Can't wait untill tomorrow, might be the only chance we get at Wembley for a LONG time.. of course were still in the FA cup.

(01 Mar 2014, 8:16 am)Michael wrote Can't wait untill tomorrow, might be the only chance we get at Wembley for a LONG time.. of course were still in the FA cup.

To be honest I would rather see them go out of the FA Cup next week and concentrate on survival, Cup Finals and potential European Campaigns will mean nothing if they get relegated, they have not got depth in the squad to cope with it...Look at Swansea this season, look at Wigan, look at Birmingham a couple of years ago

(01 Mar 2014, 8:16 am)Michael wrote Can't wait untill tomorrow, might be the only chance we get at Wembley for a LONG time.. of course were still in the FA cup.

There's always the Play Off Final next season :p

Theirs always next season Mike Cashley will spend some money for players!

Just found a photo on Facebook...

Live in a family which are all Newcastle. However I live in a street full of fellow Sunderland fans. The club this week encouraged to make the city red and white, taking this in to account my neighbours across the road have decided to play a little trick on my family. As you will no doubt see below is a picture of our gates which have been painted red + white. I'm speechless haha!

Brilliant!

(01 Mar 2014, 8:58 am)Dan wrote Just found a photo on Facebook...




Brilliant!

That's brilliant haha

Well I wasn't expecting that 10 minutes into the game...

Me neither lol

if sunderland win is anyone going to go to the open top celebration if there is one

(02 Mar 2014, 2:29 pm)danpick wrote if sunderland win is anyone going to go to the open top celebration if there is one

Getting beat now 2-1, so unlikely. Only 10 minutes or so left.

3-1... Disappointed to say the least.

Gutted but still did us proud!

Sunderland till i die!

Sunderland treble Wembley visit dream is in tatters now after going down 3-0 at Hull...

While it has been good up to now in the Cups, a Wembley visit, beating top sides(Chelsea and Man Utd), Poyet needs to focus on the League and survival, I can't see one single positive of doing a Wigan, get relegated, playing in Europe with a squad that has no strength in depth to go on and struggle in the Championship.

The Semi Draw is

1 Hull City v Sheffield United
2 Wigan Athletic v Arsenal

Some interesting out comes there, after City can Wigan retain the Cup, will we see a new name on, the ol' Cup this year(Hull), can Nigel Clough do achieve an honour that eluded Big Cloughie for years and more so...I can imagine Cloughie looking down on Nigel saying 'Proud of you son, but remember your not as good as me, I still have 2 things you haven't(I ain't talking about balls).

Also we may end up with a final without Premier League involvement which would be cool for a change

The final few weeks of the season are fast approaching, with it being sure to go down to the wire.

Are Newcastle going to clinch a Europa League spot?
Will Sunderland stave of relegation?
What about Hartlepool and Gateshead in their quest for promotion via the play offs- will they be successful?

Then there are our non-league teams, with potential FA Vase and promotion successes.

(24 Mar 2014, 10:00 am)Andreos Constantopolous wrote The final few weeks of the season are fast approaching, with it being sure to go down to the wire.

Are Newcastle going to clinch a Europa League spot?
Will Sunderland stave of relegation?
What about Hartlepool and Gateshead in their quest for promotion via the play offs- will they be successful?

I would love to see all of the above happen. However, the most realistic prospect is Gateshead qualifying for a play-off spot and, even then, I have doubts whether they'll keep their bottle and gain promotion to the Football League.

Although it's tight, I can't imagine any scenario where Sunderland will remain in the Premiership. The same applies to Newcastle with their hopes for a place in Europe. Hartlepool are too far adrift to clinch promotion via play-off, in my opinion at least.

As I said, I would love all of the above to happen, I'm just not getting my hopes up.

Are Newcastle going to clinch a Europa League spot?

No

Will Sunderland stave of relegation?

Yes, but it will go right down to the wire, but if Sunderland go down, Poyet has nothing to lose by it after he inherited but they could suffer from a player exodus and have to tighten the purse strings, they recently announced losses of £23m and if they go down, there tv share drops from 60 odd mill down to about 20m.

