THE BIG ONE *** BARCELONA V THE TOON *** CHAMPIONS LEEGUE ROOND OF 16, 2nd LEG (1st LEG 1-1)

 Pub Pictures Posted Periodically, from the time we arrive in Barcelona, on Tuezday afternoon!🠟

The forst time we were here in 1997 (See ground 166 Nou Camp, in 'Archive Grounds Match Reports' in right hand column OR scroll to bottom of the page and gan to ‘web version’ on your mobile ‘telling bone’ 📱 

PUB PIX AZ WE DEE THEM!⬇️

TOON AIRPORT⬇️ LIQUID LUBRICATION LOCATION ONE

BARCELONA⬇️LIQUID LUBRICATION LOCATION TWO

LIQUID LUBRICATION LOCATION (LLL) THREE⬇️

LLL FOWER (4)⬇️

LLL FIVE⬇️

LLL six NOT!—NAMED AND SHAMED!

They didn’t want us in the bar and so we left!— Their loss not wors!⬇️

LLL SIX They DID welcome us with open arms! ⬇️

LLL SEVEN⬇️

This iz the biggest European game in wor history--and to progress further than we have ever been, to the Champions Leegue Roond of 8, we MUST beat The Catalan Giants in their own stadium!

Barca, of course will be favourites to gan through after snatchin a last gasp penalty to cancel oot Harvey Barnes goal in the 85th minute, last week!

Az its the day before the match, we just divvint naa wot the squad for this game will be?---But hopefully its a strong one!

There won't be a match report til we get back to Tyneside, so it will probably be online sometime between 'high noon bells' on Friday OR later on that day!

In the meeentime we will endevour to post az many boozer pictures az possible, az we dee then, provided we can get a good internet connection!?---With 10,000 Toon fans predicted to travel, most of them will have to be content on watchin on from one of the many boozers in The Ramblas area in the centre of Barcelona! 

We understand that we have received just under 3,000 tickets for the away section!----In a revised capacity of ower 62,000 durin rebuildin work at Camp Nou ----and when its finally completed it will hold a mind bogglin 105,000!

We've got a great chance of gannin where, "No Toon team have gone before!" (The last 8 in The Champions Leegue) 

"HOWAY THE LADS!"

THE WORLD CHAMPIONS 0. THE TOON 1 *** PREMYAA LEEGUE 2025-2026

 Posted ‘high noon 🕛 bells 🔔’ Sunday 15th March 2026 on the train back to Tyneside

“RIGHT LADS!— I’LL DO MY LEVEL BEST TO GIVE YOU ALL THE CONTENTIOUS DECISIONS! I’LL LET YOU MOVE ANY FREE KICKS 10 YARDS FORWARD AND THE SAME FOR THROW INS—-/GET INTO THOSE GEORDIE BSATARDS!” 

“WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD!🌍 “

Az soon az yoo reach Stamford Bridge you are reminded that chelseee are World Champions with signs everywhere to imprint it on your brain 🧠 that they beat PSG in The World Club Cup and of course the players shirts have a badge in the middle with that on! Hence wor name for them at the top!

And so ‘it came to pass’ that NUFC won 1-0 to end a 14 year wait since the last time we’d here in 2012 when Cisse scored both goals in a 2-0 win!

For a change we actually played in wor traditional black n white stripes away from home and it proved to be a ‘winning shirt’!

Amazingly the ref  Paul Tierney woz in the middle of the Chelseee huddle just before kick off! (See top photo and caption!)

Az usual the Toon fans were housed in The Shed End upper and lower tiers and we kicked towards The Mathew Harding Stand behind the far goal in the forst half!

We pressed forward from ‘the off’ and were rewarded in the 18th minute, when Tino Livramento threaded a through baal to Joe Willock, who raced through Chelseee defence, with Anthony Gordon on the far side!-  Willock passed to Gordon az Sanchez in the home goal advanced!

Gordon woz clear and somehow kicked his right foot with hiz left, but regained hiz composure to hit the baall into the goal, az the 3,000 Toon fans at the other end cheered wildly! 1-0 to us!

