This website iz dedecated to the Newcastle United groundhoppers who follow the fortunes of the team aroond the world (and beyond!) The ground totals include competitive and friendly forst team, resorve team, junior team and Newcastle United X1 games that 'the mad-sad groundhopper' has attended, aall for Newcastle United games only, in the last SEVEN decades*** cheers!***'Fink' (the mad-sad groundhopper!)***last count 362 (363 inc Motspur Park outside)
Posted '2:52pm bells' Munday 31st May 2021
A new sponsor's logo can just be seen in the red circle! (Castore)
But have yoo seen the state of the Gallowgate End roof!!!!
Perhaps wor reluctant owner should change the name of hiz sports company to the above heading?
Posted 'high noon bells' Saturday 29th May 2021
"HOWWWAY BRENTFAAD!"
The biggest game of the week takes place later on today!---and a'm NOT taakin aboot the Champions Leegue final between Man City and Chelski in Porto----A'm taakin aboot the Championship playoff game between Brentfaad and Swanzee at Wembley!
This will be Brentfaad's TENTH attempt to win promotion via the play offs!---10th time lucky?
Aaall 'The NUFC mad-sad groundhoppers' will be rootin for red n white striped Brentfaad to win promotion to the big time, az this will be a new groond to visit next season and Swanzee's won't!
We will be watchin on from Rosie's Bar, which iz within hocklin distance of SJP!
And then tomorrow Lingkin (Lincoln), anothaa team who play in red n white stripes, will be tryin to win promotion to The Championship in the Leegue 1 play off final and we want THEM to win az well, coz they knocked the SMBs oot at the semi final stage! (They play Blackpoool in their final!)
PS: Despite 21,000 allowed into the FA Cup final, anly 12,000 will be allowed in today and just 10,000 tomorrow, despite desperate pleas from the clubs involved for an increased allocation!----This 'logic' beggars belief!
Updated '5:00pm bells'
Joyous news from Wembley for the 2nd week in a row az Brentfaad won 2-0 !🤪👍
(The non leegue team beginning with the letter 'H' who we love to hate lost there last Saturday!)
Updated Munday '11:05am bells'
Unfortunately Blackpoool won, so The SMBs can 'enjoy Lingkin' again next season az well!🤪👍
Posted from just after 'high noon bells' Friday 28th May 2021
(Will be updated az new fixtures are annoonced)
"51 DAYS AND COOONTIN'!"
Some pre season fixtures have aalready been released and beleeeve it or not it iz anly SEVEN WEEKS on Sunday, til the forst game!
The forst team have 3 fixtures lined up (2 on the same day!) and wor U23/resorve side have 2 lined up! (Forst team in gold, U23/resorves in pink)
Hope we can get in????
Sunday 18th July, '2:00 bells', York City at their new groond!!!
Sunday 18th July, '2;00 bells', Harrogate Toon, away
(NUFC will split wor forst team 25 man squad and send half to each game!)
Saturday 24th July, '3:00 bells', Darlo at their new groond!!!
Tuesday 27th July '7:00 bells' Rotherham, away
Friday 30th July, '7:45 bells', Burton Albion, away
Saturday 31st July, '3:00 bells', Gatesheed, away
*Forst team fixtures will be released on Wedinzday 16th Joon
*New season begins on Saturday 14th August
Posted 'high noon bells'🔔 Wedinzday 26th May 2021
It's seems that wor heed coach haz taken aall the credit for keepin us up, yet before Graeme Jones came aboard, we were anly heedin for one place---THE CHAMPIONSHIP!
The futbaall woz dire and unbearable to watch on wor 💻laptops and 📺tellys az we were were labeled 🏷'The Untertainters'!
Since Jones's arrival we have picked up more points and scored more goals than we did before he came!
In hiz forst game at Evertin he woz bellowing oot instructions from the touchline, while Brucey looked on disaprovingly with arms folded
He woz a breath of fresh air az we played some great stuff and beat the Morseysiders 2-0!
