Friday, 21 September 2012
An NUFC Fans' Guide to Southampton Away
As a Geordie who has lived in Southampton for over 7 years, I feel more than qualified to write a guide for Newcastle fans who are coming down for the away game at St. Mary’s Stadium on Sunday 25th November, so here it is!
I won't bother delving into too much ‘historical’ information about the place, as all the facts & figures you could want or need are on the Wikipedia page here: City of Southampton Wikipedia Page.
Whenever people ask me to describe what Southampton is like, I always say it’s like a tramp’s dog - it’s a bit scruffy & smelly & it's generally good natured, but occasionally it will bite if you provoke it!
To be fair to the place, it was quite badly bombed by the Joormans during World War II & it wasn't very sympathetically restored afterwards. As a rough idea, the vast majority of the city centre in Southampton resembles something akin to awful 1960's architecture of Northumberland Street in Newcastle (Useless trivia alert! Did you know that Northumberland Street is the most expensive retail rental location per square foot in the UK outside of Oxford Street in London! I bet you didn't!).
So, what can be said about Southampton? Not a lot really! It's not somewhere people will visit & look back on it being one of the best times of their lives - simply because you won't have the best time of your life here! It's a bit of a 'meh' of a place really!
It's probably best for me to just stick to the essentials that NUFC fans will need to know: how to get here, hotels, food & drink and a bit about match days here.
How To Get Here - Trains, planes & automobiles!
Trains
The quickest route (about 5 and a half hours!) from Newcastle Central to Southampton Central is via London. Trains from London to Southampton are from Waterloo station which is 2 tubes & 25-30 minutes journey time from Kings Cross. A word of warning though - it won't be cheap! Expect to pay £100+.
Chances are you will arrive on either platform 3 or 4 at Southampton Central so turn left when you exit the station & you can either walk straight up the hill (about 10 minutes to the main city centre) or there is a taxi rank & bus stop right outside.
Please note that is a good half hour walk directly from the station to St. Mary's Stadium!
Planes
There are direct flights from Newcastle to Southampton with FlyBe. It's quick (about 50 minutes flying time) & easy to get to & from the city centres at both ends. As with the trains, flights can get expensive.
Once at Southampton Airport you have 3 choices to get into the city centre:
Taxi - Taxi's can be booked with Checker Cars from a booth within the airport terminal. Just head towards the main exit straight ahead of you after you leave the arrivals hall & the booth is on the right hand side before you go through the exit doors. It will cost you about £15-20 into the city centre.
Buses - Journey time to the city centre is about 35-40 minutes via the Uni-Link service. The U1C bus service operates between Southampton Airport, Southampton University, the city centre and waterfront. It runs every 15 minutes during the week and every 20 minutes at weekends and public holidays. One bus even has on-board wi-fi internet access! (Whoop-de-do I hear you cry!). There's also a U1A service in the opposite direction, from city to airport. It will cost you £2 each way from the airport to the city centre & vice-versa. The buses pick up & drop off right outside the airport terminal.
Trains - It takes about 60 seconds to walk from the airport terminal to Southampton Airport Parkway train station. Simply turn left when you exit the terminal & the station is right in front of you. The platform to the city centre is on the airport side of the station, with the platform on the opposite side (over the bridge) heading towards Winchester & London (this is the platform you would arrive on if you get the train back from the city centre to the airport on the way home).
Both South West Trains & Cross Country Trains serve the route to Southampton Central & trains run about every 10-15 minutes or so. Journey time is about 8-10 minutes & the cost is £3.30 each way.
Automobiles
It is probably best to use either sat-nav or the AA Route Planner for your journey. It's about 320 miles from city centre to city centre (NE1 to SO14) & on a good day it should take you about 6 hours with no stops.
Having suffered the monotony of this journey more times than I would like to remember, I would definitely recommend stopping at least once - even twice if you have the time.
Parking
As with most towns & cities in the UK, the majority of parking is controlled by the local council & is plentiful - but isn't cheap. As for the NCP parking, we all know you need to re-mortgage your house to use one!
The Southampton City Council guide to parking is here
The independent Parkopedia guide to parking in Southampton is here
As for free parking then there are really only two choices - the Hill Lane area of town not far from Southampton Central Station, and the Woolston area on the opposite side of the Itchen Bridge.
The best way of deciding which to use is dependent on your pre & post match ritual. If you are going straight to & from the game, then Woolston is probably your best bet. Street parking is available & it is approximately a 20-25 minute walk to St Mary's Stadium over the Itchen Bridge. The city centre is a further 15-20 minute walk from the ground.
If you are heading into town before &/or after the match, then the side streets off Hill Lane would be a better choice. The city centre is a 20-25 minute walk from here, with the ground being a further 15-20 minute walk from the city centre.
Please note: If you are using street parking, make an effort to take note of any signs referring to permits for the area, as they may be in force in certain locations.
Also, if you are planning to drive over the Itchen Bridge, there is a toll for doing so. On Sundays this is 50p for cars.
Park & Ride There is a Park & Ride facility in use just off junction 8 of the M27 and costs £8 per vehicle. It is clearly signposted from the motorway & is located opposite a large Tesco. It opens 2 hours before kick-off and the journey to the ground takes about 15 minutes. Be warned though, it is very rarely used by home supporters and they have been known to close it if there aren't enough people using it.
