Wallsendmag

Aye we won 3-1. They were Premier League at the time and we were top of Division 1 as it was known then. Drew 0-0 in the first leg at SJP. Was my first experience of proper football violence and I remember thinking how mental the Boro fans were. Just full of absolute hatred. The season before they'd came up here and put all the windows out in the Three Bulls. We played Sunderland 2 weeks later at Roker and I remember bricking it after what I'd seen at Middlesbrough. Our next door neighbour drove us down there and we parked well away from the ground. As we got nearer it became apparent that Sunderland was going to be nothing like Middlesbrough and it actually felt like more of a home game for us, and the Sunderland fans weren't interested in any bother.

I was only 14 at the time and it was my first experience of proper football violence. Remember getting to the ground and thinking I just wanted to be outside and there was a Newcastle fan stood there selling The Mag fanzine and a couple of Boro fans started kicking the living daylights out of him. No chance the poor lad got to the match. Was pretty much the same afterwards especially as we won 3-1. I remember still not feeling safe even once I was on the bus!

He's still a very good striker when he's fit. One of the best English strikers out there. He was superb last season and deservedly was selected for the England World Cup squad. There'd be teams out there willing to take a punt on him no doubt about it.

Was always rougher than Sunderland was Boro. Much worse. Remember going to Ayresome Park when we beat them in the League Cup and it was genuinely scary! One of only 2 times I've genuinely been scared outside a football ground. Contrast that to Sunderland away 2 weeks later when O'Brien scored the free kick and the mackems just kept out of the way. Strange thing with Cleveland Police was that they would go to all those lengths to segregate us before the match, often meaning we missed the first 15/20 mins (I remember one time once they finally let is in it was already 1-1!) and at full time they would let us all out together

I'd say less than half used the buses that the club put on. Most either went on their usual supporters buses, train or metro. Used to have 2 dedicated Metro services that would run straight through without stopping, plus a couple of Northern Rail services which would also stop at Heworth. Drinking out of a plastic cup at £6 or £7 a pint whilst others are chucking their beer all over the place isn't for everyone either. Many people just prefer a nice pub.

Bloody hell which pubs are opening at 6 like?? Even so the waiting around and the very slow stop/start drive down to there will sober people up anyway which I suppose is kind of the idea. I always remember Middlesbrough away when Cleveland police would drive us around Teesside for an hour before allowing our buses to head to the ground for the same reason!

Well I know our away support back then was a lot better than it is now so maybe that wasn't a bad thing. Was talking to a mate earlier on there who was at Anfield yesterday and said the away end was pathetic yet again. The drink and the football always went hand in hand for many fans so your impression is wrong. You don't need to prioritise. You can have a good drink in the pub with your mates and then go to the football. Well not on Saturday obviously.

Don't think many people will be pissed up mate. Doing things this way cuts out the drinking part when fans are waiting for buses from 8.30.

Hardcore? I barely bother with home games these days

It's very different. I used to go to them back then and either went on the train, the Metro or with Keith Barrett. Uually left Newcastle just over an hour before Kick off or if we went with Barrett we'd meet in the Cricketers Arms in Bill Quay which would open especially early for us and the bus would collect us from there. Never once had to do this where I was told to board a bus over 3 hours before Kick for a game 10 miles away. Each to their own but it wouldn't be for me. I actually know a few away regulars who've just sacked this one off.

Unless something remarkable happens this month I can't see us getting any higher than 8th. I think 8th-10th is our most likely finishing position which would be a little underwhelming. Unfortunately for a whole host of reasons we've gone backwards this season and other clubs have improved.

Sounds absolutely shite tbh. Think I'd enjoy it more watching in the pub.

I can but I also watched how Fulham set up there the other week and were very unlucky not to win. Liverpool can be got at. Just thought once again our approach on the road was so negative which has been the story of the season. As you say, Saturday has to be very different.

Same mate. We all knew beforehand what the outcome would be so no complaints that what happened, is what I expected to happen. However, I didn't like the way we started the game by looking like a non league team setting up against a PL team away from home when it looked like we were happy just to keep the score respectable. My bigger problem is that we seem to set up away from home like that regardless of opposition. Whether it's Brighton, Bournemouth, Luton or whoever. If we go out with that attitude of sitting back on Saturday againstweak opponents lets be honest here, and especially baring in mind we are nowhere near as solid defensively as last season, we are likely to concede first, their crowd will go mental, and all of a sudden it's a very long afternoon for us. There's no excuse for us not to do to them what Liverpool did to us. I'll be very interested to see Howes approach to this one. I really hope he doesn't shit it. Could well be a season defining game.

