St James' Park - Newcastle United FC
Monday 4th November 2002
V Middlesbrough, Premier League, 8pm
By Robin Dalgliesh

I must admit I would have preferred this game to have been earlier in the season, back what Newcastle were languishing towards the bottom of the table, and heading out of Europe. Instead, I found myself heading out to watch a Newcastle side who had just broken into the top half of the table with a real chance of making the second phase of the Champion's League. If that wasn't bad enough, this was Boro's third televised game of the campaign, and the first two had been our worst two games of the season. Someone remind me why I was going?

Newcastle is a very easy ground to get to, helped by the fact that St. James' can be seen from miles around. Quick trip down the A1, and despite the rush hour traffic, getting in was quite painless. Car parking is plentiful, although I think I parked in the shadiest car park in Newcastle, right next to the ground. 

I must admit that the people of Newcastle, while very friendly and helpful, seem to be a little dim. Despite wandering round with my Boro shirt on show, I was offered all sorts of free Newcastle United bits and bobs…why?

One of the most impressive things about St. James' Park is its sheer size. The stadium is incredibly tall, which looks breathtaking when lit up. Unfortunately, the away fans are tucked away in one corner, the view is still good, but the fifteen flights of stairs are too many! No oxygen canister at the top, just overpriced bottles of Coke. The stadium seems to be of two parts, one part of an 'L' shaped main, brand new stand, the other part, another 'L' shaped stand, slightly older, but affording the people sitting in the upper part of the new stands (like, us) a view of Newcastle. The match was on November 4th, and we were treated to almost every Geordie letting off their fireworks.

Sadly, the match failed to be as entertaining as the Toon's firework display, with the game being ruined by Graham Barber's dire refereeing. Initially, I thought it was bias as two stonewall penalties were turned down, but when he chalked off a perfectly good Newcastle strike (which would have been Shearer's 100th Newcastle goal), I realised it was just incompetence. So, Boro got beat 2-0, and our woeful away run continued.

 

A couple of things surprised me. One was the seeming lack of segregation between the home and away fans - no barriers, no 'no-man's land', just a few local bobbies to make sure there was no trouble. That said, the stewarding and policing did seem to be quite strict, with a fair few people finding themselves out before full time (mind you, the way the game was going, the police were probably doing them a favour).

The other thing was the lack of atmosphere. I'd hear lots about how much of a cauldron St. James' park can be, but I've heard more noise and atmosphere in a morgue. When it was still 0-0, OK, I can understand their reluctance to sing, but even when 1-0 up and dominating the game, they still wouldn't sing. 

Getting out of the ground was easy - going up fifteen flights of stairs, hard, going down fifteen flights of stairs, easy! Once back to the car (happily, where I left it), I thought getting home was going to be easy. Annoyingly, the traffic wardens weren't too keen on letting me go home the route I wanted to go, preferring me to go some odd way through Newcastle. Still got home in a couple of hours, which I felt was good time especially considering stopping for a burger on the way home. 

So, not a great performance - next time the game's on Sky, I think I'll stay in the pub with a pint in my hand.

Are you an away or general football fan who has visited St James' Park recently?
If so why not submit your own review of the ground and general day out?
Click here to find out more

Return To The Newcastle Page
Return To The Main Menu