Wallsendmag

The Austrian league is dreadful though. It sits between the Greek and Norwegian leagues in the UEFA Coefficient lists. Fair enough he'd scored 9 goals in 18 for Sturm Graz but before then he failed to score in 19 games for Copenhagen and averaged 1 in 4 for Atalanta. Isak scored 13 goals in 16 games in the Eredivisie which is a stronger league than the Austrian League, was scoring 1 goal in 3 in La Liga (over 100 games) and had been a Swedish International for 5 years. I remember when we signed him and very few Newcastle fans batted an eyelid about the price, unlike when we signed the likes of Chris Wood and even Joelinton. Most people who'd watched La Liga knew he was a special talent. Check page 1 on this very thread and start reading if you don't believe me. @KaKaeven comments that he thinks we got him on the cheap halfway down page 4. He was right.

Definitely not. I've never defined my support of Newcastle United on winning trophies. If one comes along in the future then great but, and I can say this hand on heart, it wouldn't massively bother me if it didn't. My dad first took me to SJP as a 6 year old back in 1984. His dad took him along as a 10 year old in the early 60s. He was there when we beat Newport 13-0! It's the pride of following your club, your dad's club, his dad's club that makes football what it is. Trophies should be seen as a bonus as the majority of fans of clubs outside the top ones (and it's becoming more of a closed shop) may never see their club win one. Football is about more than that and those people who've latched onto the Man Utds, Liverpools and more recently the Chelseas and Man City's will never understand this. I've got a mate who follows Blyth Spartans home and away. Him and his group of mates go everywhere with them and even though they are currently worse than shite you can see how much pleasure following his home town team around the country every week brings him. He wouldn't swap it for the world. That's what football is about. Not like what we witnessed at Wembley 2 years ago when we walked back to Wembley Park tube station side by side with Man Utd fans who looked like they couldn't have cared less. I'd honestly wrap it all in if I ever became that.

You're hurting badly this morning mind aren't you. Absolutely fucking raging

This couldn't happen to a more horrible bunch of cunts. Long may it continue. Beat them with ease.

Even Rangers and Celtic have moved fans to get like-minded supporters grouped together. Just at the start of the season Rangers moved long term season ticket holders from there seats in the Copland Stand to make room for the Union Blues supporters group. The old family stand is now the singing end at Aberdeen and they moved the families to the Upper tier of the stand behind the opposite goal. I think sometimes you've got to risk upsetting some fans for the greater good. Certainly those stadiums I've mentioned have seen a big upturn in atmosphere from a few years ago, especially Aberdeen.

Been to a couple of matches over the holidays that have really showed how much our atmosphere is lacking these days. Went to PSV v Feyenoord last weekend which was excellent as you'd expect and I've already spoken about PSV on here before but did Dundee Utd v Aberdeen yesterday which surprised me in a good way. Aberdeen had 3.5k there (in a 13.5k) crowd and their away support was brilliant, far better than anything we see in the away end at SJP, although a few of them didn't cover themselves in glory by lobbing several missiles at the Dundee Utd manager, including a vodka bottle, but the home fans were excellent too. It's all seater, with no safe standing, but every fan behind both goals stood for the entirety, as did the away fans along a full side of the pitch, and even though we were along the side we were constantly in and out of our seats when the home team were attacking as people were genuinely getting themselves really excited. I reckon of the 13.5k fans there well over 50% stood the full game and it does make a big difference. Didn't see a single person playing on their phone either like I often see at SJP. Both teams clearly have Ultra style groups attached to them, and whilst I'm not a massive fan of this it constantly kept the noise going even in lulls in the game. Finally another thing that gets mentioned is the age profile of the crowd at SJP. I reckon at Tannadice yesterday the average age of supporter was around 20 years younger than at Newcastle. At 46 I always feel Newcastle I'm still in the younger age range when I look around me but yesterday I was definitely in the older category. Was talking to a home fan in the pub pre match yesterday and he was saying there's more and more youngsters watching football in Scotland these days, and generally at the lesser fashionable clubs where tickets are more easily available. Mentioned Dunfermline where it's really taken off in a big way. Was good to experience that yesterday anyway.

Same.

On the train home now having watched Berwick v Gala Fairydean Rovers. Surprised by the amount of Geordies there today taking in the game. Had 6 of them sat behind us and seen a few others in the bar areas. Berwick lost 2-1 and are in real danger of dropping out of the Lowland league now which would be a complete and utter disaster for them and could ultimately see them go out of existence.

Agree, and I know Howe takes the cups very seriously, which I love after all those years of throwing them under Ashley, but I wouldn't expect him to feature v Bromley either. Give Osula a run out for that one.

