I couldn’t believe how long it took for the Mackems to sell their allocation of tickets for the derby match.

Though there again I did see the comical scenes (apart from the result) at their ground when they played Arsenal in the FA Cup, I found it hard to watch the match against a background of empty seats.

Over 4,000 Arsenal fans had come up for the match meaning only 22,000 mackems were there against that kind of opposition for a place in the last eight!

If by some fluke they got to the final it shouldn’t be too hard working out who should get tickets!

Anyway, back in August I was living on my nerves trying to get a ticket for our match at the dark place, at first you needed 100 ‘loyalty points’ to apply and as it gradually came down it finished on 50 loyalty points, weeks before the match.

Fast forward to the match on 4th March and the mackems have only just managed to sell the last of the allocation for their visit to civilisation.

A mackem ‘mate’ of mine was telling me that in the end sunderland fans needed to be on just 10(!) loyalty points to qualify for a ticket, rumour has it you go to ten points by going to one match with a free ticket and buying some cheesy chips!

We bring you your chance to ‘graffiti’ St.James’ Park and we’ll put your idea up in lights (well on the website anyway!).

Rearrange any or all the letters of PORTS DIRECT ARENAS and send them to paintbrushes@themag.co.uk - thanks to Paul McComish for today’s inspired idea….

As well as seeing our front two of Ba and Cissé primed for action, I can’t wait to see Tiote and Cabaye hopefully reunited in the engine room.

Their qualities undoubtedly comlpliment each other and Cabaye is a genuine quality playmaker.

As well as his quality, his attitude and commitment is summed up with this extract from an interview with the match day programme;

“Three matches out was so long for me, and then another week without a fixture as well. It was very frustrating how it happened at Brighton but that is football and I have learned from it.

But I have worked hard to be ready and fit again. During my time out I have been training with the team as normal but also training on my own at home.

I wanted to stay as fit as possible so have been running and using the gym at home. If the manager selects me against Wolves I will be ready.

The most important thing is just to think about Wolves. We have to forget what happened at Tottenham and keep moving forward.

We will play with good spirit and to win the game, and we will go out there with only that in our minds.

It is important to win at home – that is it”.

Obviously these are just words but I have no doubt he will back these up with action on the field when he is hopefully given the chance on Saturday.

I know it has been said before but no harm saying it again (and again and again), I wish the commitment of many of our current players like Cabaye had been shown in the past, ‘Newcastle United’ and ‘relegation’ would then never have been spoken in the same sentence.

Two of Newcastle United’s remaining Barclays Premier League fixtures have been rearranged after they were selected for live television broadcast.

Compared to previous mickey-takes we haven’t come out of these too badly – no Arsenal/Swansea away on a Monday night or rubbish home lunchtime kick-offs.

Next month’s home game against Norwich City, originally scheduled for Saturday, 17th March at 3pm, will now be played on the following day, Sunday, 18th March with a 4pm kick-off.

While the away fixture at Swansea has moved from 7th April to (Good Friday) 6th April with a 4.30pm kick-off.

Both games will be shown live on Sky Sports.

An Early day Motion has been put forward at Westminster, supported in the main by local MPs but also including the character that is Dennis Skinner, the full list: Ian Mearns, Pat Glass, Ian Lavery, Catherine McKinnell, Chi Onwurah, Nick Brown, Mary Glindon, Dave Anderson, Stephen Hepburn, Alex Cunningham and Dennis Skinner:

Newcastle United and the renaming of St James’ Park

That this House deeply regrets the decision to rebrand the historic home of Newcastle United Football Club, St James’ Park; condemns the corporate vandalism perpetrated by the clubs owners in removing the name “St James’ Park” from the stadium; warmly endorses the now famous front page banner headline of the local Evening Chronicle ‘St James’ Park and Always Will Be’; notes that the Chief Executive of Newcastle’s new shirt sponsor, Virgin Money has added her concerns about the rebranding and hopes that others will follow her example; notes that Newcastle City Council have debated and agreed a motion stating that the Council have no plans to change any way-finding signs which bear the name St James’ Park, rather than the name of Mike Ashley’s business; and urges Mike Ashley the owner of Newcastle United to reconsider his decision.

Much like the ‘St.James’ Park’ paintwork this is simply symbolic but just as the city council have done, it puts another marker down in the sand that the owner of Newcastle United is at odds with the community who are basically the football club, or the moral ‘owners’ if you want to put it that way.