The World Champions tried in vain to find an equaliser, but Aaron Ramsdale in wor goal woz up to the task and made some excellent stops to deny them!

Malik Thaiw woz wrestled to the groond in the box by a home defender, but the ref waved the protests away! (A VAR check aalso said ‘nee pen’???)

NUFC had more chances to increase wor lead az well, but failed to get the baall ower the line to double wor advantage! 

HT 1-0 to us!⬇️

In the 2nd period The world Champs had a few chances to equalise and a penalty claim for a foul by Waltemade on a Chelseee forward ( couldn’t make oot who he woz, from the other end!) woz checked by VAR, but not given! 🙏🏻

Anthony Gordon had 2 great chances to increase hiz tally, but woz denied by Sanchez in front of The Toon faithful!

A ridiculous 8 minutes stoppage time woz added, (max 5) to try and give the ‘cartel club’ an undeserved point, but we held on to claim the vital 3 points, and climb to 9th in the table, 4 places above the SMBs, who lost 1-0 to Brightin at the 🆘!

FT 1-0 to us!⬇️

Chekseee were boood off at the end, by their fans, while in complete contrast the Toon were applauded wildly by the away contingent! ( And vise versa!)⬇️

NUFC became anly the 4th non London club to win 50 games in the capital city in the Premyaa Leegue era, alang with the 2 Manc clubs and The Liverbirds!

 It haz to be said that the ref Paul Tierney had a shockin game, letting Chelseee players move the baall forward for free kicks and letting their player take throw ins, yards from where the baall went oot!—And then there’s the non penalty decision when Malik Thiaw woz brought doon, on top of that! (Again, see top photo and caption!) 🥶

Attendance: 39,587 (2,000 below capacity) NUFC sold wor entire 3,083 allocation

*The question on everybody’s lips iz! NUFC beat the World Champions, so that makes US the best team on planet 🌍 Earth!—-Surely?🤔

PUB CRAWL PIX IN LONDON AND PETERBOROUGH (Where we stayed)

7 DIFFERENT LIQUID LUBRICATIONS LOCATIONS IN TOTAL!

LONDON⬇️ 5

PETERBOROUGH⬇️ 2

THE CHELSEEE PENSIONERS V THE TOON **** SATURDAY TEATIME!

 Posted ‘high 🕛 noon 🛎️ bells’ Saturday 14th March 2026 on the train to King’s Cross in London

HERE’S A BRILLIANT MATCH PROGRAMME BETWEEN CFC AND NUFC FROM 112 YEARS AGO IN 1914** NOTE THAT THE CHELSEEE PENSIONER IZ HOLDIN UP A UNION JACK FLAG 🇬🇧 JUST AFTER THE START OF THE 1st WORLD WAR (1914-1918) THEY WERE NICKNAMED THE PENSIONERS BACK THEN! HENCE ‘THE CHELSEEE PENSIONERS’ IN WOR NAME FOR THEM NOW! *** NUFC WON 3-0 WITH HALL 2 AND HIBBERT SCORIN WOR GOALS IN FRONT OF A 20,000 CROWD AT STAMFORD BRIDGE ***AND NO!—-THE GEORDIE TIMES WASNT THERE THAT DAY! (WE MAY BE PAST WOR ‘SELL BY DATE’, BUT, WE’RE NOT THAT OLD!)

NUFC have 3 bogey groonds in the Premyaa Leegue and Stamford Bridge iz one of them, alang with The Ethiad Stadium and Anfield!

We have won just once in the Premyaa Leegue era in 2012 —-with 2 Cisse goals in a 2-0 win.  We have drawn 7 times and lost 22 times in that period! 😵‍💫

We will have the same squad , az we did against Barcelona! —While we drew 1-1 in The Champions Leegue v Barcelona in midweek, Chelseee were hammered 5-2 at PSG in the same competition!

Let’s hope they still have a hangover this evening!? 🙏🏻 (kick off 5:30 🕠 bells 🔔’ for Sky telly)

A full Geordie Times match and boozer report will be compiled on the train back to Tyneside!  Watch oot for any sppeling misstayks when the train 🚂 jolts!

“JUST WOT THE DR ORDERED!”