If you a driving into Southampton City Centre, please note that the streets around the ground are closed for an hour or two before & after the game, and traffic can be a nightmare to clear after the final whistle.
Hotels
As is the case in most towns, there is a range of hotels in Southampton. The usual suspects - Holiday Inn, Premier Inn, Jurys Inn & Travelodge's - are all here, however there are alternatives. The are a range of B&B's in the Hill Lane are of the town about a 10 minute walk from the train station & 15-20 minutes walk from the city centre. For the lazy arses among you, buses are plentiful although not particularly cheap.
By far the best value though is the ETAP Hotel on West Quay Retail Park. Staying on the Saturday night (the 24th) with 1 or 2 in a room is currently £49* - or with 3 in a room £54* in total. Staying on the Sunday night (the 25th) with 1 or 2 in a room is currently £35* - or with 3 in a room £40* in total. (*Prices correct at the time of writing & do not include breakfast).
The hotel is only a 10 minutes walk to the main city centre & there is a 24 hour McDonalds right next door!
Eating
All the major branded fast food outlets are here so I don't really need to mention those. However, with the exception of the 24 hour McDonalds at West Quay Retail Park, they all close fairly early (around 10pm-ish) - even on the weekends!
For other fast food outlets, you're best heading to Bedford Place which is a street filled with kebaberies, pizzerias, Indians, Chinese's & other general post-pub greasy goodness with tastes & budgets to suit everyone - it just depends what you fancy, how drunk you are & how much you want to spend! My own personal top 3 'proper' restaurants in the city centre would be:
Ranchos Steakhouse - The High Street. Brilliant steaks, ribs & other meaty goodness - although it can be pricey depending on what you have. Expect to pay about £30 per person (not including drinks) although the quality is very good.
Coriander Lounge - The High Street. Probably the best Indian in Southampton. Again, not cheap at about £25+ per person (not including drinks) but it's well worth the money.
Turtle Bay - Guildhall Square. A fantastic Caribbean restaurant which has only been open about a year but is already very popular. Pay about £15 for 2 courses & £20 for 3 (not including drinks). Has the bonus of having Red Stripe on tap!
There is also a food court on the top floor of the West Quay shopping centre which is home to Costa Coffee, Harry Ramsden's, KFC, Krispy Kreme, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Pret A Manger, Starbucks, Yo! Sushi & yes, there's even a Nando's (but don't expect to get a mobile phone signal nor 3G or Wi-Fi in there!).
Drinking*
(*Please note: This isn't a definitive guide to all the pubs in Southampton city centre - just my opinion of the main ones).
Now we're talking! I'm not going to pull any punches here - Southampton is a pretty crap night out if I'm honest. The city is home to a lot of students & most places in the city bend over backwards to accommodate them & sod the rest of the people who live here. The best part of town to head to is the Bedford Place area.
Revolution is located on the corner of Bedford Place & Carlton Place. I don't need to go into details as you'll know what to expect. Don't expect the setting to be anywhere near as nice as the one in Newcastle though!
Just round the corner on Carlton Place are The Pensioners Arms (no jokes please!), The Cricketers & Seymours. All these places are canny small so get busy - but it's well worth a visit to them as they're lively & have a decent selection of drinks available.
90 Degrees at Carlton's is over the road from the Pensioners & the Cricketers & is where the (supposedly) good & the great of Southampton go. That means stuck up lasses wearing too much make-up supping over-priced cocktails bought by blokes giving it the Bertie Big Bollocks with their spiky haircuts & jeans halfway around their arses. Best avoided.
Next door to 90 Degrees is Pop World (formerly Reflex). The 80s nightclub. Does what it says on the tin! Normally a canny good night out in here to be honest - not least because @PikeyNUFC is barred from here (amongst other places)!
Around the corner on Vernon Walk is Orange Rooms & Buddha Lounge. Much of a muchness like most 'trendy' bars these days. DJs playing awful dance music too loud & overpriced drinks are the order of the day, they get busy with young 'trendies' (or so they like to think!) on weekends.
Just along from here is the Avondale which ok - if cheap-ish scruffy student pubs are your thing. Round the corner on London Road is Varsity which is a Yates's/Wetherspoon type place. Ok, but not bad. Decent grub if you're hungry. At the other end of London Road is the Giddy Bridge - a Wetherspoons.
Just a minute's walk from Varsity though is a gem of a pub called The Alexandra Beer Emporium. A quirky little pub where none of the tables & chairs match, the male bar staff have wispy facial hair & the female bar staff tend to favour piercings. A great choice of drinks (my favourite Heineken on tap!) and some weird & wonderful bits & bobs of movie and music memorabilia dotted around the place. A pool table & a big beer garden completes the picture. One of my favourite pubs in Southampton!
Heading into town, Above Bar is home to the usual sticky-floored fight-fest known as Yates's. 2-floors of chavs & under-dressed fat birds..... Probably not unlike the Yates's in every town in the country! It has a capacity of approx. 400-500 & has been deemed as the designated NUFC away pub by Southampton Police. Chances are, match tickets will be checked by bouncers on the door to ensure away fans only are admitted. Similarly, other pubs in the city are known to check tickets to ensure that only HOME fans gain entry - so don't be surprised if you are refused entry elsewhere. It is approximately a 20 minute walk to St. Mary's Stadium from here, so when the time hits 2:30pm, resist the urge for another quick pint or else risk missing the kick-off! There is a taxi rank opposite Yates's & it will take about 5-10 minutes to get near to the ground (most of the roads around the ground are closed on match days so you won't get dropped right outside) and it shouldn't cost much more than £5-6.