What about Hartlepool and Gateshead in their quest for promotion via the play offs- will they be successful?

Couldn't give 2 shits about Hartlepool, Gateshead seemingly have a decent team, and genuinely hope they get into the League

Then there are our non-league teams, with potential FA Vase and promotion successes.

Looks like the annual Wembley trip for Mr Amos and his Northern League Cronies are still on, W£$t should win the Vase...

Darlingtons push for a 2nd successive title is all but over now after we got beat by Curzon Ashton last week and drew with Prescot Cables on Saturday, though we are still very much in the mix to finish 2nd and go into the Play-Offs, which will benefit us, as in our division the team who finishes highest in the table has home advantage and the play offs are one leg, straigt ko...

(24 Mar 2014, 1:03 pm)AdamY wrote I would love to see all of the above happen. However, the most realistic prospect is Gateshead qualifying for a play-off spot and, even then, I have doubts whether they'll keep their bottle and gain promotion to the Football League.

Although it's tight, I can't imagine any scenario where Sunderland will remain in the Premiership. The same applies to Newcastle with their hopes for a place in Europe. Hartlepool are too far adrift to clinch promotion via play-off, in my opinion at least.

[bAs I said, I would love all of the above to happen, I'm just not getting my hopes up.[/b]

This is north east footy after all, always seem to do things the hard way

(24 Mar 2014, 2:19 pm)marxistafozzski wrote This is north east footy after all, always seem to do things the hard way

Exactly.

Sometime I hear people falsely state that the North East is a hotbed of Football and it really does makes me laugh. There may be some passionate fans in the area, but where are the teams and where are the players?

The North East have four teams in the Football League and one in the Conference. Compare that with how many teams the North West, Yorkshire, the West Midlands and London have in those divisions and you'll find that we are poorly represented. Towns with sizeable populations (over 30,000) like Blyth, Consett, Washington, Peterlee, Durham and South Shields should be able to generate enough fans to sustain Football League clubs. However, they all linger in non-league divisions with wavering support. Darlington is the exception to this rule as I believe that the club and supporters have enough ambition to reach either the Conference or the Football League.

As for players, where exactly is the talent being developed? Sunderland and Newcastle both have academies but very few players seemingly come through the ranks. Oliver Bernard has said he wants to create an academy at Durham City. For the sake of North East football - I hope he succeeds.

(24 Mar 2014, 4:01 pm)AdamY wrote Exactly.

Sometime I hear people falsely state that the North East is a hotbed of Football and it really does makes me laugh. There may be some passionate fans in the area, but where are the teams and where are the players?

The North East have four teams in the Football League and one in the Conference. Compare that with how many teams the North West, Yorkshire, the West Midlands and London have in those divisions and you'll find that we are poorly represented. Towns with sizeable populations (over 30,000) like Blyth, Consett, Washington, Peterlee, Durham and South Shields should be able to generate enough fans to sustain Football League clubs. However, they all linger in non-league divisions with wavering support. Darlington is the exception to this rule as I believe that the club and supporters have enough ambition to reach either the Conference or the Football League.

As for players, where exactly is the talent being developed? Sunderland and Newcastle both have academies but very few players seemingly come through the ranks. Oliver Bernard has said he wants to create an academy at Durham City. For the sake of North East football - I hope he succeeds.

Dont know about being the hotbed of football, we do have some of the best fans, very passionate, looking at this area we have(down to Conference North) 3 in Tyne and Wear, 2 in Cleveland and 0 in County Durham

When you say Yorkshire do you mean North, South and West Combined.

North Yorkshire only has 1 League Team(York) with Harrogate Town in Conference North
West Yorkshire has Leeds, Huddersfield, FC Halifax, Bradford City with Guiseley and Bradford PA in Conference North
South Yorkshire has Sheff Wed, Sheff Utd, Doncaster, Rotherham and Barnsley

That makes 12 if Yorkshire is combined.

I think the real hotbed is probably the North West, I wont even start naming them, but they have more than 1 club in just about every division right down to Conference North.

As for areas round here that could sustain a team high up the Pyramid, I disagree, the only teams below the Conference who could sustain a Conference/Conference North team right now is probably Spennymoor Town and possibly Celtic Nation...

