Wallsendmag

I sat in the same seat in the Leazes in L4U from 1993-2006 and would have to agree with you. Even my very first game in my new seat I remember it being very loud then Spurs gradually took control of the game, Sheringham scored and it went deathly silent for long periods after. It was a million times better than it is today but it could be hitty missy. The NE corner was very loud back in that 93/94 season so typically they decided to relocate the away supporters to there for the 94/95 season which had a massive negative effect on the atmosphere. Level 7 being built completely killed what atmosphere was left in there. I put up with it for 6 years before switching to the Gallowgate.

Up until this season I'd been to every single home European match we've played since 1992, whether that be Champions League, UEFA Cup/Europa League, Cup Winners Cup, Intertoto Cup and even Anglo Italian Cup and the only memorable atmosphere was Barcelona 1997. None of our other Champions League games have had good atmospheres and even Marseille in the UEFA Cup Semi was fairly muted. Loudest noise the crowd made that night was booing Robert for giving the ball away which nearly cost a goal. Benfica and Anzhi Makakaka or whatever they were called were pretty good tbf for a bit of balance but that's it, from about 60 or so games.

European atmospheres are generally poor. Everyone harks back to Barcelona 3-2 which was the exception. No other really good atmospheres. Juventus wasn't great despite us winning, Inter was poor after Bellamy got sent off after 5 mins which knocked the stuffing out of everyone, the 2nd time we played Barca it was dead as well. Even going back to 1994 we were 3-0 up v Bilbao and instead of singing, people started doing Mexican waves ffs

Late 80s/1990 I was going in the Scoreboard with my school mates before getting a season ticket with my dad in 1991, but even as a 10/11/12 year old I always wanted to be in that part of the Milburn Stand. As a compromise we started going in the Milburn E Paddock directly underneath it so we could join in with the songs without having the extortionate costs (to us) of going in the seats. Saved up my pocket money and managed to get in there for a couple of FA Cup games v Port Vale and Rotherham and it was everything I hoped it would be, and more. Was a shame when they all got booted out to make way for the Platinum Club/bond scheme.

Bottom line is that when people can't choose to sit/stand where they want it's always going to have a detrimental effect on the atmosphere. The random ballot has just made this a far bigger problem. Believe it or not, the moaners has always had an acceptable place in the ground. Back in the 80s when I first started going I remember if you wanted to stand and have a good whinge at everyone the Gallowgate M section, aka "old mans corner" was the place for you. No doubt there was seating areas for them.as well. If you went on like that in the other corner or the scoreboard you'd likely be booted all over! The Leazes F Centre section was where you'd find our more studenty type of fans. They would stand over there, pushed up to the fence near the away fans and bait them for 90 mins. In the case of a big away following they'd be shifted to one of the corner Paddocks in the Leazes. When the Milburn Stand was built, the crackerjack with a bit more money in their pockets would congregate in the Leazes section of the new stand and would make a hell of a racket. Basically there was a place for everyone and you could as good as guarantee that you would be stood/sat with likeminded people. Season ticket culture mid 90s onwards party ruined that but the last few couple of seasons I felt we were getting back to the old times as much as is possible in this day and age. With best part of 50k seats up for grabs and around 32k season ticket holders there was the option to get yourself a decent spot around the people you have more in common with. Gallowgate Upper was my go to area and it was good the see the NE Corner in the Leazes become so vocal as well as the obvious Strawberry Corner. We've completely lost all that again. You pick your category and if you are lucky enough to get your name picked out the hat you get a random seat somewhere. It's not conducive to a good atmosphere unfortunately.

We're going to watch Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday and our seats are in the upper tier of the Nordkurve directly above the 16,000 capacity standing terrace they have. No doubt that'll be similar to the constant drone of the Dortmund fans last night and no doubt they'll also have a drum.

I work with a ST who openly admits he's not bothered about going. He goes because it gets him out the house and is the only chance he gets to meet up with the one mate he's got in the Labour Club. He didn't bother getting the Cup package so wasn't there tonight so can't apportion any of the blame on him for the atmosphere tonight. We first got our season tickets at the start of the 91/92 season and I remember that at the time we had around 4,000 season ticket holders.

A ridiculously high % of our ST holders are right miserable, moaning old bastards. That's the reason our atmosphere down at Wembley was so pathetic as it was 95% ST holders in our end.

Was very noticeable on TV tonight. Not sure what the purpose of it is. Sounds pathetic and hardly encourages the players to try different things.

That's the problem with randomly allocated seating. A friend of ours was put in the Strawberry Corner for tonight with her 10 year old son and 6 year old daughter. It was literally the last place she wanted to be!

Sounded absolutely shite on TV. Even the commentators were saying they were surprised at how quiet it was. Could only really here the Dortmund fans, except for in odd spells. Moans and groans seemed louder than any actual positive support inside the ground.

2-0 Dortmund now. We look awful

Well to give you an idea of how much interest they have in our match tonight, the NUFC v PSG match thread on there was 92 pages strong until it was hidden away in the parsnip section. They'll all be glued to our game tonight, however much they protest otherwise.

Still find it hard to believe that this time 2 years ago we were nailed on to be relegated to the Championship and here we are now, sat top of a Champions League group containing AC Milan, PSG, and Borussia Dortmund. I still struggle to take it all in if I'm being totally honest.

You'll find that was West Ham.

Almost. They had 1 season in 61/62 where they averaged under 35k (33,491). They do have the biggest fanbase in the Country by a mile though and the figures back that up. Nobody really comes close. Newcastle hold the Premier League record of never having played a home game in front of under 30k.

We've got season tickets at PSV so even though we only get to 5/6 games a season and sell our tickets on for the rest we always make sure Ajax is one of them as it's always a feisty affair as there's no love lost! PSV fans are in a frenzy over this as there is a chance to put Ajax bottom of the league by beating them. Volendam can go above them if they win and both matches kick off at the same time.

The SoL is a generic new build bowl, with a further generic bowl added to half of it. Bigger version of the Riverside and Pride Park, all built within a few years of each other as was the style of new builds back then.

Met him at a Charity do in the late 90s, and as the old adage goes, if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything nasty so I'll leave it there. A lot of people seem to have good things to say about him so maybe he was just having a bad day. Also met his brother Jackie in Inventions (now the Crows Nest) on Percy Street and a nicer bloke you'd struggle to meet. I'll admit I was gutted when he died 3 years ago.

It's absolutely hilarious on there at the minute. 2 NUFC fans (Olive Grove and Angus) who I've never come across before are running them ragged. The fewm is off the scale, even by their standards They'll get banned soon though because it's become embarrassing for the same half dozen mackems who frequent that thread. Just a shame it's all hidden away in the parsnip section really.

Been to Anfield more times than I care to remember, including when the Kop was still a proper terrace and our atmosphere pisses all over it, and I agree ours isn't the best.

Any time KO tends to be like this at Anfield.

The Anfield atmosphere must be the biggest myth in football.

Dortmund just about to Kick off live on Sky Sport Mix for anyone wanting to see what we'll be up against on Wednesday.

Perfectly fair first reply to them.