The over-priced Slug & Lettuce and Que Pasa are a couple of doors down from Yates's. Further down on the High Street is Wahoo*. It used to be a Walkabout pub & nothing much has changed aside from the name. That means crap beer in plastic glasses served as slowly as possible by people who look like they've just won a 'face like a slapped arse' competition. (*I have since been told that Wahoo has closed down. It's no loss!)
Over the road from Wahoo is a little bar called Oasis. It's ok-ish & has DJs at the weekend. Next door to this is For Your Eyes Only. Just saying! I take no responsibility for however you choose to use this information!
Out of town is the pub I work in - & which is also my local watering hole - The Swan. It is located on Portsmouth Road in Woolston approx. 2 miles from St. Mary's Stadium. The number 3, 4, 5 and 6 buses run between the city centre & the pub taking 10-15 minutes each way & costing about £3 return. Sholing train station is a 3 minute walk away & trains run from Southampton Central at 44 minutes past the hour every hour, and return at 22 minutes past the hour every hour costing £3.70 return and taking about 15 minutes.
I've drunk in a great many pubs in my time, & The Swan is almost unique in the mix of people that drink there harmoniously! It is known locally as a bikers pub, but that is really only on a weekend & depending on which band is playing. Having said that, the bikers that come in (mostly on a Sunday afternoon) are a top bunch of lads who would give you their last £1 coin. There are people from every walk of life, not just mixing together but getting on together too creating a friendly and relaxed-yet-lively atmosphere and there is always banter flying about between the customers - and the staff...!!
On draught there is McEwans Cold Lager (£3), Fosters (£3.30), Kronenbourg (£3.65), John Smith's (£3.25), Strongbow (£3.50), Guinness (£3.60) and 2 real ales (changeable - although Bombardier and Directors are usually our standard real ales) at £3.45. Bottles are £3.40 and we stock Heineken, Amstel, Desperados, Smirnoff Ice, WKD, etc - although Newcastle Brown Ale is £3.60! We also sell all 4 flavours of Bulmers cider at £3.95 per bottle. Yep, £3.95! We have the usual pool table, juke box & darts, and live bands on Friday & Saturday nights (9pm-11pm) and Sunday afternoons (usually 4pm-7pm but they play 5pm-8pm when Saints are at home).
Working there is one thing, but I wouldn't drink there too & put my wages back in the till if it wasn't a decent boozer! NUFC fans are more than welcome to visit all weekend - although I will be on the customer side of the bar the entire time!
Cavorting
In all honesty, I'm not really one for clubbing so I won't bother going into too much detail - if for no other reason that I don't know anything about the clubs in Southampton!
Oceana is the largest nightclub in Southampton and is located at Leisureworld on West Quay Road. I haven't been there in about 5 years and it has been refurbished since my last visit.
Their website says "Oceana Southampton nightclub is a multi-room destination venue offering you a number of unsurpassable [sic] experiences over three floors. Every room is styled to reflect iconic destinations from around the world making it one of the largest nightclub capacities in the country!" Yay.
I mentioned Pop World at Bedford Place earlier, & there is also a Flares-type club on Above Bar Street called Revival. You know what to expect! Opposite Revival is a pub/club called Provenance Night Club (formally the Square Balloon). If the Balloon was anything to go by, it will be crap. Expect to see local charva's squaring up to each other & tacky hen parties.
At the risk of repeating myself, For Your Eyes Only is located on the High Street. Again, I am just saying, and I take no responsibility for however you choose to use this information!
Match Day in Southampton!
First of all, if you were to walk through Southampton city centre on a home match day, you would be hard pressed to even know there is a game on! Honestly, there is hardly any difference between a normal day & a match day. Sure, a couple of pubs may be a little bit busier before the match, but that's about it!
Southampton FC has a lot of 'scarfers' who go to games. You know the ones, dad with his young son, sometimes the whole family - all resplendent in the latest home shirt (usually with awful customised shirt printing on the back), a packed lunch & yes, red & white striped scarves. There are LOADS of this lot around. I am fairly confident that you won't see more scarfers at an away game all season - maybe with the possible exception of Reading & Norwich.....
Southampton doesn't have a 'firm' as such - although there is a group of 20-somethings calling themselves the "Chandlers Ford Forty" who knock around on a match weekend. I've only seen them in action personally once, when they battered half a dozen Preston lads sat having lunch in a pub on a Sunday - the day AFTER the game.....
That's not to say that Southampton aren't up for it. They were quietly notorious back in the day - although they were overshadowed by the more active Portsmouth 657 Crew. The furthest north they ever really ventured was to Sheffield Wednesday & Middlesbrough (where they reportedly gave a good account of themselves) and they were known to be very well respected by Everton's County Road Cutters in the 1980's after they took their home pub just around the corner from Goodison Park! Trust me, not many firms were brave enough to even attempt such a thing back then - let alone do it!
It is highly doubtful you will get any trouble off the home support - but as with all away games, that depends on how you behave yourself..! If you want trouble you will be able to find it, but generally the locals are a peaceful bunch.
One thing of note about Southampton fans is that they are shamelessly arrogant. Even when they were in the Championship & Division 1, they had a level of cockyness that would make even a ManYoo fan blush! No word of a lie, there is a majority of their fans who STILL think they will go on a run & qualify for Europe! I'm not kidding either! There are a few decent ones out there, but generally they are arrogant on a level that will leave you speechless!