All rests on Isak staying fit. He gets injured for any length of time and I think we'll drop off again. Could see us getting 4th/5th if he stays fit though the way we're currently playing, especially with Botman back soon (nothing against Burn who's been outstanding lately). Think the current top 3 is sorted, and probably in the order it's in right now as well, but 4th place is definitely up for grabs.

Bloody hell nearly 20 years after he's retired they're still singing songs about a Newcastle United striker. There's obsession and then there's this. Imagine our lot singing songs about Kevin Phillips at Old Trafford on Monday as a comparison!

He's looked a lot better than last time he deputised for Pope but he couldn't really have had an easier few games to bed in. Definitely better with the ball at his feet than Pope is but we knew that anyway. Let's see how he does on Monday night. As bad as Man Utd are they'll always have a spell at Old Trafford where they put the opposition under pressure so we'll see how he goes then.

Thought the corner sounded very loud today from where I was sat up in Level 7. Atmosphere was reasonable today. Should have been better given the result, the type of game it was, and the opposition but it is what it is. Loads around me today just didn't appear interested at all. I just can't understand how you can go to the match, to watch the team you support, and show such little emotion. Gallowgate is shite other than the corner and the Leazes End must be the worst behind the goal stand in the league for noise. Team played really well and the way the game went should have seen a better atmosphere.

Tell you what mind, when you're sat up in Level 7 it really hits home how good he is.

Absolutely immense again today. When the conversation about best ever centre halves to play for us comes up, he should be in it

We're literally having to outsource corporate to Hadrians Tower and Fenwicks because SJP can't handle the demand.

Think 65k is underselling ourselves and I'm not sure I'd like to get rid of SJP for around 10k general sale seats when you account for more corporate seating in a new stadium. A poor West Ham are filling 65k every week, and our fanbase is far bigger than there's. I'd like to think we have more ambition than that. Also I'd be amazed if our fanbase hasn't grown considerably in the next decade and beyond. It already is. 70/75k would be the ideal capacity for a new stadium. I think that more or less future proofs us and means that looking ahead, if they change the PSR rules and infrastructure becomes part of it, we won't be affected. Personally I think we'd fill that for every game except maybe early round cup games against lower league opposition and even if there was a couple of thousand empty seats for Fulham or Bournemouth at home that's a price worth paying for not locking out 1000s most other weeks. Every supporter who can't get in is lost revenue for the club after all. Looking at Spurs, I wonder if they'll be regretting only going to 62k considering they currently have 80,000 on a waiting list for a season ticket.

Not sure tbh. First I've heard about it

Tbf they only had 36,000 there the other week v Bournemouth so it's not like they're currently locking fans out, and this is them on the crest of a wave as well. They also had to mothball huge parts of their ground when they got relegated, like the mackems did, so their support isn't known for its staying power. Building a 50k+ stadium could turn out to be a huge white elephant for them.

Arsenal definitely Londons biggest club. There's a good case for them being England's 2nd club as well. Liverpool didn't really start doing things until the 60s and in fact Everton were probably Merseysides biggest club until that point. I'm sure when we played Liverpool in the 1974 Cup Final we were level with them on trophies won. Not even sure if we didn't have 1 more. They probably have overtaken Arsenal now, and I also think Chelsea have overtaken Spurs, Man City have overtaken Villa/Everton/us in the last 20 years as well.

Was in the Gallowgate Upper last night. Atmosphere was decent up there, nothing special, but not bad at all. 2nd half I stood with my mate in the Strawberry Corner and thought it was excellent in there.

Still baffles me how so many people get an Internet signal at SJP. I've never been able to get one. Not that it particularly bothers me.

So pretty much half the price of ours and they'll have about a quarter of our crowd number. Can't wait for the long list of excuses we can look forward to hearing.

Generally speaking younger people are more excitable than older people though. I'm 46 and I'd be first to admit I'm not as shouty and as animated at the match as when I was 26. Atmospheres at UK football grounds were built be young teenage and 20 something lads all congregating behind a goal and being daft and noisy, not 40odd/50odd/60odd year old blokes like what mainly populate the Gallowgate these days. They would have moved along to the sides by then. It's no coincidence that as the average of the Premier League supporter has increased, the atmosphere has decreased. In the lower bowl at SJP I'll guarantee that the lowest average age of supporter is in the Strawberry Corner which is also the loudest section. There's obviously other things at play now. A lot of people who would create the noise, young and old, have simply been priced out. Obviously a lot more families there these days as well which genuinely isn't conducive to a raucous atmosphere. Family enclosures are notoriously poor for atmosphere and generally speaking parents aren't going radge in front of their kids and same goes for kids in front of their parents, and we happen to have the biggest family section in the Country.

Not sure what they're charging but we're paying £30/£35 v Bromley and it'll be a sell out. Whatever they're charging it'll be nowhere near that.