The old 'Fortress'

Was just reflecting on our brilliant start to the season, and considered how little praise we have had for it considering the adulation that gets thrown the way of Stoke, Everton etc.

What did strike me though, especially in the case of Stoke, is how they strike the fear of god into most teams who visit their gaff, and it took me back to the days of 'fortress' St James'.

There have been a lot of murmurs of discontent regarding the atmosphere at SJP recently, and I think that Ashley needs to realise ASAP that when it's rocking, we have one of the most intimidating grounds to visit in the league.

It's inevitable that our unbeaten run will end at some point, but I think we have an excellent opportunity to make SJP into the cauldron it once was, especially with the way we've been playing and the passion that seems to be running through the squad. HWTL.

 

it should do once we're playing in front of 50k again

 

You'd hope so. It'd be nice to see teams fear coming here again.

 

Just to focus on your first sentence, I wonder if the reason we aren't getting as much praise for our start as teams like Stoke is because of the number of times we've seen a Newcastle table resurgence in the past. When you consider the number of times we've seen Newcastle finish mid table for a few seasons then top 4 or top 7 for a few seasons it's could be simply that critics are less surprised to see us seeming to have a good start than a team like Stoke. Obviously not getting ahead of myself here, it's not that I think we're definitely headed for a top 5 finish or anything like that, but with regards to us being there now it probably just seems less surprising.

 

I know what you mean Skalpel, I just think that considering it was only a few seasons ago that we were relegated and things were looking like they could only get worse, we don't really get the commendation deserved for such a massive turnaround in fortune.

 

I'm more than happy to continue getting no praise at all and just keep going as we are without getting carried away!!

I'm delighted with how we have started and do believe we have the best team/squad since Sir Bobby's days. But lets not count our chickens just yet.

 

This

 

Totally agree, it's been a stunning turn around and we deserve more praise for it than we get really.

 

I don't know why Stoke get so much praise. They finished 13th last season and that was only due to the impossibly good home form they seem to have, whereas they were (and still seem to be) ****e in away games. Why that is, I still don't know to this day.

They've added some decent players but I can't see them suddenly flying high this season. They might get one or two more wins at home this season which beats their tally of 10 from last season, but I think the team will still struggle away.

 

This!!