 Posted ‘high noon 🕛 🛎️ bells’ Friday 13th March 2026

We hear that Yoane Wissa haz been called up for International duty later this month, with DR Congo in a World Cup play off against eethaa Jamaica 🇯🇲 or New Caledonian 🇳🇨 in Mexico on March 31st for a place in the World Cup finals!

Havin been injury prone and anly scored ONE solitary Premyaa Leegue goal for NUFC, we honestly divvint ‘Fink’ that wor £55 million poond striker will be missed at aall!

That Prem goal woz at The Burnley Hillbillies on Decembaa 30th, where we won 3-1— and he haz yet to score a Prem goal at SJP!

He can hardy last a game after eethaa, bein subbed ‘off’ or ‘on’ in the 2nd half of games!

He will probably get injured again, nee doubt!

THE TOON 1 BARCA 1 *** CHAMPIONS LEEGUE ROOND OF 16 1ST LEG

Posted '7:00pm bells' Wedinzday 11th March 2026

130th competitive European game in a row (including 6 in the Anglo Italian Cup)

Geordie Times excluuusive! A photo of the Barcelona fan who went to St. James' Park, Exeter by misstayk! (See article at the bottom of the page!)

"IT'S JUST LIKE PSG AALL OWER AGAIN!"

An electric atmosphere and an electric forst and second half performance from NUFC, woz just not quite enough to get the victory, when Barca were awarded a penalty 6 minutes into the 4 minutes stoppage time, after we had taken the lead in the 85th minute, when Jacob Murphy crossed and Harvey Barnes fired home at The Gallowgate End, az both the baall and Barca goalie Garcia ended up in the back of the net! 1-0 to us az the roof woz lifted off the Gallowgate End!

10 minutes before that Barnes had hit the post and Joelinton hit the rebound into the net----from an offside position! (Had Barnes shot went in off the post, the goal would have stood!) (The agony!)

Just like wor game at PSG 3 years ago, wor opponents were awarded a penalty in the very last minute of the game, when Malik Thaiw fouled Olmo in the box and the Italian ref pointed straight to the spot!

The sheer agony of it aall woz evident az Yamal put the baall to the left of Aaron Ramsdale, who dived the other way!

Imeeedjitlee<(Geordie Times sppellin!)  after this the Italian ref (who had a terrible game!) blew for full time, to break wor hearts, just like at PSG in 2023! FT 1-1

Attendance: 52,103 (1,200 Catalanz)

"YIH COULDN'T ⬇️MAKE IT UP!"

THE TOON 1. BARCA 1 *** CHAMPIONS LEEGUE ROOND OF 16 1st LEG

 Posted ‘1:19pm bells 🔔 Wedinzday 11th March 2026

The Barcelona match report will be very late az Av been to the NUFC ticket office and stood in the queue for 90 minutes, az they sent me an e mail sayin my seat and grandson’s seats would be moved from the Family enclose to far more expensive seats!

Got it sorted (eventually!) but when I got back to the van, it had a £25 parking ticket az I’d waited that lang in the queue!😵‍💫

Report will be online by this evening

On a lighter note, read the twitter message below!

“YI COULDN’T MAKE IT UP!⬇️

GEORDIE TIMES RXCLUUUSIVE!   ⬆️ A PHOTO OF THE BARCELONA FAN WHO WENT TO EXETER BY MISSTAYK!

THE TOON V BARCA *** THE LONG SHOT!

Posted ‘high noon 🕛 bells’ 🔔 Tuezday 10th March 2026

“THE LAST CHANCE SALOON!” 🔫

Tooneet iz the last chance we have to salvage the season after gettin knocked oot of both domestic cups by, “Yee naa who!?”

If NUFC lose tooneet’s ‘Roond of 16’ Champions Leegue game, then we certainly can’t see us winnin the 2nd leg at the Camp Nou next week!

Even a draw wouldn’t be a fatal blow, but say a 1-0 win would at least give us a chance! —Steady Eddie iz under nee illustrations aboot this tie against one of the best supported clubs in the world! ⬇️

When the Camp Nou reconstruction iz finished it will hold a mind boggling 105,000!—Twice the size of SJP!)  —-Sayin that! Barcelona will anly have 1,300 or so fans at the game, when they could have had 3,000!---The Catalans from northern Spain are nortoriosly bad away travellers! (They anly had 800 at The Group Stage game!)

