...and this is the clubs justification.Today we have a rather startling and a little bit of a confusing decision made by the club. In order to go to away games, you must be a club member or a season ticket holder.
The justification for all of this is the events that took place at the Darlington friendly which we can all agree made a mockery of our club and it’s fans. It was quite simply disgraceful to see the events unfold and even worse to see fans saying “they hope it happens again” – if that’s what you go to a football game for, do something else with your time instead of ruining it for the rest of us.
That, of course, is exactly what has happened today. The minority has ruined it for the majority and if you want to go to an away game, you had better fork out £20-£25 a year for membership or upwards of £300 for a season ticket.
A club statement today had this to say:
In order to combat any possible trouble at future away fixtures, a new policy will be implemented by the club which will see ticket sales restricted to Season Ticket Holders and Members only. (more…)
Barton acted as peace-makerTrouble at the Darlington v Newcastle United pre-season friendly receives condemnation from the press and the clubs themselves.
It seems the Darlington nonsense has (rightly) received a fair bit of condemnation. Pitch invasions are never welcomed these days and it does nothing good for the reputations of either Newcastle United or Darlington.
From what I can gather it started as a ‘light-hearted’ invasion with smiles all round and then turned nasty. The rozzers reported it as follows:
“There has been a crowd of more than 9,700, which is significantly more than expected based on ticket sales.
“Everything was peaceful until Newcastle scored their second goal and a pitch incursion occurred which was high spirited but not violent.
“A further pitch incursion of around 20 to 30 people followed – a Newcastle supporter being escorted from the ground and three Newcastle supporters were arrested for pitch incursion.
“The game ended without incident and crowds have subsequently dispersed.” (more…)
Brace yourselvesMike Ashley’s ‘5 year plan’ is to create a self sufficient business model, this is the aim for his Newcastle United project. Now, this should be the aim for any business, and especially where football clubs are concerned with the financial rules set to take effect, and the current state of the economic climate. This of course will take time to achieve and will not happen overnight, but will it work at all with Ashley at the helm, and is long term success on the pitch part of his true intentions?
This ‘5 year plan’, which I assume has been extended every year since he took charge after some abject failings (like relegation in 2009), has some positive factors incorporated. I like the idea of young, home grown players running out at St James Park and the focus on youth and development should be welcomed by many of us.
If you refer to Ashley’s statement back in 2008 it declares:
“My investment in the club has extended to time, effort and yet again, money being poured into the Academy. I want Newcastle to be able to create its own legends of the future to rival those of the past. This is a long term plan. A long term plan for the future of the club so that it can flourish”.
I think we all want to see that don’t we?
Ashley has also created an extensive scouting network, spearheaded by Graham Carr and his band of merry men, instructed to scour France and the rest of the continent, in search of diamonds in the rough, unheard of players, those who’s career is in front of them and not behind them. In the same 2008 statement Ashley stated: (more…)
Why have I got 3 hands?Tiote signs up with Newcastle United for another six and a half years.
According to NUFC’s official site, Cheik Tiote has signed a new contract keeping him at Newcastle until June 2017.
Tiote said:
“I am very happy today to have signed this new deal with Newcastle United.
“The experience of playing in the Premier League has been better than I ever hoped it could be.
“This is a great club and the fans have been brilliant – I have never known support like it.”
And Alan Pardew added:
“Cheick has been immense for us this season and is exactly the type of player I want in my squad. He is fantastic on the pitch and in the changing room and is vital for everything we want to achieve.
“Cheick offers us strength and presence in midfield and has proved himself to be one of the best in his position in the Premier League. He’s adapted brilliantly to the English game and I’m delighted he’s signed a new deal with us today.” (more…)
Carver and Robson, back in the dayJohn Carver has joined Newcastle United as assistant manager on contract until the end of the season.
Carver said:
“I am proud and honoured to be able to come back once again to my hometown club.
“I have been lucky to be able to work around the world with some excellent people.
“However, I have always been a fan of this magnificent club, and the years I spent working here were some of the happiest of my life.
“I am looking forward to working with Alan Pardew, and building on the recent strides that the club has taken to get back to where we belong, at the top of English football.
“I understand how much the club and the results mean to these wonderful fans, and I am delighted to have the opportunity to assist Alan in delivering them the success they deserve.” (more…)
