Another great video, Eddy, and commentary. ‘Flagging down a Bus’.....priceless! Notwithstanding your previous video about relocating, the Club must explore every possibility about expansion first as we have the location, the status, the infrastructure, the history etc............just need the Manager and Team now!
Also a Great Vid comment. My only time was when Shilton was in the visitor's goal, my beloved Derby County. It's said we won, 0-0 due to a still memorable goalkeeping display of his. Arthur Cox was our manager and it's said he kept two shirts: one of Keegan's, and the one Shilton wore that day. The main stand was not covered and the teams ran out in the far corner as the refurb' had begun. In your vid, the passions pours and swirls around the stadium, perpetually pumped by a strong heart. Great to see what stands beyond the stadium. I go back to the 60s, and upload matches from then, and the Georgian flats are clearly visible from pitch level in those days. Later on I'll have a swift virtual pint in The Strawberry, thanks to your good self. Well done, I enjoyed the tour.
Great video Eddie. It’s amazing to see how the ground has transformed since I watched as a lad in the Leazes end (late 60’s). Ecstatic to hear they aren’t moving the cathedral, it is the heart & soul of the club.
Really enjoyed watching this, just can’t physically see how they could extend st James park. Especially on the listed buildings side.Hope theres a option to do so rather than build another stadia. Being a Forest fan always had a soft spot for your team.went back to keegan sticking up for Pearce on that famous tv rant. Good luck with the new owners and like us after 30 odd years it’s certainly time you won something again.
Remember seeing The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, play a set, 'Delilah' in the mid 1970's, in the upstairs room of The Strawberry. Good times. I was a student at Bath Lane Art College, now demolished. The smell of brewing from The Scottish & Newcastle brewery nearby. I miss Newcastle & the Geordies ⚽️ Howay The Lads, Toon Army⚽️
Enjoyed the tour! Very informative and engaging. Really loved the old ground shot….I remember it from my youth so takes me back! I wonder what Sir Bobby Robson wound think of everything that’s going on? A true gent! Wish he was still around. Looking forward to more….
Thanks for your trip down memory lane Eddie and another very well put together video. I might be one of your oldest subscribers as I remember the old ground very well. As my dad was a Sunderland supporter living in Newcastle it was my uncle that took me to the games from the age of seven in the sixties. The ground only had two covered areas and in those days health and safety went out the window and people were packed so tight i'm surprised there weren't any major fatalities. At half time I remember warm bovril and a cold Pie as a treat happy days. I left Newcastle around forty years ago because of the work situation or lack of it to pastures new. I still get back to Newcastle as I have a big family still living there and take a game in if the boys are at home. Keep the good stuff coming mate.
Yes i remember around 1970 when i was going .we would have a couple of pints before the match and a Dickmans Pie at half time .great times . and i was there that night we played Barcelona and won 3-2 hope them nights are returning .
fantastic video remember seeing people in the leazer park trees watching the match .happy days in the gallowgate scoreboard end ,and tip toeing threw the urine going down the stairs after the match .
Great video eddy thank you as being a scotsman newcastle united have always been a team ive loved watching from all the great players from ginola and shearer to robert to solano and ameobi. I love newcastle and hopefully one day il get to see st james park every day :)
Great video! Loved the black and white photo of the old ground. My first time (mid 80s) The Leazers end didn’t have the roof. I remember we stood in the corner of the Gallowgate end against the concrete barriers and were crushed when the crowd pushed forward from the back. Still have the bruises!
Really enjoyed this vid.. not a football fan but had the pleasure of being at St James Park to watch Leinster play in the Heineken Cup final a couple of years ago. Only did a day trip but what a welcome we got..fantastic city. Have to go back for a longer stay.
Great stuff again Eddy. :) I'm a Newcastle United die-hard, and utterly despise it when they lose (A lot of people are bemused at my reaction to this, but to me,I'm just showing total loyalty to my home footy club) Looking forward to your next video sir.:)
About 1969 i was taken to the match as a 7 yr old i think supermac played then we walked past the strawberry and through the handyside arcade if memory serves. Love newcastle great city.
