Wallsendmag

Very few people wore replica shirts back then but that was soon about to change. This is 100% certainly the 91/92 season and the first match at Newcastle where I remember fans wearing replica shirts en masse was at the final game of the following season v Leicester when we won the league and released the new Asics kit the day before the match and 1000s queued up to buy it.

Read something a few weeks back saying the average age of a Chelsea season ticket holder is now 58!

Me and the lad I was stood with last Wednesday both noticed the state of the pitch. Really poor condition and sadly doesn't really lend itself to getting the ball down and trying to play football. Just so uneven and bobbly.

Was a topic on their forum the other day about their season ticket prices and how even though they (allegedly) get 40k crowds they don't get the financial advantage that brings due to the tickets being some of the cheapest in the league. Surprisingly a few said they'd be happy to pay more.

Aye same for me. About 15 mins to Benfield and about 25 mins to Stan. Missed Saturday though work and same tonight. Was there last Wednesday v Whitley which I thought was a decent game between 2 pretty good sides who'll both be top 6/7 this season. Wouldn't mind Stan having 1 more season in NL before going up to the next league but of course it's no longer optional.

Would have been there tonight if I wasn't stuck on nightshift as it's a nice 15 minute walk for me. Looks like I dodged a bullet

100% 91/92 season. Looks a decent crowd as well, probably around 22/23k so it would either have been Blackburn, Tranmere, Swindon or Millwall I reckon. They were all 0-0 after 17 mins.

"Why's the corner full of shit?"

I'm going to the PSV v Feyenoord match on Sunday. Will be interesting to see him live if he's selected.

Seriously? Is it something to do with Twitter like? Doesn't give the competition much credibility if whatever these are can make it to a National Final.

You've lost me here

Who do they play in the Final? No doubt a team from down south who have a 30 minute travel.

Carragher proper spitting the dummy out there. Probably a harsh decision but marvellous that it's happened to them.

Arsenal Aston Villa Blackburn Chelsea Coventry Everton Ipswich Leicester Liverpool Leeds Middlesbrough Nottm Forest Man City Man Utd Newcastle Sheffield Wednesday Southampton Spurs West Ham Wolves

Even 1 person is too many, let alone a minority. Sad thing is the club don't seem to be listening and are ploughing on with it regardless. More and more people coming to the conclusion that these ticketing workshops are purely lip service and their plans are already pre decided beforehand.

Was reading this earlier on twitter. Apparently he's not the only one. Appears that his ticket was a dud so the stewards manually scanned him (and others) in but this hasn't registered with NUFC. He can prove he attended the match as he bought a pint inside the ground so he has a bank statement to prove it but seemingly that's not enough. Just another absolute farcical ticketing situation the club has created this season. I'm so glad I no longer bother with aways as I genuinely couldn't be arsed with the hassle.

I was doing the same. Spent quite a few hours in total for the 72 hours prevous to both the Liverpool and PSG games just constantly pressing F5 but other than some 14-17 year old tickets in Level 7, nowt. Got 1 for Man Utd in resale in the Gallowgate corner after a few days of trying. Finally managed to get one at 4pm on the day of the game, quickly got myself ready to head over to the Five Swans then realised my phone only had 22% battery so had to wait around till it was sufficiently charged before I could leave the house.

I was unsuccessful in the ballot for Liverpool and PSG and no amount of trying got me a ticket on resale for either of those so it's certainly anything but guaranteed. Getting 2 together for me and the bairn using resale would be nigh on impossible I'd imagine.

The people who wanted to get in most last season, generally got in though. They either got in quick for a membership or bagged one of the 500 that went on general sale. Nowadays it's a complete free for all where somebody with a membership for 10+ years has exactly the same chance as an away fan signing up a few weeks before the match and applying. That can't be right and we've seen an increase in away fans sat in home areas this season as well. That's on top of not being able to select a preferred stand to sit in anymore and the dangerous situation that's occurring at away games when NUFC fans are being made to walk all the way around to the other side of the stadium, through crowds of home fans, some who won't be particularly friendly, to pick up a new ticket at the home teams ticket office because their own ticket was purposely designed to fail. No, I can't think of any way that this seasons ticketing arrangements have been an improvement on last seasons.

There weren't too many ticketing complaints last season despite the same problems existing with demand far outstripping supply so I'd say that the ballot and randomly being allocated a seat in a stand has been pretty much a disaster for the majority. And that's before we even go into how much the atmosphere has suffered this season because of it.

You are right STH did pay for memberships without choice. At the time we also got massively discounted ticket prices thanks to price freezes stretching for longer than a Decade, compared to what members had to pay game by game. Also had the usual perks like our seats guaranteed as well as first dibs on away tickets (plus things like discount on food/drinks in Shearer's) so I don't think the deal was as raw as you make out. Still doesn't change my opinion that every supporter should only be allowed to buy 1 seat. If you have a season ticket you already have your seat, and shouldn't be allowed to buy an additional one to give to someone else. Agree there should definitely have been STH present at the workshop but attendance wise I think it probably should have been weighed more towards members, but that's just my opinion.

I think when demand is as high as it is it should be strictly 1 ticket per supporter. Not fair on members paying £37 a year just to get a chance of entering ballots if supporters who already have their seats guaranteed are allowed to buy further tickets imo. Pretty sure the likes of Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea etc don't allow STH the chance to purchase additional tickets for home games, which is only right.

Excuse my ignorance here but surely as a ST holders, you already have your ticket/place guaranteed for every home match anyway?

Or that the food options are particularly appealing for that matter!

It's important to get the balance right though. We aren't a Region swimming in cash. No point in having a great football team if its supporters can't afford to come and watch it.