I am more than happy to publish this article on behalf of the Newcastle United supporters group 'United For Newcastle'. These are the views of 'United For Newcastle' & not necessarily my own.
'United For Newcastle' statement following announcement of new stadium plans for 2011/12
United for Newcastle appreciate that a ten-year “price freeze” on season tickets and the introduction of a discount scheme will benefit a lot of Newcastle supporters. In this tough economic climate, fans will be thankful of discounts and price freezes, and as such we welcome this move.
However, alongside the ten-year price freeze, the club have also announced a change to the plans at the stadium, the most-talked about being the changes to Level 7 of the Leazes End, and transforming it into part of an enlarged family area.
United for Newcastle feel that by breaking up the fans in Level 7 of the Leazes End, the hierarchy at the club has shown a significant lack of consideration towards some of the loudest, and most passionate supporters in the stadium. This, alongside the fact that the generally quieter family section will now replace the fans in Level 7, shows just how poorly thought out a decision this is. Let’s not forget it was under Ashley’s ownership that the club announced “the Leazes Corner, is for fans who are willing to sing and generate a generally very noisy atmosphere.” Scrapping this 'singing corner' will, we believe, be of detrimental effect to the atmosphere within St. James Park.
United for Newcastle also ask where fans from Level 7 will be expected to go? Will the club suggest a new location for the ‘singing section’, where all fans are also happy to stand during matches? We understand there are no plans to relocate the singing section. We ask why? These are questions fans are asking, and want answers for.
The new plans also include the proposal for the away support allocation to increase from 2,800 to 4,000 seats. Just how many clubs visiting St James’ sell out their current allocation, let alone 4,000 tickets? Considering that it is only in crunch-ties and against large clubs that the away allocation seems to sell out, United for Newcastle are concerned that allowing fewer Newcastle fans into the stadium in these important matches will have a detrimental impact on the players on the pitch, who rely on the fans' fantastic support.
United for Newcastle will thus write an open letter to the club and local journalists urging talks between the administration at Newcastle United and supporters, particularly those who will lose their seats in the Level 7 section of the Leazes End. We hope that the club will match our expectations by - if not reconsidering the move - to suggest a suitable replacement for the singing section (with some already suggesting Level 4 of the Leazes End as a possible replacement).
This is an issue that we hope can be solved quickly and efficiently for the benefit of the both the club and its supporters.
Wednesday 9 February 2011
Tuesday 8 February 2011
An Open Letter To Mike Ashley.....
Dear Mr Ashley,
You just can't help yourself can you? With today's announcement about the 2011/2012 season tickets, you have once again taken a seemingly (on first glance) good idea & instead of actually doing something positive for the fans of OUR football club (it is not now, nor will it ever be YOUR 'business'), you have instead alienated those who turn up week in & week out to support OUR team.
By trying your utmost to split up the Leazes Level 7 singing corner (which is the only single good idea you have had during your time at the club), and thereby thinking you will put an end to the songs & protests about you, you are sadly mistaken. Indeed, what you have done instead is to give us renewed impetus in our efforts to make our voices heard, and we will turn up both the volume and the heat on you until we rid you from our club & our city.
No matter what you (try to) do, you will NOT stop me going to St. James' Park and supporting my team. You will NOT stop me travelling the country to give support to the club I have followed proudly for more than 30 years. You will NOT quieten my, or others, protests against you. You will NOT silence us, and you will NOT dampen our passion or our spirit - both FOR our team or AGAINST you & your regime.
"Freedom is given, speak how you feel. I have no freedom, how do you feel? They can lie to my face, but not to my heart. If we all stand together, it will just be the start. If the kids are united then we'll never be divided....."
Yours,
@WeAreTheMags - NUFC for life - loyal & proud.
You just can't help yourself can you? With today's announcement about the 2011/2012 season tickets, you have once again taken a seemingly (on first glance) good idea & instead of actually doing something positive for the fans of OUR football club (it is not now, nor will it ever be YOUR 'business'), you have instead alienated those who turn up week in & week out to support OUR team.