We could be a hotbed of football if Northern League decide to play ball with National League System, there has only been a handul of teams promoted from the Northern League in the last 25 years(Gretna, Blyth, Durham, Newcastle Blue Star and us last year) and it looks like one of Spenny or Celtic Nation will come up this year.

I truly believe in my heart that places like Durham, Bishop, W£$t, Shildon and possibly Consett could do themselves justice at Evo-Stik Premier Division level and Spenny would probably be decent in Conference North.

Out of the teams you mentioned, 2 have had League experience(Durham and South Shields) as has Ashington and Darlington, who I must say will get there again, whether it be 5 or 10 years. Peterlee would never sustain a team in the pyramid, they are currently in the Wearside League now and dont like there going anywhere, anytime soon

At the end of the day you ask where are the teams, well there in a little Northern League bubble, teams happy enough creating a bottleneck at the top as they have very little ambition to progress.

As for Olivier Bernard, I am not sure what he is in it for, can't be money, finances are slim at that level and he will already have a quite a few quid squirrelled away, I worry for Durham, if they get back to the Evo-Stik Premier what will Bernard do if they Conference are still digging there heels in regarding 3G pitches, will he simply accept it or will he pull the financial plug, which would see Durham f****d again...If he makes it work, then good for him, I suppose he has some very good contacts in the game, especially Newcastle and maybe the other pro clubs in the region.

I will leave it at that, I am starting to ramble on now

(24 Mar 2014, 7:18 pm)marxistafozzski wrote Dont know about being the hotbed of football, we do have some of the best fans, very passionate, looking at this area we have(down to Conference North) 3 in Tyne and Wear, 2 in Cleveland and 0 in County Durham

Arguably, there's only one club that has passionate fans that fill their ground week-in, week-out and that is Newcastle United. Both Sunderland's and Middlesbrough's attendances fluctuate depending on what league they're in. If Sunderland do go down at the end of the season, do you think that they'll attract the same level of support? - Sure, the hardcore base will be there but I'm guessing that there'll be a lot of seats disguised as fans just as there is in Middlesbrough. Speaking of Middlesbrough, if they manage to gain promotion to the Premier League again, then I suspect you'll see an increase in supporters attending games. But, either way, it goes to show that there isn't a constant level of support based upon the love of their club.

However, if say, a team like Gateshead, Blyth or Ashington managed to miraculously end up in the Football League it would be interesting to see how that would affect the number of people attending Newcastle United games. A lot of support comes from these areas and I'd be curious to see whether locals would support their home-town team or still support the Toon depending on their league status.

This is what I mean when I include these towns although I agree with the points you make about the current state of affairs pertaining to the current state of non-league football. I don't think any of these teams have a hope in hell in getting to the Conference or the Football League and the 'Northern League bubble', as you put, as proven to be a barrier for successful progression. However, I do think these towns are large enough to sustain a level of support if they happened to be successful.

Good points mate, the only positive about non-League football round here, crowds have increased year on year, can't remember the figures exactly but it is increasing.

If a team like Ashington reached the promised land, they would not entice fans away from St James' imo, we will see what, look at Gateshead, they are in a National Division and are averaging less than 1000, we will see next season if there average goes up(if they get promotion of course)...

I think the only way for teams to really succeed is to create a bigger fanbase would be for teams to merge, the FA probably would not allow it to happen though...

Peterlee/Horden/Easington
Seaham/Murton
Sunderland RCA/Ryhope CW/Silksworth

With mergers like that, a lot of people would be unhappy, but it would give teams a bigger catchment area to tap into, I will say right now, I do not particularly agree wih stuff like that, but if it meant we had some decent teams, I would back it.

Darlo are going back home...

Rugby Club agrees to groundshare with Quakers

Just to pick up on a few points raised.

I don't think Newcastle will qualify for the Europa League.
No idea about Sunderland - the fixtures don't look kind on paper, but they have a habit of out performing better teams on the day.
It will go down to the wire either way.

