Chicken Dancer

I might be well off here, but I'm pretty sure there's generally an obligation to the manufacturer to wear the change kits a certain number of times in a season. Also love us in the black and white with the white shorts. Memories of the 1-4 and Champions League nights this season. Class.

I've seen him once and that was in the flesh on Saturday. Hard judge, given their team wasn't up to much on the day. Our right side of Trippier, Longstaff & Almiron has nullified much better players than Clarke so hard to be too harsh on him based on that game. Clearly a talented boy, but for every Bowen there's a Lewis-Potter. It would be ludicrous for somebody to spend anything north of probably £15m on him, with the potential of a few performance clauses or something. That's not to say he won't go on to have a good career at a higher level than he's playing at now, just talk of £30m seems madness.

Aye I was in the top and it was sound. Though I do admit I’ve been part of much better atmospheres over there, by some distance.

Naturally was a lot more confident when the draw was made. We definitely should have enough for them, but given they'll be frothing at the mouths, barking at our players from minute one, we need to be very careful. I'll go with (and would take) a score draw, then do the fuckers at home.

He's been great. Like really good. He doesn't give it away, but he doesn't try to make killer passes - yet. That will come in time, I'm pretty sure he's just trying to keep it as neat and tidy as possible now. There's absolutely nowt better than seeing a local lad doing well either. Having Longstaff, Burn, Anderson & Miley in the squad can only be good for the club long term (especially on the first weekend in January too...).

Nah. It'll be more or less the strongest team, pending injuries. I think Howe will want this one. He will know he can't be having a loss to this lot, especially given the relative gap between the two sides. Full strength and hopefully put it to bed early in the game. Then we can rotate. Still wish it wasn't happening mind

Actually really fancy Villa tonight. City having that inevitable pre-Christmas wobble (if you can call it that) where everyone questions them, before they rattle off 12 consecutive wins from Feb onwards to win the league.

There's no way we should be rotating/resting anyone for this game. We owe these bastards one. Go full strength and fuck them. That being said, if we do beat Chelsea, I'm not sure Howe will think the same way. It's obviously hugely important to 90% of us, but to him - derby or not - he will likely see it as a early cup game against a side in the lower leagues, and pick his team accordingly. I'm nervous though. A combination of not knowing who will be back for us, what sort of team we will play, the fact they've beaten us a lot in recent years and our FA Cup record being tragic recently. It definitely has the makings of a banana skin, although if we play anywhere close to our 'peak' (Spurs/Man U from April) we should really be absolutely fucking these into 2025. I do absolutely wish it was at home though.

I can see arguments both sides for the new away system to be fair. I know a few lads who've been able to go to away games and actually increase their points tally (obviously slightly) this season already, rather than someone with 1/200 getting pointless points. Also know lads who missed out because those getting them a ticket are scared of losing points.

Dodgy game this. Draw wouldn't be the end of the world given how stretched we are.

I've said on here before, but the singing section from 08-11 right next to the away fans meant that there was a few thousand of us essentially generating an 'away-day' atmosphere every week. Standing, loads of different songs and essentially a party most weeks. We were pretty shite for the most part too, and it rarely had a detrimental effect on the atmosphere up there. Maybe time has clouded my memory of it, but for the most part it seemed good-to-brilliant most weeks. Even against the likes of Doncaster at home - whereas now it seems St James' needs it to be a 'big game' for there to be consistent noise. No idea why it wasn't like that on Wednesday - maybe folk expected a cake walk after PSG? It definitely had a different feel from the minute I entered the turnstile. In my opinion, the only way that the atmosphere can be rectified is to have a singing/standing section next to the away fans to couple with the Strawberry Corner. That way you can let the atmosphere bounce round a bit. The new ballot system hasn't helped - as @TheGuv has said before, he and a few others were getting tickets in the Leazes East corner last season which started to generate a bit of noise from there. Now those applying in the ballot (if successful....) are just stuck anywhere. So some of my mates were dotted about Level 7 on Wed. The type of lads who are willing to stand and make noise but stuck up there. It's all well and good saying try get it going - you know yourself that when it's you and a couple of others in an area where nobody is arsed is pretty difficult and can be awkward too. The struggle for consistent atmosphere isn't just a St James' thing mind, but that's not to say we shouldn't actively look to improve it. The Trust won't give a fuck as long as they're in the ground, so maybe our best hope is the Supporters Club. The club (NUFC) need to be very careful moving forwards. I completely get the idea of making it 'fair' and giving as many people as possible from the UK and beyond a fair crack at the whip for tickets (especially bairns) but it cannot become like Anfield/Old Trafford. I hope this is taken into consideration if/when an extension is announced - they should be making 75% + of any new seats that become available due to expansion available to those who wish to purchase a Season Ticket.