As to whether Mike Ashley will ‘reconsider’, well based on the last few years I would doubt very much if the feelings of MPs, Councillors, or indeed Fans, were anywhere on his radar.

One bizarre aspect of all this is that if there is to be anybody actually paying some money into Newcastle United in return for naming rights, then Mike Ashley could rake in cash in return for the stadium becoming…St.James’ Park again, with some marketing experts arguing that would be the only beneficial route for any brand wanting to get involved.

I believe though that the smart money will be on S***** D***** remaining for some considerable time because this ‘temporary’ free sponsorship deal (to tease a paying one in…..allegedly) is one that will just keep on giving and giving in Mike Ashley’s eyes.

One of the most shocking days I have spent in a football ground was at Highbury as news gradually filtered through of what exactly had happened at Hillsborough on that fateful day.

Happily football grounds, including St.James’ Park, are much safer places these days as the police have largely got their act together, grounds are better designed and some would argue, thanks also to the introduction of all-seater stadiums.

A report released by IOSH (Institution of Occupational Safety and Health) argues against the reintroduction of safe standing at English top level grounds.

At no point though do they explain why they aren’t therefore arguing for similar stringent measures at Rugby League grounds, or the success of standing areas in Germany with regard to fan choice, prices and atmosphere.

Similarly, while the views of Liverpool fans quite naturally should be respected, it is totally unbalanced to not have a pro-standing viewpoint included as well as the anti-stance of the Hillsborough Family Group.

The IOSH Report:

Sports fans should be seated to watch games at large stadia, a leading health and safety body warned today (22 February), as a new poll revealed one in three people had been caught up in a crowd surge at a major sporting or music event.

Of the 3,000 surveyed by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), 34 percent said they had experienced a crowd surge or collapse – where people push forward en masse.

As the debate continues surrounding the reintroduction of terracing at top-flight football grounds, IOSH said terraces should not be reintroduced in Championship and Premier League football stadia – a call backed today by the Hillsborough Family Support Group.

Group chair of IOSH, John Holden, said: “Safe seating should be provided wherever possible instead of standing areas to prevent any chance of crowd surges.

“While smaller terraces may pose less of a risk, it’s a known fact that it’s safer to sit than stand, especially where large numbers of people are in the same area. By allowing people to sit down they have their own safety-zone in which they can safely support their team without the threat of being pushed, trampled on or crushed.

Only 43 percent interviewed in the poll said enough had been done to improve health and safety in sports stadia since the Hillsborough disaster of 1989, in which 96 football fans died.

At the end of December it was announced that the Scottish Premier League had been given the green light to pilot safe-standing areas within their stadiums.

Mr Holden added: “This is a big decision to have made and safety needs to remain paramount.

“Since the banning of terraces in the Championship and Premier League, there have been no reoccurrences, thank goodness, of the devastating scenes we saw during the football disasters of the 80s.

“Where terraces exist, stadium and health and safety managers, need to ensure they’re designed to the specifications set-out in the industry’s Green Guide – it’s vital that these terraces are maintained to the highest possible standard, to ensure spectators aren’t exposed to unnecessary risk.”

In 1989, 96 people were killed and 766 injured at Sheffield Wednesday’s football ground as a result of poor crowd control among other factors. The disaster lead to the Taylor report and terracing being banned from larger football stadiums.

The Hillsborough Family Support Group – families of a number of the victims of the disaster – believes that “under no circumstances” should terracing be reintroduced.

Margaret Aspinall, chair of the Hillsborough Family Support Group, who lost her 18-year-old son James in the tragedy, said: “There should be no terracing brought back to English League football.

“We’ve moved on since the 80s when football fans were treated like cattle. Fans feel safer and families can go to games, and be 99.9 percent certain they will go home safe – the legacy left behind by the deaths at Hillsborough is everyone’s safety.

“Those who want to forget what happened could end up reliving it again if standing was brought back. Why would people want to take 10 steps back, when sports ground safety has now gone forwards.

“This is not an emotional mother speaking – it’s too late for our 96. This is about being a mother and having grandchildren and looking after their future.” 

I hate to admit it but I quite like Roy Keane as a TV pundit, definitely prefer it to his persona as a player and he’s definitely better on TV than in the managerial ‘dugout’.

