Wallsendmag

Not often that I disagree with you but I do here. If you've been a regular at away games for the past 10/15/20 years you'll know that a lot of people on your bus were there on someone else's ticket. I'd reckon a good 50% if not more. They were putting the miles in, someone else is clicking for the loyalty points. Is that a fair system? I'll use my own dad as a prime example. He's sat on 169 loyalty points. He's been to 3 away games in the last 25 years. His other 166 points are made up of mates of mine using his ticket. I think a 3 year rolling period is fair. My dad still has loyalty points from games he didn't go to in the 1990s! How's can that be right? Members get massively short changed in many ways and away tickets is another example. I'm pretty sure that members of all the other best supported teams in the Country get some kind of access of away tickets.

Think they need to find a happy medium between what we do and what Chelsea do. @AyeDubbleYoomakes a very valid point that it's unfair that you can travel to 100s of away games but it all counts for nothing as your points get wiped to zero after every season (in the event of their being a high profile game in the first month pf the new season they do take into account the previous seasons loyalty points). Personally I always thought a 3 year rolling system would be fairer. I know loads of fans who've got 150+ points and have never done an away game in years, and most of their points were "earned" by letting others use their ticket.

Long story but my son follows Chelsea. I take him down to Stamford Bridge a few times a season as long as it doesn't clash with NUFC being at home so we've got memberships. Basically members accrue points in exactly the same way as season ticket holders do and can build up loyalty points for attending home and away games. ST holders automatically get their home loyalty points. Away game allocations are split 60/40 ST holders to members and how many points you are awarded depends on the opposition (1 point awarded for London away games, plus Man Utd/Man City/Liverpool), 3 points for everywhere else. Those aforementioned games are sold on a loyalty points basis whereas the other away games are sold on a "free for all" basis, meaning that even if you have 0 points you could still try your luck for NUFC away when they go on members sale. No scheme is perfect but it includes all supporters and indeed despite my son only having 11 loyalty points he was able to get a ticket for the Conference Final the other week as it went to a members "free for all" sale. At the end of every season they will work out how many STs are available and then invite any members who meet the points requirement to apply for a season ticket, giving those who attended the most games the previous season a chance to buy a season ticket. They did float the idea of a ballot last summer but it was met with so much opposition from their fans that they didn't go ahead with it.

Would be surprised if they bring more than a couple of hundred tbh. Spanish fans don't really travel away. Bilbao brought around 100 a couple of years ago.

Looks like the Lower bowl sold out now and Level 7 in the Milburn starting to sell so best part of 40,000 already sold and the match isn't for another 2 months. Big increase on last years Sela Cup match where the crowd was just under 34,000. Probably down to a few reasons but mainly the opposition and the increasing difficulty in getting tickets for games at SJP has meant that 1000s who've barely had a look in last season have jumped in early to guarantee themselves a ticket.

Got a £57 pending transaction from NUFC so assume it's mine and the bairns memberships then.

Need the Bournemouths and the like to stay up. Makes getting home tickets that bit easier when the away team hand 1.5k/2k tickets back over to NUFC to sell to our own fans. Had a ridiculously high queue number for Palace at home but still managed to get tickets up in Level 7 which wouldn't have been available had we played a team with a decent away support.

I'll be honest I've only ever seen him play once, against us, and he was worse than shite. I'm sure a fair few mackems were getting on his back at parts during last season as well.

https://x.com/agbnufc_/status/1927336683185266878?t=QAoKmOWBJFJTJ0WpuCmRHg&s=19

I also noticed that tbf. Just couldmt believe the amount of water they were putting on it but I'm never usually in the ground that early so wasn't sure if that's normal. Then the game started and I've never seen so many of our players falling on their arses before which got me wondering.

Got in the ground very early yesterday (very rare for me) whilst the players were still doing their warm ups and the one thing I couldn't believe was how much water they were putting on the pitch. A lot of our players seemed to be struggling with their footing and a few of them slipped on their arses as well. Is it usual that the pitch is watered so heavily pre match?

I'm just quoting what the pundits were saying about it being a £200m match. I don't know the exact figures.

I don't i just find them unbearable when they think they've got one over on us. Anyway I'm in the pub now and there's bigger fish to fry today so that's my last word on the subject.

What are the potential positives though? We beat a bottom feeder? So what. We beat them last season. It was extremely underwhelming. On the other hand just say the stars align for them (like they have in these play off games tbf) we get a player sent off 1st half and they end up beating us it literally goes down in mackem folklore. In fact even if one of their cloggers put in a bad challenge that injured one of our key players he'd go down in mackem folklore himself. As I say I've been genuinely surprised with the amount of NUFC fans wanting them back. That's probably a sign in itself that the derby has lost its edge anyway from our perspective. We should always want the very worst for them, like they do for us, not wanting them getting £200m PL money. I'd rather they rotted away to nothing whilst we continue to do what we do.

We're competing at the top end of the Premier league these days. We're going into todays game needing a win to guarantee Champions League Football. Every match is meaningful regardless of who it's against. Playing 2 games against a team of hammer throwers who'll try to kick us off the park an an attempt to appease their rabid fanbase and level up what will be a huge gap in ability won't make our season any more interesting. When we beat them last January it was more shrug of the shoulders stuff than any kind of euphoria. The risks outweigh the advantages these days. Gor to say mind I've been genuinely surprised at the amount of NUFC fans who are glad they're back up. If the roles were reversed I doubt you'd find many, if any Sunderland fans sharing the same sentiment and tbf to them, that's as it should be.

Great retort. In otherwise you don't

Because Luton were fucking shit as well and still managed to take 4 points off us. Do you have any idea how football actually works?? The best team doesn't automatically win every time. If they did the game would be pointless. Luton still went straight back down by the way.

Their main signing next season is Le Fee. They've been running up huge losses for years so they won't be able to spend. That team they’ve got there is far worse than that Southampton team that came up this time last year.

They were literally handed it on a plate. They won't get those favours next season.

Mate, if they do come up, and there's a decent chance tbf as they're up against serial bottlers in Sheff Utd, their marquee summer signing will be Le Fee, a lad who's struggled in the Championship. See Southampton this season? Well the red and white stripes won't be the only thing sunderland have in common with them next season.

95% of their flags have some reference to Newcastle United. We simply consume them

Heard he's been at the training ground today?

Just put a little £20 safety bet on us not finishing top 4. Would have gone top 5 but couldn't find a market. Goes with my safety bet(s) on Sunderland getting promoted. If the worst case scenario happens this weekend at least I'm financially compensated for it.

They advertised their half season ticket campaign last season based on if you bought one you could guarantee a ticket for the FA Cup game v Newcastle. Basically used us to sell season tickets

Totally agree. They're always the worst 2 games of the season. Too nervy, can't enjoy them. I've always thought NUFC fans who say they need to be playing Sunderland every season to enhance their enjoyment a bit weird tbh. I get far more enjoyment looking down at them rotting in the lower leagues.