Very interesting video. Wrexham fan here - always had a soft spot for Newcastle though....I think it must be something to do with seeing how many you brought down to The Racecourse for a midweek FA Cup replay in the late 70's, when you were pretty mediocre & we were actually a very good old Div 3 side (....we must've been, coz we beat you 4-1, cough, cough....) I've always had you as one of my 'other teams' since, and it's great to see what's happening to you lot (and us lot) now, after having so much shite and hardship over the years! I often wondered what was behind the stands after watching it from afar on the telly, if you can stay up this year, and things go from strength to strength on the pitch....you're gonna need a bigger stadium! Good luck 🤞👍
I was raised up at weekends/school hols in the block of flats behind the Black Bull until around 1965 to 1981-ish. You didn't need to see the score on TV - you could clearly hear the cheers in the Ground depending who scored! As I remember it, the Ground belongs to the Football club owner(s) but the Land itself does not as it is under a similar covenant as the Town moor. That's why when Mike Ashley tried to change the name of St. James Park the council didn't change any signage in the City as the Park itself was land that he could not rename or own.
Hi Michael, that’s great info thank you 😊👍🏻 It’s also my under that the Town Moor is protected under an Act of Parliament dating back to 1774. Leazes Park is listed land and the Arena lane is being prepared for a large housing project. Do you know of any potential land should the owners wish to build a new stadium in a few years?
@@TynesideLife The area currently housing the Arena down near Scotswood Road would have been my preferred choice should they move the St. James. Still quite central to the City with good transport links. I'm sure the council would renegotiate with others if site is under the scope of other interested parties.
@@michaelb2228 I suspect the club will have probably missed the boat in that respect. It may be 4/5 years before a new stadium is being planned and like everywhere, Newcastle needs more housing. There’s also a hotel being built on the land so as much as I agree with the location, I just can’t see it happening there. It’s a complex issue 🤷🏻♂️
Very enjoyable video , nice one . Any idea what the gates are for on Barrack Rd heading towards the BBC studios ? Vaguely remember something to do with crowd safety maybe after the Fairs cup game against Rangers perhaps.🤔🤔🤔
My first game was the 7th April 1980. A 1-1 draw with Burnley in the then second division. I can remember the smell of the Gallowgate pissers haha. Think it was £1 for me Fatha and 50p for me. Good days looking back. Feel nostalgic for old England.
Thank you Eddy for the tour around the stadium, the stadium seems to be land locked, even if St James Park was to be redeveloped by the new owners it would only have a few thousand seats. I think that the new owners should source land north of the stadium and build a new 70,000 seater stadium and it would be freeehold.
If the arabs are so rich They could do a London bridge on it. Take those Georgian buildings down stone by stone and Rebuild it somewhere else in in city.
Ho Eddie mate 👍 I have heard that NUFC could build on the east stand side of the ground? Apparently there has been plans drawn up but any building work would have to incorporate the fascade of the students accommodation!But would be astronomical to do !It would be just as cheap to re locate ? Another jewel in your crown Eddie 👍
Sorry to break it to you Gary but you’ve been reading nonsense, probably from someone else’s social media platform and it’s spread. It ain’t going to happen and it can’t, in law. Thanks for reaching out bud 👍🏻
I’m not sure about that Ant but even if they did, they still wouldn’t have been able to extend the East Stand. The owners permission doesn’t trump the listed protection status of the building
Great video again is there any way you could find some videos of local bands Goldie 747 the Piranha brothers and Arthur 2 Stroke bands I used to and see every Friday and Saturday night in the working mens clue Cheers mate
Only recently started supporting NUFC, life long Celtic fan, but I am pleased Ashley pissed off and you have new owners. I'd love to see great things happen with NUFC and the stadium. Been to a few games. Great club to follow. Best of luck with the future. Howay the lads
Cracking video...Allways remember going back a few years back as an away fan getting dog's abuse from the fans outside the iconic Magpie social club....Without doubt Newcastle the best away day..
Used to love the magpie. Originally a pub then a social club I think. First went in for a pint about 1978, opposition Stoke City. I was only 15.but looked older
Aside from NUFC you took a shot of the wall in Leazes Park. My mother grew up in the Sutton's Dwellings just across the road and she remembers a bomb dropped on the park resulting in the wall you showed being partly rebuilt with brick! I hope her memory is accurate!
Lots of discussions about moving to a new stadium recently, but that has been put to bed this weekend by Amanda Staveley saying that we are not moving. Eddy, i commented on your video in which you suggested that the ministry site would be a decent shout before this weeks announcements, but i've also had thoughts on an expansion of St.James', in which yes, the gallowgate be extended, but would an extra tier that sweeps all around from the gallowgate to the leazes end be an option? Obviously leaving the east stand untouched of course.
