Essential for young Newcastle United fans if we want to retain our club that belongs to the people of Newcastle | OneFootball

Myself and my teenage son travel up from London to St James’ Park whenever we are lucky enough to get tickets, we also try to get into Newcastle United away matches whenever possible.

A work colleague, who is a season ticket holder at Crystal Palace, recently offered to get me and my son tickets for the match at Selhurst Park at the end of this month in their end.

However, that quickly changed when he realised just how many Newcastle United fans are so desperate to get tickets, especially those ex-pats like me, who find themselves living down in and around London.

He pulled back on his original offer and it was instead now, how much was I willing to pay for these tickets, over and above face value?

To be sat in the Palace end?

Taking the usual risk of sitting amongst their fans, with my daft lad who is now a teenager, AND having to pay inflated ticket tout prices to a ‘friend’/work colleague. Maybe not on this occasion.

I have been taking my lad and my daughter to games since they were old enough to understand what was going on (from the age of six).

I grew up in Newcastle and went to games from the mid-seventies, along with pretty much everybody else back then, you just paid in every match. Season ticket holders were very much a minority.

By the time season tickets did become all but essential if you wanted to get into matches easily on a regular basis, I had long since moved away for University and then work and raising a family.

Living in London, I have taken my kids to games home and away whenever possible, whilst I also think it is important to visit Newcastle as much as possible, to try and embolden them in their heritage.

I also of course keep in touch with what’s happening back home and especially Newcastle United, through social media and whatsapp groups in my hometown.

On my way home from work tonight, I watched a YouTube show which I usually enjoy, a group of guys you would happily chat with down the pub. However, they came out with some outrageous statements about young Newcastle United fans.

Usually I enjoy their football banter but today these old guys lost the plot.

They all agreed that we need to stay at St James’ Park and that youngsters now “do not bleed black and white like them”, not having the history etc, not knowing who Les Ferdinand was, citing interviews with under 21s on YouTube outside St James’ Park.

I have a teenage son and daughter, I also work with youngsters in my day job. What these old guys were saying, made my blood boil.

The youngsters who had been interviewed were denigrated for their lack of knowledge.

If people lack knowledge they need education and support and the opportunity to see live games.

I dare anyone to try and tell my teenage son that he does not bleed black and white because of his age. The lad lives the football.

He knows the history better than me and corrects me when I get details wrong.

Just because you were not there in the seventies and eighties does not disqualify you from potentially being the number one fan, or just being a real supporter.

Any old fools who think everything is great, just because they personally are season ticket holders, need to wake up.

The club that we know will die without youngsters who bleed black and white.

We will become the same as the clubs in the North West and London, corporate institutions milking plastic supporters for every penny.

A far bigger capacity stadium is urgently required, with it also essential that it includes a section just for teenagers/young people that enables them to pay match by match at pocket money prices.

That is if we want to safeguard the future, if we want to retain our club that belongs to the people of Newcastle.