OpenC

Yeah, they were fitter and stronger and took their chances by playing their game. No complaints, we weren't at it, but great day all the same and now I'm going to experience Luton's finest kebab pizza offering before lashing in eight or ten pints Questionable choice of team and some unusual subs for me, but meh their day will come. Undone by a suicide ball. I didn't see the incident at the end, people standing up - what happened? When it cleared Bailey Gayle was lying in front of the goal slapping the grass like she'd just missed

Uncharacteristically nervous looking. Donnelly glued to her line for some reason, and you can tell they're not used to playing with Bridget Galloway any more. Suspect we'll see Dodds and PBG second half

There's only one stand officially open today though

People apparently being told to sit where they like this could be chaos

Elson and McQuade both start surprised to see Bridget but I hope she does the business, she was class early season

You were right

Amazing stadium, happy to have seen it

The big team bus has just pulled past, I think it is the blokes one right enough

It's not a joyous town mind no pub for miles

Kenilworth Road is a sight to behold

Exactly the same journey I took a few months ago hadn't watched the blokes for years

On me way. Howay the lasses

Has anyone watched them play? I could only judge them by their score against Halifax, which wasn't as good as our score against Halifax.

I agree with all of this there genuinely aren't many who I feel are at their limits now, and the scorelines this season have reflected that. But I also feel like O Neill is right that they'll want to push on as soon as possible in case the women's game ends up hamstrung by financial fair play the same as the blokes, as we all know it inevitably will. I guess we'll see You're right on Grace Donnelly as well, she was routinely criticised on here for months but the last few games she has been astonishingly good. I've always liked the way she reads the game and judges runs to sweep up to perfection, but her shot stopping has really come on too.

You ever shoot at Kingston Park @O Neill? Or are you exclusively Scotland based? Does my head in that I can't take an SLR in there to get a bit of ambience, even if it only had a 16-35 on it.

Aye, I've been wondering along those lines without any real knowledge of the quality in the championship. I wouldn't say most of them, I don't think - I didn't think we looked two divisions behind Manchester United although the scoreline told a different story - but that sort of change is the price of quick progression. There are a few who are obviously good enough to play at a higher level than they have been (the standouts for me are Charlotte Potts and I think Elysia Boddy from what I remember of her before she was injured, and I've also been impressed with Jas McQuade and Kacie Elson whenever they get a go and Hannah Greenwood works well in a quietly industrious way, but there are others too) but more higher level incomings and starters will I guess be inevitable. That said there are plenty of them I would be really happy to see in the squad if not starters at the next level; a lot of them have earned a go at it, if they can be accommodated.

It has that reputation, certainly hotel bar it might have to be

I hope hashtag are nee good mind, I haven't contemplated the grim thought of us losing only seen us subpar a couple of times, hopefully they're more up for it than the blokes were for their last final

nice one, was hoping it would be an easy enough run on a Saturday morning. Get there and parked up at the hotel then find somewhere to eat and get a couple of pints I reckon

Aye, half five start for me I think. Hopefully just a leisurely meander down the M1 and there for about 11.

Bigger stadium, more go karts ? ? ? Profit

I never really had it down as a working class venue; what I liked about St James' Park between 1995ish and 2013ish, and football in general, is precisely that it's an amazing leveller, something that everybody in the community can coalesce around. When I sat in the Gallowgate I could have a judge sat to my left and a burglar to my right and we were all just there as Newcastle fans, lucky enough to have tickets and be sat in the best home end in the country and all of us probably at least shouting if not singing. This is the part of the experience that appealed and appeals to me most, the parochial and insular pride in your own club; feeling part of something with that same interest; turning to a lad you don't know and might never meet again and saying, "did you see that, man". I'm not saying it's impossible for that to happen in a bigger stadium with increased commercial concerns, striving to bring in new punters so they can be sold things, but I am saying it's maybe more likely that you'll turn to the lad next to you and he'll say, "see what? I was busy ordering the family's half time steaks", and no matter how good the team gets on the pitch as a result of them being there, it will dilute the supporter experience. Snobbish and gatekeeping undoubtedly but I also feel the commercialisation of football has changed the game into just something else to be consumed. I hope I'm wrong I should also point out that I barely go any more and can't imagine I will again any time soon so I don't really have a dog in this fight

Just out of interest, do you think if we built this thing, the pride of the country, that an extra 15-30k punters are ready to come to watch Newcastle @Keegans Export? And do you feel like they would be likely to constitute a loud and passionate crowd? Do you think there's any chance that we would continually fail to sell out a larger ground and end up having to close bits like Sunderland do, to our frequent great joy?

I honestly reckon the atmosphere at SJP has got shitter primarily because we've been shitter a lot of the time and the crowds have changed, rather than because our stadium magically transports our cheering and singing outside the solar system somewhere. You could build us a stadium the same as Spurs' on the current site and the crowd still wouldn't be singing Blaydon Races any more. When it was noisy back in the day, even in its current lopsided form, it was plenty noisy. I'm sure it was for PSG at least in part, anyone who was there? Crowds have changed and we're actively encouraging them to change more with bigger stadiums and a more general wide ranging experience than just going to a game of football.

Aye, I get all that and yeah you're right. It all just sounds a bit shit to me and if I'm honest makes me feel like my club is actually getting further away from me than it used to be, rather than closer. Probably football in general rather than just Newcastle, honestly. The price of progress is pretty soulless. Ultimately this is all just my point of view. I think most of all I hate to start feeling like the mackems I work with were maybe right when they guaranteed in two years I wouldn't feel like I had my club back.