Used to stand in the East stand before it was improved, my older brother and I watched Supermac and the boys every home game. Couldn't see the corner flags, and the slope from Leazes end to Gallowgate was quite severe then. Our East stand became known as the "New stand", and we felt great standing there. Now of course it's the oldest and smallest stand. Everything is much improved apart from one thing......... The absolute sea of black and white scarves in the Leazes end, blocking out anything else, unforgettable memories before all the banners and the like became popular. A true Toon army.
You must be slightly older than me then. I’m 55 and went to my first game in 76 and was in the Gallowgate end. The atmosphere was great then but it’s usually rubbish now I find. They have to put the tannoy on to create the illusion of a loud atmosphere now 🤷🏻♂️ You still in the East Stand? I’m in the NW corner now
@@TynesideLife Stopped going after Gordon Lee wrecked things, think we just lost interest when Mcdonald left, the team's flair evaporated, and by the time the 90s came I was married with kids and a golf club membership. Don't really miss it but would love them to do something before I die (should have been 96). Was never a season ticket holder, didn't need to be then. Regarding Supermac, there have been, and certainly will be, better footballers at the club than him, but no other player got the hairs on the back of our necks to stand up like that man. If the ball got put through to him on the half-way line and he could run clear, the crowd would already be roaring and half cheering because we knew the almost inevitable result. That pure, raw excitement will probably never return. I could feel sad for those who never witnessed it.
Looking at it I'm sure the East stand could be extended to another tier halfway between where it is now and the Leazes and John Hall, its a conversation that will be had, as long as it doesn't involve knocking Leazes Terrace down, if the money and the will is there by all involved anything is possible The Gallowgate can be extended to match the John Hall and Leazes, leaving a potential capacity of 65 -70000 which I believe would be the spot whilst staying at St James Great vids by the way
Sorry Andy. The East stand can’t be extended as it’s at its full height due to allowing light to fall onto the Grade 1 listed buildings behind. None starter. The Gallowgate can’t be extended as there’s no land. There’s a public road directly behind it and the land behind the road is being developed for three tower blocks (as we speak). I’ve done a separate video re this called St James’ Park redevelopment. Nice ideas though but dead ends and something that’s been confirmed during my research, videos snd subsequent conversations
@@TynesideLife We'll have to agree to disagree about the East stand time will tell but you may be surprised Grade one buildings have occasionally even been incorporated into others The Gallowgate could be extended with or without the Flats albeit the footprint would be much narrower, at the moment the High Street Group behind the development has applied to go into administration, I don't think it would come as any surprise to anyone if Newcastle bought it back not just for the development of The Gallowgate but also as a fanzone area, again we'll have to agree to disagree only time will tell
@@Andy-lu4xd sorry bud, I wasn’t expressing an opinion 😅😬 The East stand can’t be heightened so as not to obstruct the light. This is the actual situation under property law for listed buildings of this nature. I’ve been in communication with a town planner and structural engineer and been reliably informed that there is no land to extend the Gallowgate. The company that has went into administration has had the project bought by the company building the office block around the Strawberry. I’ve been speaking with the construction company at the location. I’m happy to have my knowledge on these matters updated but as it stands, there’s nothing for you to disagree with. Neither of these stands can be extended and this next bit is an opinion, the chances of our owners buying the land/properties and demolishing them for the purpose of extending the Gallowgate is virtually nil .
The parent company of the proposed block of flats is going into liquidation, so the building may never happen and the club may be able to purchase the land that fatty sold, bringing it back to club ownership? Great to see the old ground, spent many hrs in the east corner!
Hi Gary, yes it is but the company that are building the office block around the strawberry are taking over. Basically, short delay but nothing has changed
I've done Newcastle away as a Southampton fan 6 times now. Everything about the city, stadium, fans is great! But the away end is the WORST!!! The away end needs to be put in the lower tier next to some rowdy Newcastle fans. Because of this Newcastle is unfortunately one of my least favourite away days :( (Great night out after though)
Aye, I feel sorry for the away fans up there. Newcastle is a fab place to visit though and I interviewed one of your fans in the Strawberry earlier in the season. Check the video out. Thanks for the message bud 👍🏻
would love a re-visit of this topic as apparently the company who bought the land on the site of the gallowgate car park/st james' metro station has gone into administration. Would really appreciate your insight.
I’ve actually just spoken to one of the lads on the site today and it’s been taken over by the development company building the office block around the Strawberry. Basically, building is still going ahead
My understanding of why Shearer's bar changed to NINE was due to Alan falling out with you know who. We still call it "Shearer's" anyway and, hopefully, that could become official again one day.