Hiz record iz thus: In the 18 games before hiz arrival we had 19 points from 20 games and had scored just 19 goals!
Since hiz arrival we have played 18 games and have amased 26 points and scored 27 goals, thanx mainly to Callum Wilson and Joe Willock in particular!
Anly once, when asked at a press conference haz Bruce acknowledged him, and haz taken aall the credit for wor revival!
Not anly that, but he haz yet again had a go at the battle weary fans and told us to eat 'humble pie'!
Jonesy haz impressed Gareth Southgate SO much, that he haz added him to hiz coaching squad for the forthcoming Euros!
Not one word of praise from Brucey!
Make nee misstayk, Graeme Jones iz the man who kept us up! Givin' new meanin' to the phrase 'KEEPING UP WITH THE JONES'S!
We can anly hope and pray that a change of ownership (and management!) happens soon, or else it's the 'same old', 'same old story' next season again!
Posted 'high noon bells' Munday 24th May 2021
"THE END GAME!"
3 of us watched this game in Rosie's Bar, within hocklin distance of SJP, against a Fulim team aalready relegated!
NUFC took the lead in the 23rd minute when Joe Willock ran 3 qwaataz the length of the pitch to score a breathtakin goal at The Hammersmith End with a great shot! Hiz 7th goal in 7 consecutive games, which equals Alan Shearer's record in the Premyaa Leegue era! 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
There were then lang periods of the game where we went off the boil, with the home side nee better!
The final nail in Fulim's coffin⚰ came near the end when Matt Richie woz (alledgeldy?) clipped in the box and the ref pointed straight to the spot! (We thought VAR would owertorn the decision, but thankfully, didn't!)
Fabian Schar took it and casually placed the baall into the corner of the net, to double wor advantage and seal the 3 points!
Amazingly aall the other results went in wor favour and we climbed from 15th to 12th place in the final leegue table!
There were supposed to be no away fans in attendance, but we know personally of at least 2 Toon fans who somehow gained admittance to the game! And one of them sent The Geordie Times photos from the Putney End of Craven Cottage (appropriately, the 'away end' when we can gan back!)
We can't divulge hiz/her names az they of course shouldn't have been there! The fan in question who took the photos tells us that apart from him and a hiz mate, he spotted TWO more fans, to make a total of 4 Toon fans in the 2,000 crowd! (That we know of!)
Jealous?---That the rest of us had to watch from pubs and at home? No way! Well done to the 'NUFC mad-sad groundhoppers' who got in! 👏👏👏👏
SO!-At least a handful of diehards witnessed this win in person!
Hopefully next season we will have a full compliment of fans at EVERY away game!
At the end of the game Brucey came oot with another one of hiz nonsense comments:
"We'll never say that it's an achievement to finish 12th for a club of our stature!---BUT! it's an achievement!" ????????????
Posted 'high noon bells' Sunday 23rd May 2021
"AND NOW THE END IZ NEAR!"
What a Saturday!---Aaall the teams we wanted to succeed did (apart from 1) az results from the SOS and Wembley came through at '5:30 bells' last neet! Aalso, Brentfaad won, which meenz they gan into the Championship play off final to try for a place in the top flight! (IF they win it will be a new groond for The NUFC mad-sad groundhoppers to gan tee next season!) (Hopefully!)
Today, we torn wor attention to Craven Cottage in west London where NUFC bring doon the curtain at relegated Fulim in a dead rubber game!
3 months ago this woz supposed to be the game where ex mackem player Maja woz gannin to send us doon to The Championship az the SMBs won automatic promotion from Leegue 1!
Of course yesterday's 3-2 aggregate loss consigned the mackems to a FOURTH consecutive season in the thord tier of Inglish futbaall, while NUFC secured safety to the top flight a month ago!