As with all away days, Southampton will be as good (or as bad!) as you want to make it, & of course, a lot of that depends on the result...!!
If anyone has any questions, needs any advice or fancies a pint while they're down here, give me a shout. Have a safe journey & a good time!!
Wednesday, 9 February 2011
'United For Newcastle' Statement
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.
'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.
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!
Wednesday, 29 December 2010
Spuds 2 - Duds 0
Tottenham Hotspur v Newcastle United.
White Hart Lane.
Tuesday 28th December 2010.
3pm Kick-Off.
Player Ratings:
Krul: 7/10 - His distribution was much better than the Man City game, although that wasn’t difficult! Cleared his lines well under pressure & made a good save tipping the ball over the bar from a Van Der Vaart free-kick, before producing an outstanding save from Roman Pavlyuchenko in first half stoppage time - aided & abetted by the post.
Simpson: 6/10 - Could & should have read the threat for the second goal better. Bale will get all the “Welsh Pele” plaudits once again, but Danny could have done more to stop the threat. Confused going forward & couldn’t make his mind up if he should attack or not, so kept getting caught in no-mans land. Aside from the sheep-shagger’s goal though, he kept Bale fairly quiet.
S. Taylor: 5/10 - Seems to have been included in the starting line-up only on the back of his new contract. There’s no guarantees that Williamson would have played any better than Saylor, but he certainly wouldn’t have done any worse. He needs to prove his worth now and hopefully won’t slip into the Shola Ameobi comfort zone now he’s getting his wedge for the next 5 and a half years.
Coloccini: 5/10 - Looks so much more comfortable with Williamson next to him in defence. Played as if he’d only been introduced to Saylor in the dressing room 5 minutes before kick-off. Was a bit headless at times & was caught following the ball on occasion. Seems to have lost his excellent early season form, and appears to be very much a confidence player.
Perch: 4/10 - Although he started fairly well against Aaron Lennon, this didn’t last & he was at fault for the first goal by allowing the tiny Tottenham terror to twist & turn his way past him. To be honest, hasn’t improved one jot since we bought him, starting off craply at right-back and now he’s crap at left back too. Shouldn’t be allowed to watch NUFC on the telly let alone play for us. I’d rather have an unfit Enrique than a fully-fit Perch every day of the week, Perch shouldn’t even be a squad-player. Must be the first one out of the door in January.
Routledge: 2/10 - Crap. Simple as that. Played too close to Simpson and didn’t use his pace except to leave the pitch at the final whistle. First of all, what's the point in having the pace if you don't use it? Secondly, even when he does use it, he has no end product. Didn’t trouble anyone except my brainpower trying to think up more insults for this waste of a shirt. May as well have not bothered even playing. If his house was on fire I have no doubt he would end up running around in circles until it burnt down around him……
Barton: 7/10 - NUFC’s best player today, although that’s not saying very much….. His delivery from free-kicks and corners was poor by his usual high standards, but he stood up well to non-stop grief from the crowd and non-stop hoofing up the arse and wind-ups from the Spurs players who were obviously sent out to try and wind him up. A rare off-day for Joey, and he will know - as much as we do - that he can & will play much better this season. Along with Peter Lovenkrands, Joey was the only Newcastle player who really put any effort into applauding the travelling fans.
Tiote: (subbed - Lovenkrands - 78 mins) 6/10 - Not his best game in a black & white shirt, but battled away and never gave up the cause. Kept getting caught in possession and his passing wasn’t as good as we’ve come to expect from him. He has set a very high standard for himself and didn’t live up to it today. It was criminal to take him off when the likes of Routledge & Smith remained on the pitch. Was involved in the Younes Kaboul sending off - although I missed the incident thanks to the twatty steward who kept standing in front of me (something which I was informed he does on a regular basis) - until after this incident when I had him ejected by his supervisor & the friendly, funny Gooner rozzer who was stood next to me in the second half game!
Smith: 4/10 - More pedestrian than the people walking along Tottenham High Road before the match. Seemed disinterested from the first minute to the last and contributed nothing of note. If he played in my local pub 5-a-side team he’d be dropped after this display. He wasn’t the worst Newcastle player on the pitch, but he tried his best to be. I think Smudge’s best days are long behind him & he doesn’t contribute to the depth of the squad in any way. His selection is always met with cries of “fucking Smith?” from Newcastle fans whenever his name is on the team sheet. Still, at least he’s not Danny Guthrie….
Gutirrez: (subbed - Ranger - 67 mins) 2/10 - Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear….. The above comments for Routledge all apply to Jonas today too. Played like Laurent Robert did when he couldn’t be bothered either, and will end up through the same exit door as the moody Frenchman unless he bucks his ideas up sharpish. Can’t beat his man, can’t cross, can’t head, can’t shoot, can’t tackle, can’t keep up with play, can’t track back, can’t be bothered.
Carroll: 6/10 - Wasn’t his normal imposing self today due to a lack of service and as a result he only really had one half-chance - putting a first-half header onto the roof of the net. He did, however, run after every ball & lost cause like he was a Jack Russell chasing a tennis ball in the park - as he always does. He must have looked around the dressing room after the final whistle & wondered why he bothered to put so much effort in when too many of his team-mates didn't seem interested. We’d be lost without the big fella if he left as without him, we have very little else to offer up front.
