Season ticket sales show fans are ready for take off
When news today filtered through that the St James's Park ticket office had dusted off the sold out signs and pinned them on the doors I wasn't surprised in the slightest.
Despite the fact that the whole country is now queuing up to have a pop at Newcastle United.
And despite the fact most clubs in the Premier League in the same boat (no names) as the Magpies have row after row of empty seats - the situation is that SJP will be a sell out between now and the end of the season.
It reminds me of Keegan's first stint as manager at Gallowgate when people actually begged, stole and borrowed to make sure they were in the Messiah's arena to see real drama, excitement and an explosion of passion saturate the hallowed turf of the Entertainers.
This time we haven't actually witnessed a miracle like that, but were we ever really expecting one?
OK, perhaps for 48 hours when KK arrived I was expecting something massive but the reality quickly set in at the Emirates Stadium as Arsenal, in the end, taught Newcastle a footballing lesson.
Yet that hasn't scared any of the Toon Army away.
No it has made them thirsty for more and it is a fair bet that come May those who had lost the will to watch United under either Souness, Roeder or Big Sam will be renewing their season ticket again.
New signings are expected though on Tyneside, make no doubt that.
But if you think back to those days Rome wasn't built in a day.
It took KK some time to actually keep Newcastle in the old Second Division and he had to rely on budget signings such as Kevin Sheedy and Brian Kilcline to keep the Toon in business.
What followed was scenes such as 10,000 people locked out in the following season as slowly the likes of Paul Bracewell, Barry Venison, Rob Lee and then Scott Sellars and Andy Cole helped improve what Newcastle already had to win a place in the Premier League - a long time before the big names like Tino, Ferdinand, Ginola and Shearer were on board.
With bums back on seats lift off might not be for a while yet but when it does at least it'll come in front of a packed house.
To sum it up one bloke outside St James's Park once offered me ã200 for a single match ticket just before we lost the title and drew 1-1 with Spurs in 96.
I turned it down instantly - but was it worth going through the turnstile to see United's title dream crumble in front of me.
Course it was.
WHAT'S YOUR VIEW ON THE SEASON TICKET SELL OUT?
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Lee Ryder - Proudly born and bred on Tyneside, the Chronicle's chief sports writer has followed the fortunes of the club over the last three decades as a Toon fan and football writer.
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Those that didn't live it first time round forget where it all began; at the bottom of the old second division. All we wanted from Kevin was to save us from relegation, but he did more than that, he made us believe we could win the Premiership. 1995/96 is still most people's most memorable Premiership season, ever.
with the new regimes in place across the country you have to wonder if Kev will find anymore rob lee's or andy coles that have slipped thru , those were the signings that stuck out for me in kev's last reign .
your ginola's or ferdinands are a safe bet (ish) watching rob lee turn into the player he became was footballing gold , andy cole's 40 goal season was bliss .
keegan made far to many good purchases for them to be all luck , cant wait to see what he does this time round .
It's only the idiotic national media and Their obssession with putting the boot into NUFC that seems to think the fans think everything will be just like it was, it won't, football has changed so much. What it will be is a whole lot better than it would have been, had Fat Fred and Big Sham still been running the club into the clarts, hence the feel good factor is coming back. The only people putting pressure on Keegan are the same snide national media, They're just dying to see him fail, even if he does he won't be run out of toon by the fans, there's a real bond there, something the cynical national media can't get Their heads around. Lee, of course You knocked back ã200 for Your match ticket, something else the toerag national media would'nt be able to get Their heads around !.
As a Geordie living in the south , i think its great news that kk is back at the helm .it is annoying that the national press seem to make N U F C their whipping boys ,i would just like wish kk and the team all the best and cant wait to see them back at the top where we belong.
Ryder's reply: Must be even harder for exiled Mags Geoff, I remember being at Uni in Preston when the entire pub were roaring on Stevenage to beat us in the FA Cup in 1998.
Sold out already! I couldn't believe it! I was angling to book a ticket at work on the Monday when tickets were first available but natch on that one day i didn't bring my phone. To say I was disappointed when i heard tickets sold out would be an understatement as i think Toon V United is a match everyone should see.
Good to hear though that for the first time in a while every seat will be filled at St James when United come to toon. It'll be a fantastic occasion and i'm sure the lads will be up for it.
I'm just sick and tired of the whole vicious circle of the National Media putting their boot in on Newcastle. It's not healthy as it only provokes further ill feeling between the geordie public and the national media about how we see our club. We're a joke to the rest of the world and we don't deserve to be.
It'll take more time but Keegan will bring out the best of a talented group of players that we have as well as his own transfer targets that he'll bring in. We got 2 good games coming up and we have to be optimistic. Get behind the toon!
Let's not talk down the current squad - Faye and Beye are the best signings this season and will be welcome back, Martins adds an extra dimension whether starting or on the bench, and Emre, Barton, Viduka, Owen and Duff are all available and fully match fit, which hasn't happened often enough.
If they can learn to play on the floor through midfield, and gain some confidence, we have enough to get some really good days from the last 13 matches - they are all playing for their places so no complacency should set in, plus hopefully they have no pressure matches so can go out to entertain.
So no wonder the club is once again sold out...
