A message from United For Newcastle.
I received this message from United For Newcastle not so long ago and was asked whether or not I would put it up in an article.
Why not I thought? After all, I agree in principle with what the motion is trying to achieve. Time will tell whether or not it is successful or not, but the campaign has been gathering pace and has attracted the attention Sky Sports News, Radio 5 Live and BBC Newcastle and has the eventual goal of improving the ownership of Newcastle United.
These guys seem infinitely more reasonable than the laughable NUST and have a less 'gung-ho' approach whilst being active in trying to improve things at our beloved club. They were formed from the fallout of the Chris Hughton sacking and have been vocal on areas of contention since then, with the latest area of contention being the proposed change to seating arrangements within the ground. Here goes.
United for Newcastle appreciate that a ten-year “price freeze” on season tickets and the introduction of a discount scheme will benefit a lot of Newcastle supporters. In this tough economic climate, fans will be thankful of discounts and price freezes, and as such we welcome this move.
However, alongside the ten-year price freeze, the club have also announced a change to the seating plans at the stadium, with the most-talked about one being the changes to Level 7 of the Leazes End, and transforming it into part of an enlarged family area.
United for Newcastle feel that by breaking up the fans in Level 7 of the Leazes End, the hierarchy at the club has shown a significant lack of consideration towards some of the loudest, and most passionate supporters in the stadium.
This, alongside the fact that the generally quieter family section will now replace the fans in Level 7, shows just how poorly thought out this decision this is. Let’s not forget that it was under Ashley’s ownership that the club announced “the Leazes Corner, is for fans who are willing to sing and generate a generally very noisy atmosphere.” Scrapping this 'singing corner' will, we believe, be of detrimental effect to the atmosphere within St. James Park.
"United for Newcastle also ask where fans from Level 7 will be expected to go? We understand that there are no plans to relocate the ‘singing section’ therefore; will the club suggest a new location for the singing section? These are questions fans are asking, and want answers for."
The new plans also include the proposal for the away support allocation to increase from 2,800 to 4,000 seats. Just how many clubs visiting St James’ sell out their current allocation, let alone 4,000 tickets? Considering that it is only in crunch-ties and against large clubs that the away allocation seems to sell out, United for Newcastle are concerned that allowing fewer Newcastle fans into the stadium in these important matches will have a detrimental impact on the players on the pitch, who rely on the fans' fantastic support.
United for Newcastle will thus write an open letter to the club and local journalists urging talks between the administration at Newcastle United and supporters, particularly those who will lose their seats in the Level 7 section of the Leazes End. We hope that the club will match our expectations by - if not reconsidering the move - to suggest a suitable replacement for the singing section (with some already suggesting Level 4 of the Leazes End as a possible replacement).
This is an issue that we hope can be solved quickly and efficiently for the benefit of both the club, and its supporters.
To be fair it's something I wrote about the other day. I said that ten-year fix was a good deal, but I also stressed that I wasn't to happy about the way the seating plan was to be changed. I know I'm not alone on that front either!
You can follow United For Newcastle on Twitter or you can become a fan on Facebook by clicking those underlined words where you can keep in touch with how they are progressing.
Any questions you have, please feel free to ask them. I am sure they will be answered. Do you agree? Do you disagree?
Thoughts please.