(23 Dec 2014, 8:08 pm)leestransportphotos It's upto the police Mr Fozz, because the stadium is not owned by the club, the Safety officer is employed by Gateshead Council. And it was his call to say a police presence was needed at some matches (God knows why) So if the police say it needs to be segregated then it does.

(23 Dec 2014, 8:14 pm)leestransportphotos Haha. I knew this would come up! We are not having it built on Price Concert Road anymore due to planning permission problems, but the chairman Graham Wood is looking at various other options, such as a return to the old Redheugh park site or somewhere closer to the bus station where it is more accessible; currently Gateshead Stadium is only served by the 93/94 and the metro station is some distance away.

(23 Dec 2014, 7:44 pm)leestransportphotos I turned 16 today, and when he retires I'll be 17. There's your answer! And from this forum I can tell you bus spotters do not seem to be nice people to me!

(23 Dec 2014, 8:23 pm)MrFozz See we can have a civilised conversation sometimes when it comes down to it

Has the Redheugh site not been developed, I am sure the Pitz 5-a-Side centre is on Redheugh or certainly part of it, with that mind would the pitz become a part of GFC's plan to rebuild there.

Shame about Prince Consort Road, the plans for that looked smart, and what a location it would have been, 2 mins from the interchange

(23 Dec 2014, 8:23 pm)Tom By the way, I doubt Gateshead would have a 17 year old general manager.

(23 Dec 2014, 8:23 pm)Tom By the way, I doubt Gateshead would have a 17 year old general manager.

(23 Dec 2014, 8:29 pm)leestransportphotos If that's the case why are they monitoring me and setting me different tasks to see what skills I have? It's to see if I'm ideal for the job. And they said I am a very very likley candidate

(23 Dec 2014, 8:46 pm)leestransportphotos Thanks, there is no doubt it will be tough, but all of the backroom staff are remaining at the club which all know me. The main priority would be increasing attendances obviously, but that costs a lot of money. We would need to be getting attendances of around 1,700 regularly to break even due to the rent costs of the stadium, but producing things like posters in my eyes is a waste of time. I would rather go though the route of getting local school involved before the premier league gets to them. Also social networking is another alternative, due to the amount of people you can reach out to. The main focus is getting younger people to the games, because once the older generation of fans has passed away, who will there be! And one of the things about targeting schools is that they may bring the parents/guardians which adds to the gate, or a bunch of mates.

(23 Dec 2014, 9:06 pm)leestransportphotos Haha, we do actually already have a scheme in place where NUFC/SAFC season ticket holders can gain admission for £10, but with NUFC and SAFC offering cheap tickets to youngsters (Normally £5), they probably aren't going to come and watch Gateshead. Also one of the things we need to look at is the fact a programme costs more than the admission for an Under 16!

(23 Dec 2014, 9:06 pm)leestransportphotos Haha, we do actually already have a scheme in place where NUFC/SAFC season ticket holders can gain admission for £10, but with NUFC and SAFC offering cheap tickets to youngsters (Normally £5), they probably aren't going to come and watch Gateshead. Also one of the things we need to look at is the fact a programme costs more than the admission for an Under 16!

(23 Dec 2014, 9:08 pm)Tom Get into schools and advertise then.
Also look at the best price, and prices that will appeal to youngsters. For example, something like a free drink/chocolate bar when you enter?
That, in my opinion, would be a good way to attract attention.

(23 Dec 2014, 9:08 pm)Tom Get into schools and advertise then.
Also look at the best price, and prices that will appeal to youngsters. For example, something like a free drink/chocolate bar when you enter?
That, in my opinion, would be a good way to attract attention.

(23 Dec 2014, 9:18 pm)MrFozz

Is your programme a novel or something

It is haha, it is generally about 60 pages, with barely no adverts. It has been voted programme of the year 2 years running. It's now called 'The Tynesider - Matchday Magazine'

It is all about getting out into the Community in general, not just schools, organise community fun days, put on coaching schools during school holidays, where the players go along and train the kids...

Work on Youth Development, do Gateshead have youth teams, link up with The Youth Service, because of area where the club is, forge links with Youth Groups not only in Gateshead but also Northern end of Co. Durham, South Tyneside, Sunderland and Newcastle...

How you go about that, I dont know, it is something you need to figure out

(23 Dec 2014, 10:14 pm)Andreos1 One thing I have never got, is the apparent reluctance to give free tickets to local schools or youth groups.
Sunderland have been doing it for years. It doesn't cost anything, as the seats would be empty anyway - what it does do, is put bums on seats, stimulates interest and if even a portion of the freebies buy something at half time, then there would be a few quid profit alone.
If a smaller portion return the following home game as a paying customer (with a mate, parent etc), then there is another few quid profit.

I am Gateshead born and bred. My eldest goes to a comprehensive in Gateshead, yet despite going to the IS on and off for a few years, it was only because of the apathy I now have for Newcastle, that we started going regularly.
Been to Wembley, been to Lincoln away and off to WBA. Opportunities we would never get following Newcastle.
They are opportunities many supporters of any football club would love to get, yet the numbers of people buying tickets haven't increased massively.
You have to ask why and all I can come up with, is marketing.

(23 Dec 2014, 10:35 pm)Andreos1 Not sure where Gateshead get their ball boys from. Always seem to be the same kids though.

No idea about the allocation for WBA. I imagine some tickets were returned. A voucher scheme was set up initially, with supporters attending the last few home games getting a voucher on entry and first dabs on tickets.
It was a similar story for Wembley, with Cambridge taking up their full lot and outnumbering Gateshead by a few thousand.

There will always be the core die-hards who go home and away. Hopefully those numbers increase.

I agree, a new stadium is needed. Foundations need to be established first, with supporter numbers increasing.
Suppose it is like the chicken and the egg.

One thing is for sure, they don't want to 'do a Darlo' .