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Opinion

Barnsley fans comment on Newcastle United and their supporters ahead of game

7 years ago
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An impressive 2,789 Barnsley fans will be at the Newcastle match this lunchtime.

Despite nothing to play for, their supporters still fancied a visit to St James Park and no doubt a fair few making a weekend of it.

Newcastle United can of course still win the title if picking up more points than Brighton today, so hopefully an atmosphere to match the occasion and round off the season.

Interesting comments from Barnsley fans below as they look forward to the match and visiting our city.

There is also plenty chat about previous matches between the two clubs and they don’t seem too keen on Alan Shearer…

Comments from Barnsley fans via their main message board – BBS Fans Forum:

‘Aiming for an early pint or 3 in the Quayside ‘Spoons and a steady walk up.

Do a lot of work in the Toon. They really want to win the title and are feeling pretty confident that Brighton have gone and they’re gonna see us off without much bother.

It would be very nice to spoil the party.’

‘So those who are going up Saturday where are you all headed for a drink in the afternoon ?

I’ve been to Newcastle drinking a few times before but only for the night and always started at the Gate and was fancying somewhere different to go in the day.’

‘Osborne Rd Jesmond – superb.’

‘What a brilliant following that is – 2,789 for a match with nothing riding on it from our point of view.

I’m working on Sunday but would have tried to get a ticket as I have never been to St James Park. Can’t believe the season is over already.’

‘Made even better by the extortionate ticket prices.’

‘Girls’ Weekend in Durham so 10 of us out in fancy dress on the streets of Durham. Sunday after the match we might hang around in Newcastle for a few drinks. COYR’

‘Im sure most of us on here can remember many matches against the Geordies over the years, and our fans who do go away will surely remember some right thrashings for us at St James Park.

To begin with I’d like to mention our season in the Premship (1997-98), when we lost there twice, once in a big six pointer near Easter, and the other was of course in the Fa cup Qtr Final.

Remember in the cup game when that cheating scumbag Alan Shearer had the ref in his pocket and went down at every single opportunity. This meant Adie Moses getting sent off and various other players getting cheap bookings. We lost 3-1 and ended up feeling really cheated, and although it wasn’t much consolation, I was happy to see them lose and shed some tears in the final at Wembley.

So once again and for the last time this season… what are your memories of us playing them ?’

‘When we played them earlier in the season, I walked up to the ground with a Newcastle fan and his son.

I jokingly mentioned that they hadn’t won at Oakwell since the early 80s, and his son replied “we won’t have played you too many times though, probably just in the cup since then.”

Surely his dad should have filled him in that they once played at a ground with 2 open ends, in the 2nd tier, and got rubbish crowds.’

‘Me and Sheriff off here were sat behind the dugouts for the cup game in 97/98. Immediately behind us were the Radio 5 commentary team. Alan Green was constantly scathing about the ref protecting Shearer. I thought Mick Tarmey, our physio at the time, was going to chin Shearer after the game.

Saw us put on a great performance against Keegan’s Newcastle in the League Cup in 94, Redders with a beauty, lost 2-1.’

‘Yes exactly, the ref was doing his best to protect Shearer on the day and can you remember the Bbc commentary team for that match?

Chris Waddle not surprisingly kept saying Shearer was using all of his experience in earning those free kicks, whereas Barry Davies said it was total ‘gamesmanship’. Well done Barry, but why didnt he just say ‘cheating’ if thats what he really meant!

And in the league game later on that season, wasn’t it also Shearer who blatantly climbed on our defender to score the winning header?

And as for that 0-0 game there in 1990-91, I remember Keith Lodge mentioning this in the match programme. Apparently their striker Micky Quinn said the dreaded words ‘..a team like Barnsley..’, in his after match comments, which Lodge quite rightly took issue with.’

‘My first visit was a 0 0 draw in the league cup mid 80s I think. They were a division above us.

Went there a few times after they came down and can’t remember any of the games apart from Phil Gridelet played in another goalless draw. I’m pretty sure they used to get about 15k turning up back then.

They only pushed on when the money men got involved.’

‘Oh, and they once tried to ambush a small number of us that had got off the coach to walk to the ground. buggers!’

‘Yes they weren’t much bigger or better than us for a time, which some of their fans will now conveniently try to ignore and forget about.’

‘I have a soft spot for Newcastle. I like their local pride. Their support through (relative) thin and thinner.

When I first got into football the prematurely aged figure of Bryan ‘Pop’ Robson was trundling round up front and the young me liked him because he looked older than my grandad but seem to score a couple of hundred goals a season.

Having said that, for a normally relatively placid man that cup tie got me pretty apoplexic. I thought a blood vessel might burst in my neck through my constant abuse of Shearer. He cheated us out of the cup (not that we would have won it ) but that he had to descend to cheating to beat us was a sad reflexion on him.’

‘I remember that game. Shearer definitely pushed one of our defenders before heading the ball in. I leapt out of my seat shouting cheat, cheat but the ref let it stand.

I also recall the 2-2 draw at Oakwell in December 1997. We had heard so much about Tino Asprilla prior to the game.

His first touch was rubbish for a player with such a big reputation.

I remember Hendrie and Redfearn scored for us and Keith Gillespie got both their goals.’

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