By trying your utmost to split up the Leazes Level 7 singing corner (which is the only single good idea you have had during your time at the club), and thereby thinking you will put an end to the songs & protests about you, you are sadly mistaken. Indeed, what you have done instead is to give us renewed impetus in our efforts to make our voices heard, and we will turn up both the volume and the heat on you until we rid you from our club & our city.
No matter what you (try to) do, you will NOT stop me going to St. James' Park and supporting my team. You will NOT stop me travelling the country to give support to the club I have followed proudly for more than 30 years. You will NOT quieten my, or others, protests against you. You will NOT silence us, and you will NOT dampen our passion or our spirit - both FOR our team or AGAINST you & your regime.
"Freedom is given, speak how you feel. I have no freedom, how do you feel? They can lie to my face, but not to my heart. If we all stand together, it will just be the start. If the kids are united then we'll never be divided....."
Yours,
@WeAreTheMags - NUFC for life - loyal & proud.
Friday 28 January 2011
Does Money Talk Or Is Talk Cheap? How The FA Could Make Life Easier & Cheaper For Football Fans
How many times have you tried to arrange a trip to watch a football game, but can’t do so until maybe a week - maybe two if you’re lucky - beforehand, only to find that the prices for train fares, flights, hotels & the like are astronomical? Or even worse, the fixture gets moved so it can be aired on TV, thereby meaning you have to change any plans you have already made at yet further personal expense? Lets face it, it’s a pain in the arse, yet there is a simple solution to this problem…..
First of all, lets look at those who ‘run’ the game of football in the UK - more specifically England. To start with, you may think that the running of the game falls to a select few organisations - namely the Football Association, the Premier League and the Football League - but you would be wrong.
Also in the mix are other organisations, such as the Chairmen of both the Premier League and the Football League -who’s regular meetings are always held ’behind closed doors‘, like some secret society. (To see how the Premier League is run, see their own description here). Then there are the League Manager’s Association, the Professional Footballer’s Association and the Referee‘s Association. Then you have to include the TV companies: Sky, ESPN and less so (namely for the FA and Carling Cups), ITV and the BBC.
In short, there are an awful lot of people who make decisions on the game that directly involve those who the game is really for - no, not the corporate sponsors! - I’m talking about the fans. You & me. The people who buy the match tickets, the shirts (& other cheap tat from club shops) and who subscribe to the satellite channels, & yet those who run football seem intent on making life as difficult - and more importantly expensive - as possible for us fans to follow our teams.
Allow me to explain. The first fixtures scheduled for airing live on TV at the start of the season are generally announced 2 months or so in advance. This gives supporters fixed dates by which to make travel arrangements in plenty of time in order to see their teams away from home (or even AT home for those who now live away). However there are always spare slots left open for fixtures to be moved at short notice (Newcastle United v Sunderland at St James‘ Park earlier this season being one of those) and, especially at this ‘business end’ and ‘squeaky bum’ time of the season, the TV companies are only required to give the FA, Premier and Football Leagues, and indeed the clubs themselves, a mere 30 days notice that they wish to move games for live broadcast - throwing the travel plans for thousands of supporters into nothing short of chaos.
To cite an example of this, is Sky TV’s decision in 2008 to move Newcastle United's longest away game of the season at Portsmouth (682 miles round-trip) from Saturday 13th December to Sunday 14th December with a 1:30pm kick-off time. This was done with only the minimum allowable notice of just 30 days. So, to hell with all those Newcastle fans who had already booked planes, trains and automobiles, let alone hotels, all done at great expense and using time-consuming effort from fans to not just make their own bookings, but also to get numbers, prices, money & promises for group trips…..
To be honest, the contempt shown for supporters is normally aimed at over-paid, namby-pamby, heartless, gutless players, and wayward owners. Yet in actual fact, it should also be levied at not just the TV companies who see fit to do as they damn well please with blatant disregard for the fans, but also the clubs, the Premier League & the FA for allowing it to happen. I know things get interesting around this time of year and the completion for league titles, Europe and relegation begin to hot up, but surely, surely, it wouldn’t be too difficult for them to choose what games they wish to show live well in advance.