🤪👍
At Wembley yesterday, that non leegue team we love to hate begginin with the letter 'H' lost 3-1 to Hornchurch in The FA Trophy final!---A hat-trick of success for us, for sure!😆
The anly 'blip' woz Binfield FCs, who lost the FA Vase to Warrington az wor mate from Bracknell near Reading 'Colonel Gadaffi' used to play for them in the 1960s, which shows just how old he iz!---WE wanted them to win for hiz sake, but it wasnt to be!
ANYWAY!--back to this afternooon at '4 bells' where we will watch the game in Rosie's Bar which iz within hocklin distance of SJP!
A win will propel us up to az high az 13th if other results gan wor way, or az low az 17th if they divvint--and The Toon lose!
This will bring an end to wot haz been a horrendous season of havin to watch Toon games on Laptops, pub screens and mobile phones!(and even listen on truck 📻s!)
Some of the games have been truly aaful and a change of owner and 🦖 management are wor anly hope of avoidin' relegation battles season after season after season!---We live in hope!🙏
A full Geordie Times match report will appear here az per usual by 'high noon bells' tomorrow!---"Watch this space!"
Posted '00:48am bells' Saturday 22nd May 2021
BLACKWELL MEADOWS, DARLOWor U23s have arranged 2 friendlies against local opposition in pre season 2021-2022! (So far!)
Vorses Gatesheed FC at The Gatesheed International Stadium on Saturday July 31st, where we have played many, many times before--- and at Darlo, where we will play Darlington FC at Blackwell Meadows on Saturday July 24th---a groond we have never previously visited!---This iz joyous news indeed for 'The NUFC mad-sad groundhoppers', who follow the Toon wherever they play!
An NUFC forst team X1 aalso play a friendly in July against York City on their brand new LNER Stadium groond, on Sunday July 18th, which meenz we will have TWO new groonds to visit in SIX days, after the 'famine' of this season, where we have been unable to visit ANY news groonds, due to the Covid 19 restrictions!
(An NUFC forst team X1 aalso play at Harrogate Toon's Wetherby Road groond on the same day az the York fixture---with the 25 man forst team squad, bein split between the 2 games!) (A groond we previously visited in 2002 for an NUFC resorve game!)
So for groundhoppin' purposes, this meenz that YORK iz wor destination on that day!
Providin' everything gans to plan in the liftin' of Covid restrictions, we will be addin yet more new groonds to the never endin list of NUFC venues visited!---Roll on JULY! (for more reasons than ONE!)
Posted 'high noon bells' Friday 22nd May 2021
Not suprizingly 'The Arse' want Joe Willock back after he scored in hiz 6th successive game for NUFC on Wedinzday!
It's a double edged sword for certain!
The youngest player to do so and a new Premyaa Leegue record for the 21 year old!
What we need iz new very rich owners to BUY players like Joe, and not gan 'cap in hand' to get them on loan!
Have we mentioned this before!?🤔
Posted 📫from 'high noon 🔔bells' onwards, Thorsday 20th May 2021
"ONE IN A ROW!"
We finally got back to watch a live game at SJP last neet (Whey, 10,000 of us anyway!) after a 445 day famine! (The last time we saw a live game here woz February 2020!)
Mee match ticket said arrive up to 90 mins before kick off, but I woz having none of that nonsense and torned up an hour before--just in case they were awkward at the turnstiles!
A quick check of mee photo identity on mee HGV licence and aa woz 'in'!
There were nee programmes on sale or food and drink outlets open, so aa made for mee seat in row FF of the Gallowgate End and settled doon!
The Toon players came oot to warm up to loud applause 👏 from the 'faithful!
By the time kick off approached, aa looked alang the row aa woz in and aa could see that aa had at least 50 seats to meesel!
I'm not sayin there were plenty of empty seats---BUT!
The forst half woz a bit dire, az the crowd egged the team on andcseveral chances went 'a beggin'
A'd proped meesel up against a waall at the end of the row and put mee feet up to watch Joe Willock's heeded goal from a Murphy cross deep into 1st half stoppage time at The Gallowgate End!