THOSE were heady days, i remember the excitement of the season we got promoted.One particular memory...i didnt get to SJP till about 5 mins before kick off and got locked out but ended up watching half a match(and pitch) up a huge tree behind the old leazes against charlton,2-2 i think it ended up.Then when we beat leicester 7-1 on our final game that season.....the excitement that close season of who we would sign etc....fantastic....i used to put 2 quid on barry venison to score every home game at 33-1 and he eventually did score a screamer against villa and i never put it on!!!!I really think this close season will be as exciting as that one with regards to transfers etc(providing the unthinkable and unspeakable doesnt happen)....and i like my new blog tag...chipshop...its like a character from sex lives of the potato men...ha ha....pity i got it off a smoggy though!
Mr Ryder,
please read below from
Sundays Liverpool Echo.
I dont think it compliments toon like I do
Ryder's reply: Read it ages ago, boring isn't it?
Dear Lee,
The return of KK has gone to your head. The contents of your blog seem to indicate that you are becoming as paranoid as some of the NUFC diehards. Here are the facts - NUFC have a track record of underachievement stretching back decades. This is not the fault of the national press, people from Sunderland etc. It is because NUFC is one of the worst managed football clubs in the country. Please try being like a professional journalist and be more objective.
Ryder's reply: Let me guess another Sunderland or Boro fan?
My comments have been backed up by the facts and people behind the scenes and other fans, from other clubs, have agreed that Newcastle have been hammered by the rest of the media.
Scott makes an excellent point, Keegan's record in the transfer market was astonishing when he was first here, I don't rememeber any expensive flops, some players did'nt make the grade, Mathie, Huckerby, Holland, yet he still made a profit on them, some players served Us well before leaving for a tidy profit, Fox, Kelly, Peacock, he unearthed gems in Lee and Cole and pinched Pedro like a thief in the night,
He also got Ossie to part with ã850'000 for Kevin Scott, ASTOUNDING !
It was a bit harsh in truth I did not think it warranted what it did! however gave me a laugh!!!
I see emry has realised just how much cash you are paying him and decidided he wants to stay with you for life! Couldnt possibly be the money you guys are paying him could it!!!
What a victory for Geordies v Southern press, all season tickets sold out! They had us already chanting the sack for Keegan cos he hasn't won a game in three, albeit with Sham's team, five of which were in Africa or elsewhere, Well now they're gonna believe us we couldn't give a monkey's what they think, say or print. We are a unique band of brothers in a unique land, Geordieland, and they can't understand this for one lucidly simple reason, they don't come from here. I'm gutted that I couldn't get a season ticket as I was a holder from Kev's second season as a player ( though I never missed a game through the turnstiles before that, in the Gallowgate end in the rain )until Dalglish's second as mis-manager. The magic of those days is what galvanized the fan base of today, and will remain throughout Kev's tenure and after, unless we get another Souness, Dalglish, Gullit or Sam. But I doubt that, wonderful Mike Ashley is no mug and he knows he's in for a magic carpet ride from this point in, or should I say from summer in. My only way back in now is 1.Take my sports journalism degree course, 2. Write a cracking new Toon song or 3. Send begging letters to corporate box-holders offering to sing Geordiesongs to them at half time. Oh, woe is me!
I was on exercise with the RAF wen David K scored against Pompey to keep us up all those years ago. I was close to tears then. I was fortunate enough to met J.E.T. Milburn and Supermac and speak to KK on his first arrival. I saw the fairs cup on display a the exhibition park and had a chat with Bob Moncur. What I, rather we, have about NUFC is something a non geordie cannot understand. It's not that we want to win everything, it would be nice mind, we reserve the right to support our team no matter what they do. We can be vocal in approval or disapproval but never disloyal. We appreciate and give thanks those who show honesty and determination regardles of skill level. I don't care what the press or the SAFC or Boro fans say about my team. We know, You, your friend and every other NUFC fan knows their own mind, their own way of playing football and that no other team in the world will ever get the adulation that we give so readily to Newcastle United. And no other fan will ever understand that winning is not everything it just puts a shine n what you've achieved.
Lee
Sold out, you say. Send the overflow to Sunderland. I am sure they would welcome them at the SOL next season. Championship football is better than a sharp stick in the eye! Or is it?
Lee
I'm one of the people who got a half ticket this year. I was one of the people locked out during KK's reign, was doing my A-levels and didn't have enough money - so was on the waiting list till the ground was expanded.
I had a season ticket every year from then up until this one - I was sadly suffering from SARS Syndrome (Shepherd, Allardyce, Roeder, Souness) and another ã600 for the dross I knew Allardyce was going to produce couldn't be justified.
So why did I pay out ã300 that I don't really have last month? Well, not so much for this season - I think we're going to have to grin and bear it - but I can feel in my bones that good times are ahead. I don't think we're going to win the league, or a cup any time soon. But we'll be playing exciting football that's good to watch, and makes taking a big chunk out of my weekend to get there and back worthwhile.
....and the bottom line is, I don't want to be on the waiting list while that's happening!
David McAllister, I watched David Kelly's goal from the west stand and such was the emotion that I did actually bubble as if I'd just watched " The Waltons " or " Little house on the prairie ". And being a macho-type geordie lad, glanced around to see if anyone had noticed, and guess what I saw....stacks of blokes wiping their eyes, well at least a few. And a short while later when Kelly was playing for the mackems, I bumped into him at the metro-centre, shook his hand, and told him my story to which he replied," Werwll, that's the first toim oive myed a blowk croy." I told him he'd made loads cry that day. What a lovely humble lad he was, wish I'd brought me camera.