So much so, that if the FA and Premier League had any sort of backbone whatsoever, the TV contracts would contain a simple clause stating “should you (the TV companies) wish to move the date & time for any fixture, this must be done with a minimum of 60 days (or even better, 90 days for that matter) notice”. Should that clause ever be inserted into the TV contracts, the clubs themselves should also be forced to sign a charter stating that “all clubs must make details of tickets for forthcoming fixtures available to supporters no less than 60 (or 90 depending on the above) days in advance, and inform fans as to their obtaining of tickets for said fixtures no less than 45 (or 60) days in advance of the fixture date”.
These simple measures would ensure that we supporters would be able to make travel plans far enough in advance to take advantage of discounted fares and special deals, thus helping to keep our already high expenses to a minimum. Lets face it, the cost of going to home games, let alone away games, is high enough as it is - what with season ticket prices, busses, food & drink, etc. - so the very least they could do is to help us out a little bit.
The newly announced FA Chairman, David Bernstein, stated in his very first press-release that he would listen to the thoughts and ideas of those people who make the game what it is - the fans - and would put practices in place so that we are treated fairly at all times. Now is the time for him to put his words into action and see if he really means what he says, or if - like all the FA Chairmen before him - he’s only interested in pandering to the money men hell bent on lining their own pockets, without giving 2 seconds thought to the supporters.
Football fans don’t ask for much these days, but being treated respectfully, fairly and with our finances in mind, it would go a long way to making our life just a little bit easier. It speaks volumes for the current state of our game when a gesture so simple & small would make such a big difference.
First of all, lets look at those who ‘run’ the game of football in the UK - more specifically England. To start with, you may think that the running of the game falls to a select few organisations - namely the Football Association, the Premier League and the Football League - but you would be wrong.
Also in the mix are other organisations, such as the Chairmen of both the Premier League and the Football League -who’s regular meetings are always held ’behind closed doors‘, like some secret society. (To see how the Premier League is run, see their own description here). Then there are the League Manager’s Association, the Professional Footballer’s Association and the Referee‘s Association. Then you have to include the TV companies: Sky, ESPN and less so (namely for the FA and Carling Cups), ITV and the BBC.
In short, there are an awful lot of people who make decisions on the game that directly involve those who the game is really for - no, not the corporate sponsors! - I’m talking about the fans. You & me. The people who buy the match tickets, the shirts (& other cheap tat from club shops) and who subscribe to the satellite channels, & yet those who run football seem intent on making life as difficult - and more importantly expensive - as possible for us fans to follow our teams.
Allow me to explain. The first fixtures scheduled for airing live on TV at the start of the season are generally announced 2 months or so in advance. This gives supporters fixed dates by which to make travel arrangements in plenty of time in order to see their teams away from home (or even AT home for those who now live away). However there are always spare slots left open for fixtures to be moved at short notice (Newcastle United v Sunderland at St James‘ Park earlier this season being one of those) and, especially at this ‘business end’ and ‘squeaky bum’ time of the season, the TV companies are only required to give the FA, Premier and Football Leagues, and indeed the clubs themselves, a mere 30 days notice that they wish to move games for live broadcast - throwing the travel plans for thousands of supporters into nothing short of chaos.
To cite an example of this, is Sky TV’s decision in 2008 to move Newcastle United's longest away game of the season at Portsmouth (682 miles round-trip) from Saturday 13th December to Sunday 14th December with a 1:30pm kick-off time. This was done with only the minimum allowable notice of just 30 days. So, to hell with all those Newcastle fans who had already booked planes, trains and automobiles, let alone hotels, all done at great expense and using time-consuming effort from fans to not just make their own bookings, but also to get numbers, prices, money & promises for group trips…..
To be honest, the contempt shown for supporters is normally aimed at over-paid, namby-pamby, heartless, gutless players, and wayward owners. Yet in actual fact, it should also be levied at not just the TV companies who see fit to do as they damn well please with blatant disregard for the fans, but also the clubs, the Premier League & the FA for allowing it to happen. I know things get interesting around this time of year and the completion for league titles, Europe and relegation begin to hot up, but surely, surely, it wouldn’t be too difficult for them to choose what games they wish to show live well in advance.