Toon fan living in Perth Western Australia...grabbed the car rego Shearer 9 (in black and white) before anyone else got it.Anyone else thinking..keeper drops a player(Wilson) when goal is certain..rules should be changed to goal or at least penalty even though its outside the box.
Not a bad looking area and a nice park ruined by that football stadium. The residential block behind the Leazes stand looks impressive. The local residents must dread match days! If the new owners of Newcastle United have the money they claim then relocate the stadium well away on outskirts of Newcastle preferably adjacent to a main railway line. The St. James's Park site is potentially worth many £ millions.
My current understanding is that the land that Ashley sold off at Strawberry Place is the only option for development of the grounds capacity, this was passed from one company to another and ended up in the hands of The High Street Group, that company from what I can find out has gone bust but there are more issues relating to including a allegation that they traded whilst insolvent as far back as 2018. It may very well be that the land comes back on the market at some point and NUFC may be able to buy it to facilitate ground expansion once again., this along with Shearer's statue placement and renaming of the bar were all ways in which Ashley exhibited his spite towards fans and Shearer himself, I understand that the bar will be renamed Shearer's once again after it's current refurbishment.
Thanks for you message. I’ve spoken to staff working at the site and only one of the three building projects is in doubt. 🤷🏻♂️ The bar has already been renamed to ‘Shearers’ and hopefully the statue will be following soon. Happy days 😆
Wonder if the Gallowgate could ever be extended. Read stories saying it could be done even without the clubs land next to Strawberry that Ashley sold. Maybe build above the road to allow traffic to still get through. Then with the East stand how about erecting a wall above the stand to enclose that side of the ground to the level of the other stands. Could surely be made to allow the light to still get behind onto Leazes terrace.
I’ve actually done a video about possible redevelopment at St James’ but the short answer for the Gallowgate is no unfortunately. Do you mean a glass wall for the East Stand?
@@TynesideLife Not Glass but a metal structure above the stand to add height and the feeling of being more enclosed and a bigger stadium. Wouldn't have to be a solid structure, could be made in a way to allow light to pass through from above but from straight on or the sides appears solid. I'll check out your video on Gallowgate, only just found the channel.
@@TynesideLife moving from St James is a no go for me, have to stay so clever out of the box ideas are what's needed to develop as much as possible. I'm sure the new owners will be prepared to spend the money to explore all possibilities, something Ashley never had any interest or intention of doing.
@@peterr11 even under Sir John Hall we nearly had a new stadium on Nuns Moore before it was blocked. I’m expecting the new owners to build a new stadium in 4/5 years time
Class video 👌 I'd love to see something different, East stand conversion into full executive/corporate boxes with 0 seats over multiple levels, obviously without any exterior changes. South stand extended to match up with the Milbum & leazes. The atmosphere wouldn't be the same at a new stadium, it never is
Ashley changed the Shearers bar to Nine because he didn't care for the fans- it was anything which would up set the fans Ashley would do it and that was one of those things
Eddy have u noticed the fans all get the blaydon races lyrics wrong when they chant it, just noticed with ur intro and when I’ve been at games I’ve noticed it too 🤣🤣🤣
Get rid of the grass, put in a curb and a single one way carriageway road. Take down the existing stand and replace it with the extra space given. I'm sure there are architecture geniuses out there that could come up with a decent plan, without demolishing listed buildings.
Look like unfinished extended capacity in St James Park now the new owner can expanded the stadium St James Park just like on the right side like Liverpool owner did with Anfield rather build a new stadium because St James Park is a great stadium with electric atmosphere
Regained a bit of pride too after the disaster of the Ashley years. Sadly a lot of the younger supporters have known nothing else..times will change for the better 🤞Remember the old Gallowgate too..terrible toilets and hard concrete barriers..used to deposit myself on the down slope!😅
The company that owns the land and building that has the flats on has gone into administration or filed for administration at the start of 2022 so don't know what that means for the new owners for Newcastle United
Very interesting thanks. The stadium looks ugly as hell from the outside. Hope you can find somewhere for a modern ground . I'm against betting advertising on shirts. I am sure the new owners ethos will not allow it either.
One of these days, I'm going to come across a video about football grounds that I don't have to keep muting and unmuting because of someone else's taste in unnecessary loud music during an otherwise excellent video.
Them toilets at the Galliwgate End were not even 3rd world standard, remember them well, 63 my first game as an 8 year old, up them stairs, still remember by first view of the pitch.. that was it. It's come a long way it was a dump back then like the majority of stadiums of that era.