The Toon sit 12th in the table az we speak on 39 points, but we have nee chance of a top 5 Champions Leegue place like last season az we are 9 points behind 5th place with just 9 games to gan—-and even a crack at the Europa or Conference Leegues looks a lang shot! (see top photo!) (sic!)

SO!—this iz it!— We must play like we did against the red side of Manchester last Wedinzday, where we won 2-1 with 10 men—and not play like we did against the blue side of Manchester, on Saturday neet, where we lost 3-1 to end wor domestic trophy hopes for another season!

Team news: Bruno, Lewis Miley and Fab Schar are still crocked, with slight doubts ower Anthony Gordon, Jacob Murphy and Joelinton!

Jacob Ramsey will be in the squad after servin a one game domestic ban, after he woz ridiculously sent off against Moan U!

This will be NUFC's 151st game in European competitions (NOT includin 13 in the Anglo Italian Cup) and 41st in The Champions Leegue! ---AND the 2nd time we have played Barca at SJP this season ---which woz in the group stage, when we lost 2-1 last Septembaa!

A full Geordie Times match report will appear here sometime on Wedinzday!---Lets hope we give it 'a big shot' with aall guns blazin'! (sic! 2)

The glow of the SJP floodlights ⬆️last neet, light up the Tyneside sky, when Barcelona had their obligatory trainin session on the pitch----Picture from Geordie Times HQ

THE TOON 1. THE BLUE MOONIES 3 *** FA CUP 5th ROOND

 

Posted just after ‘high noon 🕛 bells 🔔 Sunday 8th March 2026

“NEE ‘HYDE⬇️-ING’ PLACE!” 👹

Anothaa Jekyll and Hyde performance from The Toon!—Whereaz Dr Jekyll woz here on Wedinzday when we beat Moan U 2-1 with 10 men— Mr Hyde turned up yesterday az we were outplayed (again) by the blue half of Mancland!

It started off so well when we had several chances az we attacked the Leazes goal, culminating in a superb Harvey Barnes banana shot from a great Sandro Tonali through baall to put us 1-0 up after 18minutes!

Just when it looked az though we would hold onto the lead until the break—and with wor visitors pressing for an equaliser, it finally came in the 39th minute, when a Doku cross into the box eventually foond Savino in a melee of players, who had the simple task of tapping the baall ower the line to level things!

HT 1-1

It didn’t take ‘Citih’ lang to take the lead after the interval, when Numas pulled the baall back and unmarked, on the six yard line, Marmoush fired home, with the goal net bulgin! 2-1 to them!

It woz aall them after this az we were penned back in wor own half—and not suprizinglee Marmoush, who haz been a thorn in wor side this season, hit a screamer into the Leazes net, with Toon goalie Arron Ramsey well beaten! 3-1 to them!

The most galling thing aboot this was the fact that The Blue Moonies had made TEN changes from the weekend, with anly Nunes keeping his place in the side! (ie: Their 2nd string!)

And for the first time in wor history a team haz beaten us 4 times in 1 season (1 win, 4 defeats in Leegue and Cups)

The gap between them, ‘The Arse’ and us iz massive and the statement by wor hierarchy that we would be “Number One!” by 2030 looks absolutely ridiculous now!

Barcelona next on Tuezday in The Champions Leegue, but which one of Jekyll and Hyde will turn up, iz anybodys guess!

Attendance: 51,109 (The Blue Moonies didn’t sell aall of their 4,893 tickets, meaning that the crowd woz 1,000 plus below capacity) Success fatigue perhaps?🤔 

*Before wor game we heeded for Dunston FC, 2 miles south of SJP, ower the Redheugh bridge, where they beat Silsden from Yorkshire 2-1 in a Northern Premyaa Leegue East game, in front of a 251 crowd! (3 bells kick off---NUFC game 8 bells kick off) ⬇️

 

DUNSTON IN THE AALL BLUE STRIP

THE TOON V THE BLUE MOONIES AND DUNSTON V SELSDEN ••• DOUBLE HEEDER!