So much so, that if the FA and Premier League had any sort of backbone whatsoever, the TV contracts would contain a simple clause stating “should you (the TV companies) wish to move the date & time for any fixture, this must be done with a minimum of 60 days (or even better, 90 days for that matter) notice”. Should that clause ever be inserted into the TV contracts, the clubs themselves should also be forced to sign a charter stating that “all clubs must make details of tickets for forthcoming fixtures available to supporters no less than 60 (or 90 depending on the above) days in advance, and inform fans as to their obtaining of tickets for said fixtures no less than 45 (or 60) days in advance of the fixture date”.
These simple measures would ensure that we supporters would be able to make travel plans far enough in advance to take advantage of discounted fares and special deals, thus helping to keep our already high expenses to a minimum. Lets face it, the cost of going to home games, let alone away games, is high enough as it is - what with season ticket prices, busses, food & drink, etc. - so the very least they could do is to help us out a little bit.
The newly announced FA Chairman, David Bernstein, stated in his very first press-release that he would listen to the thoughts and ideas of those people who make the game what it is - the fans - and would put practices in place so that we are treated fairly at all times. Now is the time for him to put his words into action and see if he really means what he says, or if - like all the FA Chairmen before him - he’s only interested in pandering to the money men hell bent on lining their own pockets, without giving 2 seconds thought to the supporters.
Football fans don’t ask for much these days, but being treated respectfully, fairly and with our finances in mind, it would go a long way to making our life just a little bit easier. It speaks volumes for the current state of our game when a gesture so simple & small would make such a big difference.
Friday 21 January 2011
Scott Sellars Tribute Song!
This is dedicated to @NorthernJam @nufcfans and @Eaststand65
To the tune of 'The Blaydon Races'.....
T'was on the 25th of April in 1993,
that 30,000 & the rest did go along to see,
the mackems & their crappy team get egg upon their faces,
while aal the Geordies took the piss & sang the Blaydon Races!
Oh me lads, the mackems got a hiding,
& down into Division 2 is where the twats are sliding,
it's great to see the Roker shite get put back in their places,
while aal the Geordies tek the piss & sing the Blaydon Races!
The night before the rain came down like Britain's own monsoon,
the ref said "aye we play the game, me money's on the Toon",
the game kicked off amidst the rain the Toon were soon attacking,
it poured & poured 'cos Christ our Lord was pissing on the mackems!
Oh me lads, the mackems got a hiding
& down into Division 2 is where the twats are sliding,
it's great to see the Roker shite get put back in their places,
while aal the Geordies tek the piss & sing the Blaydon Races!
The rain came down some more & more, the Toon fans were so loud,
So Butcher tried to alter that by hoofing the ball in the crowd,
& then we won a great free-kick from which we'd make the most,
as Sellars scored the winning goal assisted by the post!
Oh me lads, the mackems got a hiding
& down into Division 2 is where the twats are sliding,
it's great to see the Roker shite get put back in their places,
while aal the Geordies tek the piss & sing the Blaydon Races!
The song does continue but I was too pissed to remember any more of it!
To the tune of 'The Blaydon Races'.....
T'was on the 25th of April in 1993,
that 30,000 & the rest did go along to see,
the mackems & their crappy team get egg upon their faces,
while aal the Geordies took the piss & sang the Blaydon Races!
Oh me lads, the mackems got a hiding,
& down into Division 2 is where the twats are sliding,
it's great to see the Roker shite get put back in their places,
while aal the Geordies tek the piss & sing the Blaydon Races!
The night before the rain came down like Britain's own monsoon,
the ref said "aye we play the game, me money's on the Toon",
the game kicked off amidst the rain the Toon were soon attacking,
it poured & poured 'cos Christ our Lord was pissing on the mackems!
Oh me lads, the mackems got a hiding
& down into Division 2 is where the twats are sliding,
it's great to see the Roker shite get put back in their places,
while aal the Geordies tek the piss & sing the Blaydon Races!
The rain came down some more & more, the Toon fans were so loud,
So Butcher tried to alter that by hoofing the ball in the crowd,
& then we won a great free-kick from which we'd make the most,
as Sellars scored the winning goal assisted by the post!
Oh me lads, the mackems got a hiding
& down into Division 2 is where the twats are sliding,
it's great to see the Roker shite get put back in their places,
while aal the Geordies tek the piss & sing the Blaydon Races!
The song does continue but I was too pissed to remember any more of it!
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