YNGLEGIONNAIRE

Norman Wisdom ... That was against Sheff Wed wasn't it

One that sticks in my mind , details a bit sketchy though , was a mid week game against Chelsea . The headlines in the rags going into the match were "Newcastle hit by H bomb" as we had just been tanked by Liverpool 6 - 0 . Anyway St. James's was rammed and rocking and we thumped Chelsea 5 - 1 ... all was well again and I visited every corner of the Gallowgate that night , swept along in the celebrating masses.... Memorable experience

The days before fan segregation were memorable , air thick with the smell of tobacco , p!ss & hops .I can remember in my pre pubescent years being conned into giving my newly knitted b&w scarf to a drunken Glasgow Rangers fan along with my address , as he was going to send me a Rangers one in return . I can hear him telling his mates how he tore it from the neck of one of the Toon fans he decked

coppers covered in gob ?

OK then , the age thing...... Tommy the Dog who used to lead the singing in the Gallowgate end ring a bell with anybody?

Not particularly Sunderland based really... One guy lives lives in America , the other is a Toon fan and yes , the singer is a mackem.... Caught them live at the Cluny and it was the best live set I've ever seen

Don't know if it's of any relevance or even if you give a toss but I'm also into Deftones , Tool , some Messugah and Martin Grech... So stereotyping by age isn't always accurate

Pretty weird that your name is the twitter handle of an obscure rock band formed in 2010 by the mackem in YCNI:M and The Automatic... Zero Worship is freaking amazing

I specified it was only one game at each stadium , nothing more

I got it in about not being a mackem because I knew how the truth about the comparison of the two games would be perceived .... Truth believe or not

By the way I'm 65

Ha! Mint..... So what's winding people up then??? Can't see anything outlandish in my post .

True it isa bit weird, but it wasn't a knee jerk decision , it was the gradual erosion of the special atmosphere of St James's

Big Geordie mate , I've admitted to being born amongst them but you have no idea how wrong you are by calling me red and white. Your avatar photo.... David Kelly , there's a 99% chance I was at that game. No mate , all my family are / were black & white and always will be. But no matter , the Internet society will decide for itself .

Aye , born a mackem I can't deny it . And I followed Newcastle religiously for 40+ years , first team , reserves and anybody remember the "N"s?... Probably not , but it was the youth team whom I also spent time watching. So draw your own conclusions as to where my loyalties lie . I simply made an observation about the match day experiences I encountered at these recent games and didn't suggest this was in any way the status quo . I don't have any ulterior motives , or designs for Internet warriorship for the post..... Just an observation , but dissect and lambaste if that's your thing

Anyone who's had a dig reckon the Wolves game was a cracking atmosphere like ?

First timer , old timer , and definitely not a mackem , I went to my first match at St.James's for 20 years , my last one vs. Metz , my latest vs. Wolves . So I don't regard myself a supporter any more , merely a fan . Revisiting the stadium just served to reinforce the reasons I stopped going . I fell out of love with the match day experience when the whole thing became so sanitised and unspontanious . I fell out of love with the game . By pure chance my work necessitated my being at the Stadium of Light , match vs. Palace , the very next week. And this is the crux of my post .I found the lacklustre atmosphere at St. James's so inferior to the passion displayed by the mackems on the day . Their fans did display spontaneous and widespread vocal support for their team , something sadly lacking the week before at St. James's . Now admittedly it was just a one game comparison , but the contrast was alarming . And perhaps in part due to the ,shall I say , more basic and less cranially evolved species inhabiting the Wearside stadium . Nevertheless , my recent Sunderland experience was ,unfortunately , much more akin to the match day experience of old .