 Posted from ‘high noon 🕛 🛎️ bells’ onwards, Saturday 7th March 2026

Because of yet anothaa crazy kick off time at ‘8 bells 🔔’ tooneet, The Geordie Times iz deein a rare ‘double heeder’ and are gannin to watch The Bad Blue Boys of Dunston take on Silsden from Yorkshire at ‘3 bells 🔔’ in a Northern Premyaa Leegue East Division match! ( Step 4 in the futbaall pyramid which iz 8 Divisions below the Premyaa Leegue!)

That game will finish aroond aboot ‘10 to 5 bells 🔔’ and then it’s a mad rush for the bus, for the 10 minute jorney ower the Redheugh bridge, arriving at The Toon Moose boozer (Town Mouse) in the Haymarket at hopefully ‘5:30 bells’ 🔔 at the latest for a few ‘gargels’ before wor FA Cup 5th roond tie v Man Citih!

Which Toon team will torn oot iz anybodys guess?— hopefully the one that beat Moan U 2-1 with 10 men on Wedinzday—-and NOT the one that lost 3-2 to Evaatin last weekend!— 

Nick Waltemade iz expected to retorn after missin the Moan U game through illness, while Tino Livramento iz close to a retorn, but Lewis Miley, Fab Schar and Bruno are still crocked!

Jacob Ramsey iz banned coz of hiz ridiculous sendin off v Moan U!

Wor visitors were allocated 4,893 tickets, but, just like in the Leegue Cup semi final, they have failed to sell them aall —-again!

Az those unsold tickets cannit be resold to Toon fans, coz of segregation issues, there will be a below capacity crowd at SJP (Aall home sections are completely sold oot of course)

Extra time and penalties will follow if the game iz aall square—and it could be roond aboot ‘11 bells 🔔’ by the time the game ends! (Hardly any time for fans to catch trains 🚂 or the last busses 🚍 yem! (11:30 🛎️ bells’ for me! 🚌 ) So!—many will be forced to leave before the end, IF that iz the case!—-OR! —End up stranded if they stay til the end!

A full Geordie Times match report on both games will appear here in due course—-Az per usual, “Watch this space!”

BARCA AWAY TICKETS ON SALE TODAY!

 Posted '11:00 am bells' Friday 6th March 2026

THE AWAY SECTION AT CAMP NOU WITH ATHLETICO MADRID FANS IN A GLASS CAGE PEN!*** 

THIS IZ WHERE NUFC FANS WILL BE HOUSED ON THE 3RD TIER

2,215 tickets for wor away game at Camp Nou in Barcelona gan on sale in an hours time to Toon fans with 160 loyalty points (fans who have been to 160 away games) The seat choice starts at high noon bells 🔔’ and there iz a 2 hour window to buy tickets before they gan on sale to fans with 109 loyalty points at ‘2:00 pm bells 🔔’

But be warned!--- tickets for the front rows of seats on the 3rd level of the Camp Nou, have very high glass partitioned screens at the front of the away section, to make viewing the match harder ---Especially if the glass isnt very clean! (See top photos)

The reconstruction of Barcelona’s stadium iz currently 45,000 capacity at the moment and they are hopin to increase the capacity to ower 60,000 by the time NUFC play there in 12 days time! 

If that’s the case then we could be entitled to more tickets under the 5% away allocation rules for Champions Leegue games!

We watched Barcelona’s Spanish Cup game orlier this week v Atletico Madrid on the ‘dodgy stick’ channel ☠️ and the 4th tier of the stadium iz still under construction az iz the whole section behind the left hand goal from the telly cameras and the bottom section of the right hand goal az well iz empty!

The final capacity will be a mind boggling 105,000 when it’s finally completed! (Double the capacity of SJP!)

Pix of the stadium in its present state ⬇️

"THEY'RE HERE, THEY'RE THERE, THERE EVERY FCUKIN WHERE,         EMPTY SEATS, EMPTY SEATS!"

THE PLAYERS TUNNEL IZ JUST LIKE CLIMBIN THE MILBURN STAND STAIRS!⬇️