These are very interesting times to be a Newcastle United fan.
It seems we have massive games to concentrate on every week. So there is obviously loads to discuss.
That’s why I thought I’d do my piece this time about… Sheffield Wednesday.
Please stick with me.
As you will be aware, Sheffield Wednesday were relegated at the weekend. I believe it’s the fastest any club has been relegated in history.
Although it is the fourth time they have ended up in the third tier in recent years, this time the club are in a real mess, as a result of being asset stripped by the last owners.
And we thought we had it bad.
I’m of an age that means I have always had time for this club.
Being brought up in the 1970s, Hillsborough was a major ground, the FA cup semi final venue and a place us Geordies would visit in our thousands.
People always reference Liverpool’s Kop, Salford’s Stretford End, or our own Leazes as the premier home end, but in my opinion there was not anything more impressive than the Hillsborough Kop on semi-final day, back then.
The Newcastle v Burnley 1974 FA cup. Our end was awe inspiring then and it’s still awe inspiring now. What a sight.
Anybody reading this who was in that huge mass of humanity that day? I was 14 and queued outside St James’ Park for hours for tickets but to no avail.
Some of you may be surprised to learn that in 1983, football was a very different place. Challenging Liverpool for the title were Southampton, Forest and QPR , while down in Division 2, the top four were Chelsea, Sheffield Wednesday, Newcastle United and Man City.
Four traditional “big” clubs, three of which having won a European trophy in the previous 15 years, were now having hard times.
But sliding doors moments changed all that.
First it came for Chelsea, then for Manchester City and finally for Newcastle United.
But not for Sheffield Wednesday.
Three of us are now playing in grounds unrecognisable from those we were standing in back in 1983, but Hillsborough has only changed for the worse. No upgrades, no huge standing Kop anymore.
Sometimes when you look at the plight of Wednesday, it makes you wonder what our future would have been had the takeover not happened.
Somehow I’m guessing that trophies and Champions League would not have been on the agenda.
I know we have had our moments this season, which has led to some heated debate on The Mag, but our future is bright.
so I for one hope Sheffield Wednesday come back from the dead and see the Premier League again. As far as I’m concerned, the more northern clubs there are, the better.