Subs:
Lovenkrands (for Tiote - 78 mins): 5/10 - Ok, confession time: I like Mr Lovenpants. I think he’s our best natural finisher by a mile and stays cool, calm and collected when he’s on the ball. He proved all these traits with his match-winning goal away to QPR on the last day of last season. Vastly underrated and underused this season, he didn’t get enough time to strut his stuff today, but showed intelligence with his touch and passing. Needs more of a chance and a run in the team to show his worth.
Ranger (for Gutirrez - 67 mins): 5/10 - Didn’t have as much impact as his previous outings from the bench, but still causes the opposition problems a la Tino Asprilla, as defences don’t know what he’s going to do next - as I doubt he does himself! Still young and learning his trade, he needs to mature quickly and a goal would do his game and his composure the world of good. Personally, I would have started him up front with Big Andy yesterday (leaving Smith on the bench) playing a 4-4-2 instead of the ineffectual 4-5-1.
White Hart Lane.
Tuesday 28th December 2010.
3pm Kick-Off.
Player Ratings:
Krul: 7/10 - His distribution was much better than the Man City game, although that wasn’t difficult! Cleared his lines well under pressure & made a good save tipping the ball over the bar from a Van Der Vaart free-kick, before producing an outstanding save from Roman Pavlyuchenko in first half stoppage time - aided & abetted by the post.
Simpson: 6/10 - Could & should have read the threat for the second goal better. Bale will get all the “Welsh Pele” plaudits once again, but Danny could have done more to stop the threat. Confused going forward & couldn’t make his mind up if he should attack or not, so kept getting caught in no-mans land. Aside from the sheep-shagger’s goal though, he kept Bale fairly quiet.
S. Taylor: 5/10 - Seems to have been included in the starting line-up only on the back of his new contract. There’s no guarantees that Williamson would have played any better than Saylor, but he certainly wouldn’t have done any worse. He needs to prove his worth now and hopefully won’t slip into the Shola Ameobi comfort zone now he’s getting his wedge for the next 5 and a half years.
Coloccini: 5/10 - Looks so much more comfortable with Williamson next to him in defence. Played as if he’d only been introduced to Saylor in the dressing room 5 minutes before kick-off. Was a bit headless at times & was caught following the ball on occasion. Seems to have lost his excellent early season form, and appears to be very much a confidence player.
Perch: 4/10 - Although he started fairly well against Aaron Lennon, this didn’t last & he was at fault for the first goal by allowing the tiny Tottenham terror to twist & turn his way past him. To be honest, hasn’t improved one jot since we bought him, starting off craply at right-back and now he’s crap at left back too. Shouldn’t be allowed to watch NUFC on the telly let alone play for us. I’d rather have an unfit Enrique than a fully-fit Perch every day of the week, Perch shouldn’t even be a squad-player. Must be the first one out of the door in January.
Routledge: 2/10 - Crap. Simple as that. Played too close to Simpson and didn’t use his pace except to leave the pitch at the final whistle. First of all, what's the point in having the pace if you don't use it? Secondly, even when he does use it, he has no end product. Didn’t trouble anyone except my brainpower trying to think up more insults for this waste of a shirt. May as well have not bothered even playing. If his house was on fire I have no doubt he would end up running around in circles until it burnt down around him……
Barton: 7/10 - NUFC’s best player today, although that’s not saying very much….. His delivery from free-kicks and corners was poor by his usual high standards, but he stood up well to non-stop grief from the crowd and non-stop hoofing up the arse and wind-ups from the Spurs players who were obviously sent out to try and wind him up. A rare off-day for Joey, and he will know - as much as we do - that he can & will play much better this season. Along with Peter Lovenkrands, Joey was the only Newcastle player who really put any effort into applauding the travelling fans.
Tiote: (subbed - Lovenkrands - 78 mins) 6/10 - Not his best game in a black & white shirt, but battled away and never gave up the cause. Kept getting caught in possession and his passing wasn’t as good as we’ve come to expect from him. He has set a very high standard for himself and didn’t live up to it today. It was criminal to take him off when the likes of Routledge & Smith remained on the pitch. Was involved in the Younes Kaboul sending off - although I missed the incident thanks to the twatty steward who kept standing in front of me (something which I was informed he does on a regular basis) - until after this incident when I had him ejected by his supervisor & the friendly, funny Gooner rozzer who was stood next to me in the second half game!
Smith: 4/10 - More pedestrian than the people walking along Tottenham High Road before the match. Seemed disinterested from the first minute to the last and contributed nothing of note. If he played in my local pub 5-a-side team he’d be dropped after this display. He wasn’t the worst Newcastle player on the pitch, but he tried his best to be. I think Smudge’s best days are long behind him & he doesn’t contribute to the depth of the squad in any way. His selection is always met with cries of “fucking Smith?” from Newcastle fans whenever his name is on the team sheet. Still, at least he’s not Danny Guthrie….
Gutirrez: (subbed - Ranger - 67 mins) 2/10 - Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear….. The above comments for Routledge all apply to Jonas today too. Played like Laurent Robert did when he couldn’t be bothered either, and will end up through the same exit door as the moody Frenchman unless he bucks his ideas up sharpish. Can’t beat his man, can’t cross, can’t head, can’t shoot, can’t tackle, can’t keep up with play, can’t track back, can’t be bothered.
