Day 28 - Off to see the Toon Army
We were lucky enough to secure tickets to see Newcastle United pay their first home game since being promoted back into the Premier League against Aston Villa. After being relegated in 2008 to the Championship league for 1 year they were successful in being promoted back into the Premier League. After a shaky start against Manchester United where they lost 3 – 0, the expectation of a home victory was not high as Aston Villa had won their first home game.
As you would expect the stadiums in the UK are specifically built for football (aka soccer) as opposed to Etihad stadium or the MCG which are multi-purpose and can cater for any sort of sport such as cricket, AFL, NRL or soccer. St James Park which is the name of the Newcastle United home ground is a modern stadium with a new grandstand being recently built, At capacity it would hold around 50,000. We were seated at the top of the new stadium which is akin to being at the top of the Southern stand at the MCG. As the stands are close to the playing surface, surprisingly it was a good spot to watch the game and the crowd action from and you did not feel that far from the action.
The one thing that immediately struck you was the parochialism of the crowd as well as the domination of supporters. There were 43,500 people in attendance of which approximately 1,500 to 2,000 were Aston Villa fans who were tucked away in their own sealed off section on the top level of an adjoining stand. Due to the issues over the years with fan violence, it is necessary for the away team fans to be segregated from the home team fans for safety purposes.
The atmosphere at an English football match is electric. From when you walk in to when the game finishes your auditory senses are constantly stimulated by the many chants, songs and sledges that take place. At no time throughout the match (except for half time) does the singing and chanting cease. The songs and chants vary from supporting the team, the town (or toon as it is known up north), the players or sledging the opposition team and fans. Today the chanting seemed exceptionally loud as it was the triumphant return of the home team back to the Premier League. The chants that I could decipher, as there appears to be a different form of English spoken in the North of England, ranged from: Newcastle to Geordie (nickname for anyone from Newcastle) to Toon Army to When the Geordie's come marching home to a more confrontational sledge of the visiting fans with “who are ye” and “you’re not smiling now”.
The chanting was started mainly by a specific section of fans (akin to a cheer squad however more a group of people sitting together who like to sing and chant) located directly adjacent to the Aston Villa fans and due to the acoustic nature of the stand, the songs and chants reverberated across the rest of the stand and across the whole stadium resulting in everyone joining in.
There was a sense of nervousness within the crowd which was heightened at the 6 minute mark when Aston Villa received the first penalty kick of the match. Fortunately the Aston Villa player over kicked the shot resulting in the ball landing high in the stands and not in the back of the net. From that point onwards Newcastle United then dominated play. Prior to entering the stadium I was not sure who I would support as Newcastle United are known as the Magpies and where Black and White. For any AFL supporter the colours and name bring on an immediate dislike so I was certainly mixed in my emotions. This certainly changed very quickly when at the 10 minute mark Newcastle slotted their first goal from a shot outside the penalty box and I went up in unison with the 42,000 other fans at the stadium. From then on 2 things were clear: Newcastle was in for a good day and I was clearly supporting them all the way.
It was an excellent performance by Newcastle as by half time they were leading 3 -0 and by the end of the 90 minutes they had thrashed Aston Villa 6 – 0 with every goal loudly cheered as if it were the first. It was a fitting way for Newcastle to play their first home game back in the Premier League and it will be interesting to see how they go for the remainder of the season.
After the game we wandered down to the Quayside area which is set along the River Tyne and sat outside a bar for some drinks and reflection on what had been a great day. Near the Quayside area are 2 new constructions: a bridge and a concert hall which were both built in time for the millennium in 2000. Both are unique pieces of architecture and fit in well as a blend of new and old. Placed alongside the Millennium Bridge is what most people believe to be the concept behind the Sydney Harbour Bridge. There are photo’s below.
The rest of the evening was spent back at Stephen’s parents house where we enjoyed some take away Chinese before heading to bed as tomorrow is the drive back to London via York in readiness to close out the remainder of our UK holiday.
As you would expect the stadiums in the UK are specifically built for football (aka soccer) as opposed to Etihad stadium or the MCG which are multi-purpose and can cater for any sort of sport such as cricket, AFL, NRL or soccer. St James Park which is the name of the Newcastle United home ground is a modern stadium with a new grandstand being recently built, At capacity it would hold around 50,000. We were seated at the top of the new stadium which is akin to being at the top of the Southern stand at the MCG. As the stands are close to the playing surface, surprisingly it was a good spot to watch the game and the crowd action from and you did not feel that far from the action.
The one thing that immediately struck you was the parochialism of the crowd as well as the domination of supporters. There were 43,500 people in attendance of which approximately 1,500 to 2,000 were Aston Villa fans who were tucked away in their own sealed off section on the top level of an adjoining stand. Due to the issues over the years with fan violence, it is necessary for the away team fans to be segregated from the home team fans for safety purposes.
The atmosphere at an English football match is electric. From when you walk in to when the game finishes your auditory senses are constantly stimulated by the many chants, songs and sledges that take place. At no time throughout the match (except for half time) does the singing and chanting cease. The songs and chants vary from supporting the team, the town (or toon as it is known up north), the players or sledging the opposition team and fans. Today the chanting seemed exceptionally loud as it was the triumphant return of the home team back to the Premier League. The chants that I could decipher, as there appears to be a different form of English spoken in the North of England, ranged from: Newcastle to Geordie (nickname for anyone from Newcastle) to Toon Army to When the Geordie's come marching home to a more confrontational sledge of the visiting fans with “who are ye” and “you’re not smiling now”.
The chanting was started mainly by a specific section of fans (akin to a cheer squad however more a group of people sitting together who like to sing and chant) located directly adjacent to the Aston Villa fans and due to the acoustic nature of the stand, the songs and chants reverberated across the rest of the stand and across the whole stadium resulting in everyone joining in.
There was a sense of nervousness within the crowd which was heightened at the 6 minute mark when Aston Villa received the first penalty kick of the match. Fortunately the Aston Villa player over kicked the shot resulting in the ball landing high in the stands and not in the back of the net. From that point onwards Newcastle United then dominated play. Prior to entering the stadium I was not sure who I would support as Newcastle United are known as the Magpies and where Black and White. For any AFL supporter the colours and name bring on an immediate dislike so I was certainly mixed in my emotions. This certainly changed very quickly when at the 10 minute mark Newcastle slotted their first goal from a shot outside the penalty box and I went up in unison with the 42,000 other fans at the stadium. From then on 2 things were clear: Newcastle was in for a good day and I was clearly supporting them all the way.
It was an excellent performance by Newcastle as by half time they were leading 3 -0 and by the end of the 90 minutes they had thrashed Aston Villa 6 – 0 with every goal loudly cheered as if it were the first. It was a fitting way for Newcastle to play their first home game back in the Premier League and it will be interesting to see how they go for the remainder of the season.
After the game we wandered down to the Quayside area which is set along the River Tyne and sat outside a bar for some drinks and reflection on what had been a great day. Near the Quayside area are 2 new constructions: a bridge and a concert hall which were both built in time for the millennium in 2000. Both are unique pieces of architecture and fit in well as a blend of new and old. Placed alongside the Millennium Bridge is what most people believe to be the concept behind the Sydney Harbour Bridge. There are photo’s below.
The rest of the evening was spent back at Stephen’s parents house where we enjoyed some take away Chinese before heading to bed as tomorrow is the drive back to London via York in readiness to close out the remainder of our UK holiday.