A large proportion of the crowd will turn, that's what. Howe will come under massive pressure. Losing to them with the gulf in quality between the 2 teams wouldn't be on. We lost to Cambridge in his first year. Nobody was arsed. We had more important things to worry about like staying in the league. We lost to Sheff Wed last year. Nobody was arsed because we were concentrating on the League Cup. This game takes on so much more significance. Obviously because it's against them but also because we haven't got the League Cup to concentrate on, and we haven't got a top 4 place to go after. Can't really see us getting top 6 unless we can do something with our away form. Teams sat 19th/20 in the away form table don't generally make top 6. We need to put these to bed and use that as a springboard to kick on this season. Nothing else will be acceptable.

Fans will turn more after every defeat in a bad run of form regardless of opposition. It's been that way as long as I can remember. In isolation a defeat at Anfield is neither here nor there as we nearly always lose there, but following on from dismal performances v Luton and Forest, and with it being our 7th loss in 8, it just builds the pressure further. He needs to win on Saturday. A win, even against dross like, that could well be the springboard to kick on again in the league. A loss however is unthinkable.

My main issue, other than the obvious results and performances is that we don't appear to have any style of play or game plan anymore apart from let the opposition have the ball and hope they've left their shooting boots at home. Everything that defined our team last season has gone. The high press, high intensity, shithousing, the super organised defence, the never say die attitude. We seem to have lost everything. We're 2nd bottom of the league on away form. 19th out of 20! It's pitiful.

Tino has looked more comfortable an the left tbh.

That's 4 losses in a row and 7 loses in the last 8. Any manager is under pressure with a run like that, especially when those results have reflected the performances. I'm still massively Howe in, but he's under pressure now whether people want to admit that or not. Saturday is absolutely huge. Lose that and the knives are well and truely out, as Sunderland more or less ending our season will be too much for a lot of people.

Surely it's time to cash in on him and Almiron now, whilst they're still worth something (maybe £30/£35m combined) and put the lot towards a proper, reliable centre forward.

The problem is that he's rarely fit and totally unreliable. He's off to Dubai now so I'd assume that means he's not available v the Mackems as he isn't going to train this week.

Think Pittodrie is going to be there a good few years yet mate. Of course famously the first all seater stadium in the UK. The plans for a a new ground have come to a bit of a standstill though so it's going nowhere just yet. Been there a good few times. Showing its age a bit now and although I've never been in the away end it looks a cold and miserable part of the ground, especially as the roof on the stand doesn't go that far along!

Just before COVID hit they had a supporters meeting because they wanted to generate more cash. 3 supporters present offered to donate £10,000 to them. In return they only wanted transparency regarding the clubs accounts and where the 10k would be spent (I believe ground improvements were mentioned), and no say whatsoever in the running of the club or anything like that. The chairman told them he wasn't prepared to do that, yet they were in no position to knock back a gift of 10k, well not according to them anyway. I'm quite a big supporter of non league football. In the past I've taken out a pitchside advertising board at Benfield, amongst other things, and player sponsorship at Heaton Stan. One club I would never touch was North Shields because instead of a donation I may as well have just asked the Chairman/committee where they wanted to go for a weekend jolly and just paid for that instead as that's what would have happened anyway. Refusing any other payment than cash should set the alarm bells ringing. There's only hand car washes, selected Turkish barbers and North Shields FC that refuse point blank to accept any other payment method, and more than likely all for the same reasons.

They've lost a huge amount of support now. Crowds were nudging 500 not so long ago. Around 220/230 now and occasionally well below 200. Most of the "Ultras" don't bother now and my mate reckons even a lot of their diehards who were there during their Wearside League years now go along to watch Percy Main instead who are supposedly doing everything Shields weren't. Loads of ground improvements, and generally showing some ambition. Shields had a great base to build from. A decent sized town, lots of keen sponsors, and a good support base and they blew it. You look at the likes of Heaton Stan there. Regularly pulling in 500+. Had almost 750 there against Benfield earlier in the season just because they put a bit of effort into running their club and the local community sees something worth getting behind and turns out to support. They are everything Shields could have been. In fact Shields could have been more. It'll be interesting to see of many of their old fans go back now but generally when you lose supporters it's difficult to get them back.

My mate is foaming with them. Chipped in £150 when they put the begging bowl out at the back end of last season. Said it was to be used for ground improvements (even though by that time it was far little, far too late). When they hit trouble a couple or months back apparently all the donators were told the money had been ring fenced and that it was still there ro be used on improving the ground. Apparently now it's all vanished. As a club I'm very sceptical of North Shields. I know a lad who used to be on their committee a good while back when they won the Vase and he told me hands were constantly dipping into the money they had there, which at the time was a lot, with a run to Wembley and 500 crowds. He walked away in the end and took up a similar position at another club.