Carroll: 6/10 - Wasn’t his normal imposing self today due to a lack of service and as a result he only really had one half-chance - putting a first-half header onto the roof of the net. He did, however, run after every ball & lost cause like he was a Jack Russell chasing a tennis ball in the park - as he always does. He must have looked around the dressing room after the final whistle & wondered why he bothered to put so much effort in when too many of his team-mates didn't seem interested. We’d be lost without the big fella if he left as without him, we have very little else to offer up front.
Subs:
Lovenkrands (for Tiote - 78 mins): 5/10 - Ok, confession time: I like Mr Lovenpants. I think he’s our best natural finisher by a mile and stays cool, calm and collected when he’s on the ball. He proved all these traits with his match-winning goal away to QPR on the last day of last season. Vastly underrated and underused this season, he didn’t get enough time to strut his stuff today, but showed intelligence with his touch and passing. Needs more of a chance and a run in the team to show his worth.
Ranger (for Gutirrez - 67 mins): 5/10 - Didn’t have as much impact as his previous outings from the bench, but still causes the opposition problems a la Tino Asprilla, as defences don’t know what he’s going to do next - as I doubt he does himself! Still young and learning his trade, he needs to mature quickly and a goal would do his game and his composure the world of good. Personally, I would have started him up front with Big Andy yesterday (leaving Smith on the bench) playing a 4-4-2 instead of the ineffectual 4-5-1.
Tuesday, 21 December 2010
Should The Lunatics Run The Asylum?
Mike Ashley. Where the hell do I begin? What could I possibly write about the situation he has brought unto himself yet again that hasn’t already been written? Well, amid talk ranging from a boycott of the concessions selling pies & pints at St. James’ Park & the club shop, to staying away from home games & mass walk-outs, I’ll have a bash at giving you my take on how to deal with the pesky parasite from darn sarf…..
The NUST have proved themselves to be not much more than rabble rousers who are interested in nothing but shameless self promotion & doing the occasional bit for charidee. Let’s face it; a supporter-led buy-out of the club isn’t going to happen, unless Barry Moat (yet another shameless self promoter) finds some more loose change down the back of the sofa.
The chances of some oil-rich Arabs coming in & ridding us of the current regime are about as slim as Mr Ashley’s waist, and this itself is fraught with its own dangers - just look at the comedy-drama going on at Manchester City for proof of this. From the good old’ US of A came the owners of Liverpool and Manchester United - and how we laughed when we saw the mess they made of supporter relations. Just like Mike Ashley, in fact, just with an added ‘yee-haw’ at the end of the sentences…..
So, where does this leave us? Stuck with Mike Ashley until the end of time? Do we hope that the new manager Alan Pardew has the same effect on his current Chairman as he did on his last one? (for those who can‘t remember, Southampton owner Markus Liebherr actually passed away). Do we burn him at the stake? Run him out of the city? String him up from the Tyne Bridge by his dangly bits? (All valid options I‘m sure you‘ll agree). Or do we eat humble pie & go to Mr Ashley, cap-in-hand, and try to negotiate a reasoned, rational way into his thinking?
Before you all want to use some of my own suggestions on me, let me explain….. Let’s pretend for a minute we are Mike Ashley. Yes, I know it’s not easy, and yes, I know we would all have done things very, very differently if we were he, but bear with me on this one. Let’s say you make a mistake at work. We all do it. It happens. Now lets say that all your customers - at once, en-masse - waited outside your work for you, full of anger & hate, foaming at the mouth, making threats about your personal safety and questioning your waist size and your parentage. How would you react?
Would you say “come in, lets talk, lets see if we can sort something out“? Would you quit immediately and crawl back under the rock you came out from? Or would you stick your middle finger up at them, tell them all to f*ck off & have a laugh at them behind their backs with your mates in the pub that night? What say they continued to do this day after day, setting up websites against you and pages & groups on social networking sites? Would this help improve your feelings towards them? Would it not just make you want to do the same things to them that I suggested we may want to do to him? Would you not give two-shits about them and just carry on regardless?
It is well documented that the best way to make any impact on Mike Ashley is to boycott his stores and his brands - to hit him in the pocket. However, what is the likelihood of this having the effect required? I know I don’t, & won’t, use his stores - and I know of many other Newcastle fans who feel the same - but what say of his hundreds of other stores around the country, where people with no emotional tie to NUFC will continue to shop regardless? Will they stop buying his stack ‘em high, sell ‘em cheap goods because we ask them to? No, is the simple answer to that.
(Just as a brief side-note, Mr Ashley’s ownership of both Sp0rt$ D!r£ct and Newcastle United has one persistent question burning a hole in my mind: How much money does SD contribute to NUFC? Are SD paying the going rate for all the advertising they get at St. James’ Park? Are they paying the same amount for the naming rights to the stadium that an outside company would? Is the hideous advert on the roof of the Gallowgate End putting money into the club and the squad? Or is he just using the ground as a free vehicle to publicise his other financial interest? My guess would be the latter.)
So there we have it. Fan representation. Now I’m not saying my plan is perfect - far from it. The possibilities of it actually happening are miniscule and better people than me & you have tried & failed. But… But… What IF we extended an olive branch to Mr Ashley? What IF we formed a reasoned, mature, informed group to try to negotiate some way to actually get him round a table and talk to him? To try to get him to see our point of view as I have tried to see things from his? To say to him “look, I know we haven’t always got on, and you probably like (!) us as much as we do you, but just hear us out, listen to our fears and see if we can all just get along for the good of the club” - which, after all, is the most important thing here, and is what we the fans, and dare I even say Mr Ashley himself, wants?