A new 'first' for me-- watchin a goal live, az aa woz lying doon!
The 2nd half woz dire az well and bottom side Sheff U pressed for an equaliser!
This nearly came late on when they hit the bar, but thankfully it ended up in the crowd!
The ref finally blew for full time and so a one-nil win rounded off wor last home game of the season!
The Toon players then did a lap of 'honour'? to loud applause from the fans! But then Brucey spoiled it by joining in and tagging on at the back, to sustained booooing from the stands, mixed in with the applause!
What did he expect after slaggin the fans off and overseeing some of the most cr*p performances that we've had to endure from wor 💻laptops, 📺tellys and 📱mobile phones!
Next and last game iz at Fulim on Sunday----a game NUFC fans are barred from of course! So after 51 missed games in a row, we have seen 'one' live and will miss the last one! "ONE IN A ROW!"
Roll on next season, hopefully with new very rich owners!🙏
Attendance: 10,000 who were lucky enough to get a ticket! (But unlucky enough to witness this performance!)
Posted 'high noon bells' Wedinzday 19th May 2021
A SIGN OF NORMALITY IN STRAWBERRY PLACE!
Posted '2:40pm bells' Munday 17th May 2021
In the Championship play offs tooneet Barnslee play Swanzee and Bournmoooth play Brentfaad in the 1st leg of the semi finals!
Az The NUFC mad-sad groundhoppers have been to the forst 3 mentioned before, we are hopin and preyin that Brentfaad win tooneet and in the final at Wembley!
We played at their new groond in wor disastrous Leegue Cup defeat last year, but were prevented from gannin coz the game woz behind closed doors of course!
So a Brentfaad win tooneet, which kicks off at '6:00 bells' wud be great!
Aall 👂's will be on mee truck 📻 from '6:00 🔔's onwards!
"COME ON YOO BEES!"🪰
B
Updated '8:16pm 🔔's
Bournemoooth won 1-0🥶
Still there's the 2nd leg at Brentfaad!🙏
 |
| IBROX PARK 1969 (Capacity 118,000) |
Posted 'high noon bells' Saturday 15th May 2021
GOALS GALORE @ GALLOWGATE!
A game that didn't matter, az we were safe from the dreaded drop and Man City were crowned champions orlier this week, torned oot to be a 7 goal thriller, which went the visitors way 3-4
Another visit to The Strawberry 🍓opposite SJP woz the order of the day, az we watched on from a laptop on the open balcony!
The goal sequences and controversies were az follows!
24th minute: After sustained attacks from wor visitors the baall ended up at the other end of the pitch when The Toon got a corner at The Leazes End.
Shelvey took it and hiz pinpoint centre foond Krafth and hiz bullet heeder beat their keeper Scott Carson aall ends up, to put us 1-0 up! In the excitement the drinks nearly got knocked off the table az we celebrated an unexpected lead! 1-0 to us!
35th minute: Jonjo Shelvey hits the bar from a direct free kick just ootside the box!
39th minute: Cancelo equalizes for Man City with a shot into the corner of the net! 1-1
42nd minute: Torres puts wor visitors 2-1 up with a brilliant mid air back heel to the centre of the goal!---After a lengthy VAR delay the goal woz finally given, despite a City player bein just offside?
Deep into stoppage time NUFC are awarded a penalty after Joelinton iz fouled in the box! After another lengthy VAR check the penalty woz conformed and Joelinton made nee misstayk, puttin the baall into the corner of the net! 2-2 HT
62nd minute: Joe Willock iz fouled in the box and the ref points straight to the spot for wor 2nd penalty of the game!
Willock takes it this time, but hiz shot iz parried away by Carson!---Luckily for Willock the baall rebounds to him and he haz the simple task of tappin' the baall into the net from close range! 3-2 to us
64th minute: The lead didnt last very lang az Torres scores hiz 2nd goal for The Blue Moonies with a shot to the top corner of the goal!
