50,000 + Or.....

[NE5]

When was the atmosphere at it's best, in your opinion NE5? Genuine question, was wondering how you'd reply. You've been to one or two more games than me see.

 

When there were standing areas it was far better.

 

The first Keegan years so far as the excitement and expectation were in a class of their own. But generally, every stadium in the premiership would be better off if they had standing areas behind the goals. With controlled admission, ticket only etc etc if needed. No problems with that aspect. We know that the Heysel stadium, and Hillsborough should never happen again but in my opinion the legislation went a bit too far and its time to relax it.

 

 

agree about the standing bit being brought back but disagree about the atmosphere to some extent. the noise wasn't as loud due to roof coverage etc. if you sat in the old stand the gallowgate didn't sound all that loud but if you were in the gallowgate the atmosphere could be electric.

 

I can accept that for some people the Gallowgate was the old singing area when it was a terrace, but others like me - to a man probably - who were in the old Leazes end with the roof, will tell you that the day the Leazes End was bulldozed and that roof came down, it was never the same.

 

 

 

That's very true NE5. I'm a little too young to remember the leazes with a roof but my step brothers used to always extole the virtues of how it used to be when we would stand on the same sparsely populated rotten terraces with half built foundations.

 

I might be wrong but I guess most the core of the roofed leazes end moved to the Gallowgate corner. I have to admit, being a Jesmond born and bred boy I was a little scared of "the corner" and if I was in the Gallowgate, I would always park myself under the scoreboard. The vocal fencing we used to get between those two sections of the crowd was highly amusing.

 

I stood in every part of the ground, starting in the gallowgate in 1965 for a few years - including the popular side as they were not seperated by any fences , then into the Leazes End when I had a little bit more money through doing a paper round. I saw Tony Green, MacDonald etc, the Fairs Cup games, all that era from the Leazes End.

 

Once I felt a small thud in the back of my coat and took it off to find I'd been hit by a dart

 

I moved to the centre paddock via a season ticket in 1973-74 because I'd seen the mackems scrambling for Cup Final tickets and didn't want that to happen to me.

 

Stayed there for about 4 years - when I took the photo in my avatar - and then gave it up because I spent a lot of years travelling around and knew I wouldn't get to see every game. However, I went to more away games, and for the 50% or so home games a lad I know got me a free ticket quite a lot for the Gallowgate, so I was back in there again.

 

By then the roof was down and the old Leazes end didn't exist anymore .

 

When I settled again nearer home I bought a season ticket again in 1988 for the centre paddock. Moved to where I am now from there into the seat I currently still sit in in the Leazes End, quite near where I stood when I was a kid.

 

 

[Scoreboard82]

When was the atmosphere at it's best, in your opinion NE5? Genuine question, was wondering how you'd reply. You've been to one or two more games than me see.

 

When there were standing areas it was far better.

 

The first Keegan years so far as the excitement and expectation were in a class of their own. But generally, every stadium in the premiership would be better off if they had standing areas behind the goals. With controlled admission, ticket only etc etc if needed. No problems with that aspect. We know that the Heysel stadium, and Hillsborough should never happen again but in my opinion the legislation went a bit too far and its time to relax it.

 

 

agree about the standing bit being brought back but disagree about the atmosphere to some extent. the noise wasn't as loud due to roof coverage etc. if you sat in the old stand the gallowgate didn't sound all that loud but if you were in the gallowgate the atmosphere could be electric.

Aye, always seemed to be loads of singing from the Gallowgate end in Keegans playing days. The corner and "scoreboard" sections were renowned singing sections and if they were covered, would have made a real din.