BEGINNING TO SEE THE LIGHT
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If I’m being completely frank
about my response to recent
events, the death of Lou Reed
was actually the worst thing
about Sunday 27th October
2013.
As Lou changed my life
forever from the very first time I
heard the opening bars of Waiting
for the Man by The Velvet
Underground when I was aged
about 14, I can’t even pretend
that the poisonous, malign
influence of Mike Ashley on
Newcastle United and its
supporters caused me to feel this
way, by effectively downgrading
our defeat to the Mackems to the
status of a minor irritation and no
longer allowing me to regard
such a happenstance as a tragedy
of enormous proportions.
Remember, music never lets you
down; football always does. Let’s
be honest, only Keegan’s
Entertainers or Bobby Robson’s
2001 to 2003 side could come
anywhere near the first four
Velvets albums in terms of sheer,
hairs standing up on the back of
your neck, pleasure. Shola
Ameobi stumbling over the ball
or What Goes On from Live 69?
Cisse being caught offside or
White Light / White Heat? No
contest…
I didn’t see the Mackem
game; in fact, I hadn’t seen a
single Newcastle United fixture
either live or on television, other
than on highlights programmes,
including the Fulham game where
I won a pair of tickets and palmed
them off on my son, at all this
season, before I took myself off
to St. James’ Park for the Man
City cup tie. Don’t get me wrong;
I’m not actually boycotting the
club, as I’d always intended to
make the Stoke City game on
Boxing Day a must attend match,
but I had found so many better
things to do with my time,
including watching 31 Northern
League games up to and
including October 26th. The
vagaries of the fixture list so far
this season have meant we’ve
avoided any Sunday or Monday
home games, as I’m not prepared
to sacrifice a Saturday at a nonleague game to watch Newcastle
United, so I’d not seen the inside
of SJP since the tame surrender to
Arsenal at the end of the previous
campaign. I have to say, I’ve not
missed the place; those Wonga
and Sports Direct adverts give the
place a seedy, unwholesome air.
Even in the pub before the
game I was questioning my
reasons for attending. As a
lifelong Hibs fan, I could have
taken to my sofa to see a
predictable 1-0 home loss to the
hated Hearts in the Scottish
League Cup on BBC Scotland or,
more productively, headed up to
Blue Flames on a kind of semi
scouting mission, to see my real
team’s rivals West Allotment
Celtic and Northallerton Town in
a battle for 3 crucial league
points. Allotment bossed the
Yorkies 3-0 incidentally.
What’s that I say about
my real team? Well, so far this
season I’ve had a simply
wonderful time following Heaton
Stannington during our debut
Words by
Ian Cusack
campaign in the Northern
League, where we sit proudly
atop the Division 2 table as
November begins. At Grounsell
Park, I edit the programme,
update the website
(www.heatonstanningtonfc.co.uk)
and generally involve myself as
much as possible in the day to
day running of the club. Come
and see us; it’s only £3 in and
there are always 3 real ales on
hand pull at an incredible £2.25 a
pint. At The Stan, I feel enthused,
energised, fulfilled and above all,
appreciated. Can any of us truly
say the same about Newcastle
United these days?
And yet, in the minutes
following Borini’s goal, which
Krul really ought to have stopped
(Shay Given denied Sewpa Kev
twice from similar positions in
the Dabizas game), my only
thought was to get on line and
book myself a ticket for the City
cup tie.
Cont. on page 10
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