Hartlepool have a chance of scraping the play offs on paper, but again, not sure how realistic that is in real life.
Saw them a few weeks back at home in a 'derby' versus York and although the attendance was reasonable for Hartlepool,the atmosphere was poor (even with what looked like an over capacity away end).
They have a small squad, full of promising youngsters, coupled with a few older heads - the majority of whom are on loans or short term contracts.
The two youngsters to stand out are Jack Barmby (on loan from Man U) and Luke James. Both are talented players, with an eye for goal, but will not make it, unless they bulk up.

I genuinely fancy Gatesheads chances of going up. Gary Mills has a track record at this level as a manager with York and played at the highest level with Forest.
Like Cooper at Hartlepool, he has brought in some experienced, older heads (John Oster and Jack Lester), who cna hopefully help Gateshead reach the league.

However, the similarities with Hartlepool don't end there, as there is a poor atmosphere (not helped by the stadium) and low numbers coming through the gates.
I am not sure if league football, will improve that - unless Northumbria Police stipulate home games need to alternate with Newcastle's AND prices are looked at.

(25 Mar 2014, 9:14 am)Andreos Constantopolous wrote Just to pick up on a few points raised.

I don't think Newcastle will qualify for the Europa League.
No idea about Sunderland - the fixtures don't look kind on paper, but they have a habit of out performing better teams on the day.
It will go down to the wire either way.

Hartlepool have a chance of scraping the play offs on paper, but again, not sure how realistic that is in real life.
Saw them a few weeks back at home in a 'derby' versus York and although the attendance was reasonable for Hartlepool,the atmosphere was poor (even with what looked like an over capacity away end).
They have a small squad, full of promising youngsters, coupled with a few older heads - the majority of whom are on loans or short term contracts.
The two youngsters to stand out are Jack Barmby (on loan from Man U) and Luke James. Both are talented players, with an eye for goal, but will not make it, unless they bulk up.

I genuinely fancy Gatesheads chances of going up. Gary Mills has a track record at this level as a manager with York and played at the highest level with Forest.
Like Cooper at Hartlepool, he has brought in some experienced, older heads (John Oster and Jack Lester), who cna hopefully help Gateshead reach the league.

However, the similarities with Hartlepool don't end there, as there is a poor atmosphere (not helped by the stadium) and low numbers coming through the gates.
I am not sure if league football, will improve that - unless Northumbria Police stipulate home games need to alternate with Newcastle's AND prices are looked at.

Hartlepool are not doing too bad in the average attendance department, currently 10th in the average attendance table with 3,665 per game, about 46.5% of it's 7,877 capacity, the problem Hartlepool have with The Vic, they do not own it, the Council does, so I guess there hands are tied when it comes to expansion.

Now as for Gateshead, I hope they do reach the league, the opportunities it opens up for them will be great, but imo they really need to get the wheels in motion for a new ground and they will need to do something about there crowds, averaging only 724 this season which is only 6.1% of Gateshead Stadium Capacity, in League 2 they will need to at least double that, yes York and Hartlepool may travel in numbers to Tyneside for local(ish) derbies, but the likes of Dagenham, Torquay and Burton probably wont.

It might be that Gateshead ask the FA to be paired with Newcastle for the purpose of the fixture list, but if they did that, they would be against Sunderland who already alternate home games with Newcastle, so next if they are in League 2 they will always be at home at the same time as SAFC or NUFC...it will be interesting to see how The Heed will manage if they go up


According to The Footballwebpages site they predict

Newcastle to finish 8th
Sunderland 17th
Middlesbrough 14th
Carlisle 21st(Relegated)
York 8th
Hartlepool 12th
Gateshead 8th
Blyth 7th
Darlington 2nd

Check out that site, it is quite good Football WebPages

For whatever reason, the site isn't letting me upload a photo, so having to do this the long way around via a twitter quote.

“@theirishmag: Just seen this on autotrader... @Joey7Barton @mickquinn1089 @NUFCThreatLevel http://t.co/knt6pjtRuk” ?this ??

Edit: Added the pic

Just seen on the news Sunderland have been fined by the Premier League and Football League(as he featured in a C1 Cup game) for fielding an ineligible player for 4 games at the start of the season...

It relates to Ji-Dong-Won...