Anyway he has been waxing lyrical about an old adversary…

Speaking in an exclusive interview in ‘The Dugout’  Roy Keane said: “Alan Shearer was a top player. I still have my moments where I think, if he had signed for (Manchester!) United, what we could have achieved with Shearer in the team”.

Not many of us will forget just how well they got on when it came to facing each other on the pitch, thanks to The Mag’s YouTube Channel we have the video evidence – cameras roll…

It must have been a slow news day at the Chronicle as they came up with the following as a big story….

Senegal called Papiss Cisse up for the first match since their ill-fated African Cup of Nations campaign.

It could harm the striker’s chances of playing against Sunderland for the first time.

The Lions of Teranga play South Africa in a friendly in Durban on Wednesday….Cisse will fly back to England on the Thursday to prepare for Sunday’s derby.

Manager Alan Pardew will have to decide if Cisse is in a fit state to start after such a draining long-haul flight – but will at least be helped by the fact there is only a two-hour time difference with Durban.

Now I’m sure if they get those propellers going fast enough and they get a tailwind….if the match was noon on the Saturday there might have been a little bit of value in the story but Papiss Cissé is landing back in the UK three days before the match.

There is no massive time difference and I doubt it will be like us lot going to the Costa Brava, when if the bloke in front reclines their seat you are trapped!

Anyway, I remember back in the day, me and my mates stepping off the plane and an hour later we’re playing against the Spanish waiters…

Despite having the bottle to step up and slot home the first penalty in the final shootout, Cheick Tiote returned with only a runners-up medal as Zambia triumphed.

Great to hear his attitude and intentions with regard to being back on Tyneside and playing again at St.James’ Park, even more enlightening hearing what he did with his medal , as Cheick spoke to the official club website.

“All the people there, they love the national team and they love the country, so we are really disappointed because we didn’t win the competition.

I gave my medal to my friend because I was so disappointed. I didn’t want to keep that, so I gave it to my friend.

“We did well but we didn’t win it. Maybe next year we will win the competition.

Normally I never take penalties but I took the responsibility to take a penalty because it was difficult for other players to take the first penalty.

So I took the responsibility to take the first penalty and I scored, which gave confidence to my team-mates.

But although we did well in the competition, in the final we were unlucky in the penalty shoot out and lost the game.

That’s football – you cannot win every time, so I will look to the next game ahead and stay positive.

I think it’s a big moment for the team, because we lost the last game against Spurs. Five-nil, it was, and I was sad because we have a good team also.

So now we have to keep our heads and do well to win this game on Saturday.

It has been great to see my friends and to be back in Newcastle. Now I have to think about Newcastle, because the tournament with my national team is finished now.

I think it’s important when you come back from your national team to do more of what you do every time. I think it’s important for the fans, and the manager, to see that we have ambition for the club to do well and to play well for the team”.

Spotted this in the Yorkshire Evening Post (as you do), as they welcomed Neil Warnock into the Leeds hotseat.

It’s taken as read that pressure will always go with the territory at Elland Road, whether you be a manager, coach or player.

It has been the making of some, while proving the sorry downfall of others, which has been the case for the last half-century since Don Revie picked up a footballing giant firmly by the bootstrings and stirred it into life, making the footballing world take note.

To be manager of Leeds United, like the other great one-club city in England in Newcastle United, means you are pretty much under the microscope 24-7.

Every decision and quote is pored over and dissected by its army of supporters whose insatiable appetite for news on their club is ravenous. Switching off isn’t much of an option either.

I always feel blessed to come from a city that has only one football club, I think it is a really powerful factor in making Newcastle United and the city of Newcastle something really special.

If I had to make a blueprint of how to have the perfect football rivalry then surely the Newcastle/sunderland one has to take all the beating.

I don’t want to share my city with another football club, neighbour against neighbour; City/United, Wednesday/United, scouser/scouser, Arsenal/Chelsea/Spurs/West Ham.

Much better having a totally separate civilisation, even though it is only around twelve miles down the road, they even have a different language!

Yes many of us have to deal with one or two of them in our day to day lives but for those of us who live local, you live through the good and bad football  times not just at the match but in every strand of your life.

Celebrate together and drink to forget together – no wonder I wouldn’t let our lass look at houses in South Shields!