In an ideal world, we would have someone equally close to Mike Ashley as they are to the fans. Someone who could be equally honest with both, and deal with each party in the same manner. A negotiator if you will. A mediator. A diplomat. Someone who can explain his decisions to us & try to help us understand why he makes the choices he does - and to explain to him the reasons why we may not agree with those choices, in the hope that both parties can reach an agreement we’re all happy with.
I know this idealism raises many more questions than it answers. For example, how do we get close enough to the owner to put this to him? How do we sit him down and explain to him that this is for the betterment of the club, and that to have us all working together FOR the club is much more beneficial than us both heading in opposite directions, pulling it apart? That to truly be Newcastle UNITED, we must all join forces in our aims, in our hopes & dreams, in our vision for the future of the club. This can only happen in one way: to negotiate with the current owner. To show him that all we care about, is NUFC (and all the while hoping he feels the same)…..
Before any of that can happen however, we need to take a long, hard look at ourselves and what we are doing to contribute to this mess. Are we banding together to form a strong alliance capable of influencing change? No. Are we being sensible by discussing all the options available to us, going through all the pros & cons and coming up with a concise plan of action? No. Right now, the situation is so farcical that even the various protest groups are fighting against each other! Lets face the bare facts of the matter here: if we can’t even sit down and discuss things between ourselves, and continue to bicker over who’s right and who’s wrong and who’s dad is bigger than who’s, then we don’t stand a chance in hell of making a difference to the situation, and are merely providing outsiders with even more mud to sling at us.
In our quest for the best for Newcastle United, we need to think smart and act accordingly. To maybe show a bit of humility and hope that the same is returned. If we want positive change for our club, my suggestion would be to put away the hastily scrawled bed sheets, to untie the noose, and to stop fighting what is essentially a losing battle against Mike Ashley, and to prove to him that we can be grown up, reasonable and responsible in the face of adversity. This in turn, I feel, will have a much more positive effect on the situation.
Am I trying to dream the impossible dream? Maybe. But wouldn’t all our lives as Newcastle United fans - and indeed the club itself - benefit from for this? Definitely.
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Thank you for your comment, they are always appreciated! Don't get me wrong, I think the banner wavers have their place - and I reserve the right for people to protest in whatever way they feel is most appropriate - I just feel that there are more constructive ways for us to let Mr Ashley know that we are unhappy with the way he is running the club, and most importantly, going about trying to change things.
With regard to the 'olive branch' idea, I would love the FA (or even UEFA and FIFA for that matter) make it compulsory for all professional clubs to have some kind of supporter representation who allowed direct contact with those running their club. Otherwise, the entire game - from the players, management and team owners/chairmen - risk alienating the most important part of the club, the fans.
Players, managers and owners will always come and go, yet the one constant is the supporters. Without us, they have no teams, and with no teams, they have no game. Yet as long as we continue to line their pockets nothing will ever change, as they expect nothing more of us than to pay our money and keep our mouths shut. In their eyes, we are not entitled to an opinion on any aspect of the game.
** I would just like it noted for the record, for anyone reading this post, that in no way do I support Mike Ashley and nor do I agree with the way he has been running NUFC. I am merely trying to look at an alternative (and hopefully more constructive) way of dealing with the current situation. As I said above, I fully support the right of NUFC fans to protest in whatever way they feel is most productive to them, regardless of whether I agree with their methods or not.
The NUST have proved themselves to be not much more than rabble rousers who are interested in nothing but shameless self promotion & doing the occasional bit for charidee. Let’s face it; a supporter-led buy-out of the club isn’t going to happen, unless Barry Moat (yet another shameless self promoter) finds some more loose change down the back of the sofa.
The chances of some oil-rich Arabs coming in & ridding us of the current regime are about as slim as Mr Ashley’s waist, and this itself is fraught with its own dangers - just look at the comedy-drama going on at Manchester City for proof of this. From the good old’ US of A came the owners of Liverpool and Manchester United - and how we laughed when we saw the mess they made of supporter relations. Just like Mike Ashley, in fact, just with an added ‘yee-haw’ at the end of the sentences…..
So, where does this leave us? Stuck with Mike Ashley until the end of time? Do we hope that the new manager Alan Pardew has the same effect on his current Chairman as he did on his last one? (for those who can‘t remember, Southampton owner Markus Liebherr actually passed away). Do we burn him at the stake? Run him out of the city? String him up from the Tyne Bridge by his dangly bits? (All valid options I‘m sure you‘ll agree). Or do we eat humble pie & go to Mr Ashley, cap-in-hand, and try to negotiate a reasoned, rational way into his thinking?
Before you all want to use some of my own suggestions on me, let me explain….. Let’s pretend for a minute we are Mike Ashley. Yes, I know it’s not easy, and yes, I know we would all have done things very, very differently if we were he, but bear with me on this one. Let’s say you make a mistake at work. We all do it. It happens. Now lets say that all your customers - at once, en-masse - waited outside your work for you, full of anger & hate, foaming at the mouth, making threats about your personal safety and questioning your waist size and your parentage. How would you react?