Basically what happened was he went out on loan to Germany and when he came back, he had to have International Clearance to return back to Wearside, Sunderland forgot to do this, hence the Premier League/Football League Double whammy...

From the BBC Sport Website...

Sunderland have been fined by the Premier League after they fielded an ineligible player in four league matches earlier in the season.

Striker Ji Dong-Won, 22, played against Fulham, Southampton, Crystal Palace and Manchester United before Sunderland informed the Premier League they had made an administrative error.

It is understood they were made aware of the error in December and Sunderland settled the fine in early 2014.

The club will not be deducted points.

Sunderland were also fined by the Football League because the player appeared in the Capital One Cup victory over MK Dons in August.

Club secretary Liz Coley has left the club but sources at Sunderland insist it was not as a result of the error.

Sunderland were fined because they failed to gain international clearance for the South Korea international after he returned to the club from a loan spell at German club Augsburg last season.

The Premier League club did not realise they needed to seek international clearance for a second time when he returned to England. He should not have been involved in any matches before the club received written confirmation from the German Football Association.

The Premier League has refused to comment.

Ji joined the Black Cats for an undisclosed fee from South Korean side Chunnam Dragons in June 2011.

He is now back on loan with Augsburg until the end of the season but has agreed a four-year deal to join fellow Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund on a free transfer in July.

In my opinion they have got off quite lightly with just a fine, as a points deduction would probably have relegated them right now and anyway it is not like they gained anything in the 4 Prem games only gaining one point in that timespan...

(03 Apr 2014, 8:46 pm)marxistafozzski wrote Just seen on the news Sunderland have been fined by the Premier League and Football League(as he featured in a C1 Cup game) for fielding an ineligible player for 4 games at the start of the season...

It relates to Ji-Dong-Won...

Basically what happened was he went out on loan to Germany and when he came back, he had to have International Clearance to return back to Wearside, Sunderland forgot to do this, hence the Premier League/Football League Double whammy...

From the BBC Sport Website...


In my opinion they have got off quite lightly with just a fine, as a points deduction would probably have relegated them right now and anyway it is not like they gained anything in the 4 Prem games only gaining one point in that timespan...

I didnt even know u had to reapply for clearance again.. i mean he only went to germany...
This was a story from December which has just come out,seems abit daft

(03 Apr 2014, 8:46 pm)marxistafozzski wrote Just seen on the news Sunderland have been fined by the Premier League and Football League(as he featured in a C1 Cup game) for fielding an ineligible player for 4 games at the start of the season...

It relates to Ji-Dong-Won...

Basically what happened was he went out on loan to Germany and when he came back, he had to have International Clearance to return back to Wearside, Sunderland forgot to do this, hence the Premier League/Football League Double whammy...

From the BBC Sport Website...


In my opinion they have got off quite lightly with just a fine, as a points deduction would probably have relegated them right now and anyway it is not like they gained anything in the 4 Prem games only gaining one point in that timespan...

There'll be hell on if a team is relegated by one point. Letter of the law says Sunderland should have been deducted that point.

its a old story because Sunderland paid the fine in December.. its now April...

Edit: sorry i misread your post..so ill edit my post

(03 Apr 2014, 9:40 pm)Michael wrote Were down anyway so doesnt matter... either way, its a old story because Sunderland paid the fine in December.. its now April...

#Daretodream

(03 Apr 2014, 9:31 pm)aureolin wrote There'll be hell on if a team is relegated by one point. Letter of the law says Sunderland should have been deducted that point.

I have seen clubs get hit with a points deduction for less, if it was say a Hartlepool or a Gateshead, would they have got away with a fine and slap on the wrist.

I think what has happened here is a genuine mistake, SAFC did not realise they needed int'l clearance to bring there own player back from Germany, they held there hands up admitted to it and are not going to appeal it...

If Sunderland stay up by 1 point(which I cannot see happening anyway), I cant see any appeal to relegate them working, look at the West Ham case in 2005/06 The Tevez/Mascherano Third-Party Ownership Scandal, them 2 were deemed ineligible for most of the season and Tevez pretty much kept them up on his own towards the end of the season at the expense of Sheffield United, despite calls for a points deduction, they got whacked with a £5m fine...