End of Big River would be ideal I think. I’ve always wondered why Coming Home Newcastle has never caught on, especially away. I know there’s loads of verses but even a snippet would be class. Should definitely be celebrating local music before owt else.

Late to the party I know, but to echo what others have said - I've never, ever experienced St James' like that. Absolutely rammed about 30 minutes before kick off. It truly was a magical experience. Just like at the back end of last season, I couldn't help but look to the sky on occasion and think of lost family members who'd have been amazed at the state of the club now (in a good way of course). I know that's a bit cringe but my brother and Grandad would be fucking loving every second of this. Can't lie I had a tear in my eye when that anthem was playing, followed by the roar half way through. I'd have liked Local Hero post-anthem but I'm guessing Uefa regulation or something. A truly remarkable night on and off the pitch. I'm telling you now - shove Anfield etc up your arse. When St James' is as one, there is nowhere like it on these shores. That's a fact. The couple of nights in Milan and Wednesday night were by far and away the best and happiest I have EVER felt being a Newcastle United fan. It made them years of misery worth it. I felt like I'd had 5 e's on Thursday morning man, the comedown was mad. For those of us who are lucky enough to be parents, the best thing about it is that our lads and lasses will get to experience nights like that on a much more regular occurrence than we ever have. The jammy little bastards.

That's the one. Absolutely mint that man.

Personal opinion but that’s been ruined by the ‘TOON’ in between Uniteds. Video of away fans at Peterborough away in early 90s is exactly how it should be sang.

I think the difference now (and I apologise for pigeon-holing a generation) is that the younger fans are more concerned about showing people that they're at the match via Snapchat & instagram than actually going with the purpose of letting loose and being a lunatic for 90 minutes. For me going to the match has always been the release at the end of my week - whether it be school, college, uni or now work. For 90 minutes you can just forget about whatever is going on in life and be with 50,000 like minded fans supporting the same thing. It seems these days that if you're a younger fan, recording fans singing or parts of the game are more important than actually creating an atmosphere. As @NUFC91 has said a good few times, moving like-minded fans to designated singing areas would definitely improve things. Having 2x singing sections in the Strawberry Corner and somewhere in the Leazes would improve the atmosphere tenfold. I think they've done something similar at the Emirates and it's had decent results. For the record, as a fairly well-travelled away fan, I must admit St James' is much better than many other grounds in the UK in terms of atmosphere, despite what we think. But that's not to say it couldn't be much better with some tweaks to seating arrangements.

The promotion season in 09/10 probably remains my favourite year as a fan you know. Last year was great but I'm a Dad now Back then - 21 years old, not a care in the world. Up there with 7 other mates. Was absolutely mint every week. Was genuinely like an away day every game. Absolutely class. Strawberry Corner does what it can but it's nowt like it was up there back then.

Our songbook these days saddens me to be honest. The days of the old signing section in Leazes L7 corner there was always a mixture of new songs born (Jonas song) as well as older songs. Constantly mixing it up too. It was class. Modern fans - not just NUFC - just seem to rehash other teams songs and sing them until they're done to death. There's nowt unique anymore, except Liverpool & Man United. Credit to them, they always have unique songs. Last year it was 'We've got Bruno in the middle' this year it's 'Tonali/ANTHONNNNY'. Sad it's rare we get Blaydon Races or We are the Geordies anymore. Maybe I'm too old fashioned.

