot this season The ticketing team have clearly got a massive stonk-on for ballots

Rio Ferdinand was banned for 8 months for avoiding testing positive for cocaine use

Wonder where the club stands legally if person who bought ticket and has been sent this letter, then claims as their alibi that they couldn’t make it to the game Can’t think of any other sports / entertainment events where someone can be punished for buying a ticket then not turning up

I’ve left early in the bad old days, when we regularly got spanked, the players were halfarsed and going to the match was a chore. Peeve was needed to numb the pain But these days we’ve got a top side, usually win at home and being at the match is a joy So frustrating to see thousands piling for the exits at 4-0 up on 85 mins ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED

Compared to the East Stand & Gallowgate about 30 mins before kick off when thousands of frustrated people are crushed together taking ages to get through turnstiles