It's impossible to expand anywhere at st James.....just forget bout it.....put some rows around the top of the roof if it makes people feel any better......grounds champion as it is....🤔
Eddie, just an observation, the name of the ground is ST JAMES' PARK not St JAMES'S ITS BLOODY ANNOYING WHEN THE NAME IS CONSTANTLY WRONG ON BROADCAST MEDIA
No way should we move. That city centre location makes it unique and loved by us and visiting fans. I love our Cathedral on the hill. You lads keep praising those souless bowls that are the Emirates and Tottenham Stadium; yet they only hold about 7 - 8 thousand more than SJP. The Gallowgate can still be extended to complete 3 quarters of level tiers. In addition, maybe dig down and lower the level of the pitch like they did at Eastlands to add an extra 3 rows. In addition to the expanded Gallowgate; this would surely take capacity to exceed London Stadium and Emirates. There is no need to move when clever planning can equal capacity of those Stadiums you praise. Do we really want to go down the route of the makems and the Riverside to be in souless Stadiums on in some shite outpost industrial estate. For me that's a big no no. You guys forget, Arsenal and Spurs had no option to move as the old Highbury and White Hart Lane grounds only held around 35 thousand. This is not the case with SJP which is as famous and Iconic as the black and white Stripes. Who cares about lack of good burgers or a decent pint on the concourse or the biggest bar in the premiership when we have the Strawberry across the road. When football fans hear James Park they certainly don't think of SJP of Exeter City. They envision the Iconic home of NUFC. We don't want to lose that to move to a spaceship on an industrial estate for the sake of a fancy concourse with a long bar. To me leaving SJP would be like changing the black in our home shirt to red. If 60000 capacity is enough for Arsenal success to accommodate its fanbase it's enough for a similar capacity SJP. This is one example boys where we can happily say size don't matter and bigger will not be better.
Thanks for reaching out Sol and you’re certainly right about the stadiums iconic status and the revenue it brings to the city centre. A couple of things I need to point out though is that the Gallowgate can’t be extended. There’s no land to do it and I’ve covered this in a couple of other videos. Also simple trigonometry will show that digging down means expanding out, which leaves the same problem. I’d encourage you to watch my video I did recently about why Saudi Arabia bought us snd you’ll have a broader understanding of their wider plans. I fully believe in a few years they’ll build a ‘sports city’ a few miles away. That’s not necessarily what I want, but it’ll happen. They’re not going to fanny on squeezing a few extra thousand fans into SJP. There’s a much bigger plan in motion here to stamp Saudi Arabia in the North East. 👍🏻
But I read somewhere although Mike Ashley sold land behind the Gallowgate, the developers who planned to build student blocks have gone bankrupt? So surely our new owners can buy the land back cheap from the liquidators to expand the Gallowgate?
@@soltaylor685 you need to watch my videos mate. I keep up to date with what’s going on and do extensive research. Other social media sources are just after clicks. The project was quickly bought by the company building the office block around the Strawberry. There’s no land to extend the Gallowgate. You can’t dig down without spreading out and the East Stand is at its maximum height due to Leazes Tce Grade I listed buildings. The stadium may undergo a face lift but that’s about it. I’m almost certain Saudi Arabia will build a sports city in 4-5 years time. Watch my Saudi video 👍🏻
I have a video playlist dedicated to the stadium expansion subject, having discussed the topic with experts in their fields. Never in a million years will that happen bud.
They’re not just buildings mate, they’re Grade I listed buildings, meaning (whether we like it or not) they’re more important than football stadiums. They’re buildings of ‘national significance’ and are afforded extra protections in law. That’s not my opinion. That’s just the law 🤷🏻♂️
@@TynesideLife I find it hard to think that someone could argue that those listed buildings are more culturally important to the city than the stadium. the saudis have that much money that they could do something ridiculous like moving the building to a different location. times move on. they should at least try and do something like increase the stand vertically so it matches the height of the other stands. The Boca Juniors Stadium looks better than ours and it has the same problem.
Surprised nobody applied in the past to have st James park a listed building to prevent demolition . I think fans in the majority wouldn’t want to move to a new stadium in say 10 years. See the uproar it’s created with arsenal fans and the emirates and West Ham and the Olympic stadium. Sometimes change really is to the detriment of an organisation trying to improve things. Doesn’t always equate to better things. Like I’m sure Man U fans would say they wouldn’t want to leave old Trafford ever. So much has been spent on investment in improving the ground over 20 or so years. You couldn’t really fathom Man U playing anywhere different so Newcastle should be no different .