3-3
66th minute: Torres claims hiz hat-trick with a shot to the centre of wor goal! 3-4 to them!
That's the way it stayed to replicate Man City's 3-4 win in 1968 when the won the old 1st Division at SJP!
Their win woz aalso a record az they have now won 12 away games on the spin!
A spirited performance from NUFC with wor safety aalready conformed!---Although the stats show we anly had 17% possession which iz the joint lowest in Premyaa Leegue history---apparently!
Posted 'high noon bells' Friday 14th May 2021
TWO GAMES OF TWO HALFS!
This season isn't even finished, yet we have news of 2 pre season friendlies that have been arranged for the SAME DAY on Sunday 18th July, when we will split the 1st team squad between the 2 games at York and Harrogate! (25 players are allowed in a 1st team squad)
The good news iz that a new groond iz on the list--York City's new stadium on the outskirts of York!
Harrogate Toon iz the other game on a groond we have previously visited in 2002 when an NUFC resorve side visited their Wetherby Road groond!
So guess which game we are gannin tee!?
Hopefully things will be back to near normal by then and 'The NUFC mad-sad groundhoppers' can tick a new groond off the list, after more than a year since we last visited one! (Rochdale's Spotland groond in January 2020)
On other matters!
Tooneet at '8:00 🔔bells' NUFC face Man City at SJP in wor 3rd last match of the season!
The game iz a dead rubber of course az we are safe from relegation and Man City are newly crowned Premyaa Leegue champions--- and they will probably send a very weakened team, with the Champions Leegue final in their sights at the end of the month!
Still too strong for us no doubt, az we watch on from a laptop in The 🍓 boozer ootside balcony, ower the road from SJP!
A full Geordie Times match report on the game will appear here, az per usual on Saturday!
"Watch this space!"
TICKET NEWS ON THE SHEFF UNITED GAME
It seems that of the 23,000 long torm season ticket holders, less than 10,000 applied for the 10,000 tickets available and so NUFC have annoonced that season ticket holders on short torm deals can apply for ticket for level 7 of the stadium!
The fact that we couldnt sell 10,000 to 23,000 loyal fans, shows just how much the fans are disenchanted with the club at this moment! And remember, we havint been to a live game for well ower a year!
We dont know of ONE FAN who applied for a ticket who woz refused!
Brucey's declaration that he WON'T resign, despite wide spread fan outrage at the teams performances, certainly doesn't help sell tickets against an aalready relegated team!
25 years ago there woz a 10,000 waitin list for season tickets----now we can't sell 10,000 to wor most loyal fans!????
AND FINALLY!
Congratulations to Brucey for winnin the April manager of the month award! The 1st time he haz EVER won it in 23 years of management, which shows just how good he iz! (NUFC started April in 17th place in the table and finished April in er! 17th place in the table!!!)
Posted📫 'high noon bells'🔔 Thorsday 13th May 2021
NUFC are safe of course, az we end the season with 3 dead rubber games, with nothin' to play for!
1st up are newly crowned champions The Blue Moonies of Mancland tomorrow neet at SJP (will be watchin on from The 🍓 just ower the road from the groond!)
Then the BIG ONE! A home game some of us can actually gan tee, v the relegated Blade Runners from Sheffeeeld next Wedinzday(your truly woz one of the lucky 10,000 in the ballot!)🙏
And then the final game of the season, away to another relegated side, Fulim at Craven Cottage! (Will be watchin on from 🌹ies this time, just doon the road from SJP!
To be honest aa will be glad when this season iz aall ower for more reasons than one!
ONE: having to watch games in pubs, at home on 💻, or listen on from truck 📻's iz not my idea of fun!
TWO: The dreadful futbaall that we have played MOST of the time, iz enough to send yoo to 💤😴!
Roll on next season with, new players, a new manager AND hopefully VERY RICH NEW OWNERS!🙏 (or are we living in fantasy land?)