Would you say “come in, lets talk, lets see if we can sort something out“? Would you quit immediately and crawl back under the rock you came out from? Or would you stick your middle finger up at them, tell them all to f*ck off & have a laugh at them behind their backs with your mates in the pub that night? What say they continued to do this day after day, setting up websites against you and pages & groups on social networking sites? Would this help improve your feelings towards them? Would it not just make you want to do the same things to them that I suggested we may want to do to him? Would you not give two-shits about them and just carry on regardless?
It is well documented that the best way to make any impact on Mike Ashley is to boycott his stores and his brands - to hit him in the pocket. However, what is the likelihood of this having the effect required? I know I don’t, & won’t, use his stores - and I know of many other Newcastle fans who feel the same - but what say of his hundreds of other stores around the country, where people with no emotional tie to NUFC will continue to shop regardless? Will they stop buying his stack ‘em high, sell ‘em cheap goods because we ask them to? No, is the simple answer to that.
(Just as a brief side-note, Mr Ashley’s ownership of both Sp0rt$ D!r£ct and Newcastle United has one persistent question burning a hole in my mind: How much money does SD contribute to NUFC? Are SD paying the going rate for all the advertising they get at St. James’ Park? Are they paying the same amount for the naming rights to the stadium that an outside company would? Is the hideous advert on the roof of the Gallowgate End putting money into the club and the squad? Or is he just using the ground as a free vehicle to publicise his other financial interest? My guess would be the latter.)
So there we have it. Fan representation. Now I’m not saying my plan is perfect - far from it. The possibilities of it actually happening are miniscule and better people than me & you have tried & failed. But… But… What IF we extended an olive branch to Mr Ashley? What IF we formed a reasoned, mature, informed group to try to negotiate some way to actually get him round a table and talk to him? To try to get him to see our point of view as I have tried to see things from his? To say to him “look, I know we haven’t always got on, and you probably like (!) us as much as we do you, but just hear us out, listen to our fears and see if we can all just get along for the good of the club” - which, after all, is the most important thing here, and is what we the fans, and dare I even say Mr Ashley himself, wants?
In an ideal world, we would have someone equally close to Mike Ashley as they are to the fans. Someone who could be equally honest with both, and deal with each party in the same manner. A negotiator if you will. A mediator. A diplomat. Someone who can explain his decisions to us & try to help us understand why he makes the choices he does - and to explain to him the reasons why we may not agree with those choices, in the hope that both parties can reach an agreement we’re all happy with.
I know this idealism raises many more questions than it answers. For example, how do we get close enough to the owner to put this to him? How do we sit him down and explain to him that this is for the betterment of the club, and that to have us all working together FOR the club is much more beneficial than us both heading in opposite directions, pulling it apart? That to truly be Newcastle UNITED, we must all join forces in our aims, in our hopes & dreams, in our vision for the future of the club. This can only happen in one way: to negotiate with the current owner. To show him that all we care about, is NUFC (and all the while hoping he feels the same)…..
Before any of that can happen however, we need to take a long, hard look at ourselves and what we are doing to contribute to this mess. Are we banding together to form a strong alliance capable of influencing change? No. Are we being sensible by discussing all the options available to us, going through all the pros & cons and coming up with a concise plan of action? No. Right now, the situation is so farcical that even the various protest groups are fighting against each other! Lets face the bare facts of the matter here: if we can’t even sit down and discuss things between ourselves, and continue to bicker over who’s right and who’s wrong and who’s dad is bigger than who’s, then we don’t stand a chance in hell of making a difference to the situation, and are merely providing outsiders with even more mud to sling at us.
In our quest for the best for Newcastle United, we need to think smart and act accordingly. To maybe show a bit of humility and hope that the same is returned. If we want positive change for our club, my suggestion would be to put away the hastily scrawled bed sheets, to untie the noose, and to stop fighting what is essentially a losing battle against Mike Ashley, and to prove to him that we can be grown up, reasonable and responsible in the face of adversity. This in turn, I feel, will have a much more positive effect on the situation.
Am I trying to dream the impossible dream? Maybe. But wouldn’t all our lives as Newcastle United fans - and indeed the club itself - benefit from for this? Definitely.
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Thank you for your comment, they are always appreciated! Don't get me wrong, I think the banner wavers have their place - and I reserve the right for people to protest in whatever way they feel is most appropriate - I just feel that there are more constructive ways for us to let Mr Ashley know that we are unhappy with the way he is running the club, and most importantly, going about trying to change things.
With regard to the 'olive branch' idea, I would love the FA (or even UEFA and FIFA for that matter) make it compulsory for all professional clubs to have some kind of supporter representation who allowed direct contact with those running their club. Otherwise, the entire game - from the players, management and team owners/chairmen - risk alienating the most important part of the club, the fans.
Players, managers and owners will always come and go, yet the one constant is the supporters. Without us, they have no teams, and with no teams, they have no game. Yet as long as we continue to line their pockets nothing will ever change, as they expect nothing more of us than to pay our money and keep our mouths shut. In their eyes, we are not entitled to an opinion on any aspect of the game.
** I would just like it noted for the record, for anyone reading this post, that in no way do I support Mike Ashley and nor do I agree with the way he has been running NUFC. I am merely trying to look at an alternative (and hopefully more constructive) way of dealing with the current situation. As I said above, I fully support the right of NUFC fans to protest in whatever way they feel is most productive to them, regardless of whether I agree with their methods or not.
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