What a fantastic few nights that was. By far the best experience as an NUFC, despite the metro crap after the game (it didn't actually bother me that much as had some drinks to walk with). Class seeing some old faces and lads I hadn't seen for years. Was mixing with the locals loads, eating fine food and drinking lots of shite beer. Belter trip and makes all those crap days worthwhile. Special shoutout to the Curva Sud. Some racket they made.

Premier League Winners: Man City Runners Up: Liverpool 3rd-6th: Man Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle Relegation: Everton, Luton, Sheff Utd Overachievers: Palace Underperformers: Tottenham Top Goal Scorer: Haaland Break Out Year: Jacob Ramsey Season to Forget: PFA Player of the Year: KDB PFA Young Player of the Year: Saka Manager of the Year: They'll probably give it to plucky Klopp the underdog who spends nothing First manager to quit/be sacked: Heckingbottom Championship Winners: Leicester Runners Up: Middlesbrough Play-Offs: Norwich Relegation: No idea tbh Newcastle United Where will we finish?: 6th Top Goalscorer?: Isak Season to forget: Almiron Howe will we fare in Europe?: Europa quarters (3rd in CL group) Domestic League One Promotion: Bolton League One Relegation: n/a League Two Promotion: Bradford League Two Relegation: n/a FA Cup: Liverpool League Cup: Man City EFL Trophy: n/a Europe La Liga winner: Real Madrid Serie A winner: Inter Bundesliga winner: Bayern European Competitions Champions League winner: Real Madrid Europa League winner: Probably Sevilla Conference League Winner: Frankfurt General World Player of the Year: Messi World Young player: Bellingham

The way I see it is that the club take far more notice to these online nonces like Burnsie and that's had an impact on how they will distribute tickets in the future. I know he was acting like a prick when this was announced but you know what I mean. This new breed of Twitter fans are the pits man. I've attended all but 3 of our games since the takeover, having packed in my ticket when Bruce got the job with over 150 points. Thankfully I'm sorted this season but I totally understand why previous ST holders/members with a clear history of supporting the club through the lean years are completely pissed off that some random has an equal chance of a ticket - especially for 'big' games - than them. Even in my circle of mates, there are 3 lads who packed in the same time as me - very similar points, been to most games post takeover etc - who didn't get tickets for Villa but then there's another lad who frankly didn't give much of a shit about NUFC my entire life who got a ticket with his lass Agree there is no 100% fair way to do it, but a lottery will exclude some of our most vocal fans. If you though the atmosphere was bad at times last season, it will be rotten this year with people dotted about. Hopefully the SC is loud and proud which I'm sure they will be. Also the pricing, quite frankly, was disgusting for the friendlies. Understand there was 'other games' but let's be fair most couldn't give a shit. The club should use friendlies (and early cup games) as a way to encourage families. Dads taking their kids for the first time etc. Not as a money making exercise. The attendances showed that tbh. I feel almost guilty having a pop at ownership as I very much doubt they were directly involved in these decisions, but they need to be very careful going forwards. I guess football is all about ££ these days, but we're a working class city full of people on the bones of their arse at the minute. Knowing your audience is important here. The Anfield Road end was extended by 10k this year (fact check needed) and only 1k of them were made available for new ST holders. Utter bollocks. If/when SJP is extended we need to encourage more ST holders for not only the benefit of the atmosphere itself but to ensure that when Isak scores and the images of him celebrating don't 75% of the fans in the background taking photos ala Old Trafford/Etihad/Anfield. When Bruno scored against Brighton the images of the fans were so organic. So natural and passionate. I'm not saying we shouldn't encourage international/new fans to attend - we will 100% need that if we are to grow globally. But the club has always been the heart of the city. We need it to stay that way and I hope that they take that on board going forwards.

Drunk

Aye he will get the Ben Arfa/Dubravka chant no doubt. The scousers or Manchester reds would have verses and verses at the ready.

Not sure if it’s been discussed yet but I reckon the owners leaking that we wanted Emery very early in their time here has been one of the best things to happen. They learned a valuable lesson early. Every thing just seems so tight. The Isak and Tonali - our 2 ‘big’ signings so far just caught everyone off guard. Especially local journalists who now have next to no finger on the pulse. Love it.

Cracking signing for Man City that. Can't see anybody stopping them winning the league until Pep leaves.