Posted '11:11am bells' Wedinzday 12th May 2021
Got an e mail from NUFC yesterday to say that aa woz one of the lucky ones and have been allocated one of the 10,000 tickets available for wor home game v Sheff U next Wedinzday!
Obviously I am ower the 🌙to get a precious 🎫 and have tried to get on the club's website with nee success so far, az there's a massive queue online to book a🪑!
PS: Eventually got through and booked a seat in The Gallowgate End row FF (wherever that iz? --I normally sit in The Milburn Stand balcony, but that section ain't open!)
The fans who I feel sorry for are 40,000 who can't attend and I will be shouting extra hard for aall of yoo who are sadly missin oot!
I will be supporting the team 100% and its such a shame that wor top scorer Callum Wilson iz injured and won't be playin'!
More to follow on aall this later!
Posted '3:00pm bells' Munday 10th May 2021
With Fat Sam's West Brom the 2nd team to be relegated yesterday from the top flight (for the 5th time in the Premyaa Leegue era!) and with Sheff United aalso gone of course, this leaves just one place to fill in the relegation trapdoor!
Fulim play Bornley tooneet in West London and if they win they can still mathimatally match wor points total!
If they draw, then they CANNIT catch us!
If they lose, then they are relegated az well!
Aall Toon eyes (or in my case ears, from mee truck radio!) will be listenin'🎶 on intently from '8:00 🔔s' onwards!
The Geordie Times will publish the final score az soon az we can!🙏
Updated just after 'midneet bells'🔔
Bornley won 2-0 so NUFC are safe (for another season at least)👍 and Fulim gan doon!
Posted '8:51pm bells' Sunday 9th May 2021
'Fat Sam the Ugly Man' woz overjoyed when NUFC went doon in 2016, when he woz manager of the SMBs---and aall Toon fans are overjoyed that the same fate haz now happened to him a few seconds ago tooneet, when hiz West Brom side lost 3-1 to 'The Arse' to relegate them to The Championship!
Hiz CV of never being relegated from the top flight now lies in tatters!👹
Posted from 'high noon bells' onwards, Saturday 8th May 2021
"EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY!"
Wot can we say? We fully expected a 4 goal thrashin and NOT a 4 goal victory! This woz NUFCs best performance by miles this season az we pulverised the Champions Leegue contenders to gan up to 'nose bleed' height in the table!
How it unfolded:
Aa couldn't find a boozer in The Toon to watch it, so aa heeded yem to watch on mee laptop, with some broon ale and mee mascot Toon bear for company!
Playin in wor aall yellow away kit we started off on the front foot and 'hunted' the Foxes from the word go!
22nd minute: Joe Willock opens the scorin with a nice finish
0-1 to The Toon!
34th minute: Paul Dummett leaps above the Lestaa defence to power in a great heeder from a Matt Ritchie corner
0-2 to The Toon!!
64th minute: An ootstandin pass from Matt Ritchie finds Callum Wilson and wor top scorer makes nee misstayk with a fine effort to beat Schmeichel in the home goal!
0-3 to The Toon!!!
73rd minute: Wilson hits the post, but the rebound faalls to him to put the baall in the net from a very tight angle!
0-4 to The Toon!!!!
80th minute: The Basil Brush Brigade pull one back through Aalbrighton
1-4 to The Toon!!!!
87th minute: Anothaa Lestaa goal from Iheanacho to set the norves janglin!
2-4 to The Toon!!!!
But their comeback came too late in the game and thankfully NUFC held oot for a very famous victory to propel us up to 13th in the table and virtually banish aall thoughts of relegation az Fat Sam the Ugly Man's West Brom cannit now catch us and Fulim can now anly match wor points total if they win their remainin 4 games and we lose wor remainin' 3!-----Very highly unlikely az now we need just ONE point to secure safety!
HAPPY DAYS!----Can we now have wor takeower pleeeeeze!?
*
