53rd ANNIVERSARY TODAY!---"APRIL FOOL!---THE JUDGE IZ A GEORDIE!"

Posted '6:00am bells' April Fools Day 2025

BRAMALL LANE AS IT LOOKED IN 1972

On 'April Fools Day' 53 years ago, NUFC visited Bramall Lane in 'The Battle Of Sheffield 1972'
And a report from that day, which starred Toon fan 'Daft Tommy', iz reprinted below in the Geordie Times archive! (ground number 022)

PS: Sadly, 'Daft Tommy' iz nee langer with us! 

RIP Tommy

022 bramall lane sheffield

(GROUND NUMBER 22)
Date of First Visit: APRIL FOOLS DAY! 1972
BRAMALL LANE, SHEFFIELD

SHEFFIELD UNITED 1
NEWCASTLE UNITED 0

(OLD) DIVISION ONE
ATTENDANCE: 28,103 (4,000 Toon fans)





Part One:
"APRIL FOOL!---THE JUDGE IZ A GEORDIE!"

The forst thing that springs to mind aboot this place, is!---- 'The Crystal Rooms', which was (and probably still is) a 'One Armed Bandit' arcade in the centre of Sheffield, as this is where the Toon and the Sheff. 'U' radgies had massive fights in 1972, before and after the match!

Hundreds had travelled doon on the train and many of the 'Leazes End Boot Boys' had simply 'come for a fight', dressed in their 'Prince of Wales' suits, slack braces and the obligatory 'Doc Marten Boots' ---and they were'nt to be disappointed!




As soon as they got off the train they made for the main drinkin' area and marched doon the middle of the road shoutin', "Your' gonna get your' f*****' heads kicked in!" as they made for where they knew the Sheffield 'crew' would be.---and sure enough, they were!---and ready for a 'go' as well!



Before lang, runnin' battles doon the streets between the rival fans ensued with innocent shoppers gettin' caught up in the middle as bottles, bricks and plant pots nicked from a gardenin' shop were hurled (still with the plants inside!) as fans fought each other.




'The Sheffield Dibble' torned up with several 'meat wagons' and 'The Flyin' Squad' collered anybody who looked remotely like a skinheed. (not me, aa hasten to add!—as mee hair was doon mee back at that time!---'Led Zeppelin style'!)


Dustbins and litter bins were hoyed through the plate glass windows by the Newcastle 'nutters', and there were runnin' battles through the streets!




This sent the fans of both sides scatterin' and after a few 'Arthur Scargills' in a sleazy dive we foond, it was time to gan to Bramall Lane. The Toon fans had infiltrated the 'Shoreham End', which was the Sheffield skinheed's 'hard end' at the time, and sporadic fightin' broke oot between the rival fans.


Some of the more sensible Toon fans (alas---not me!) who'd went in the opposite end, were gettin' slagged off by the 'Shoreham Invaders' for 'chickenin' oot' of the 'pagger'.
Aa of course, went with the 'radgie gadgies', (like a lamb to the slaughter!) (bravado---or what?) and stood at the back of the stand with mee black 'n' white scarf on, thinkin' that aat any minute aa would get mee 'heed caved in' as it soon became obvious that we were ootnumbered by wor Sheffield counterparts by aboot fower tih one!




And before lang it 'kicked off'---NOT! the match you understand!, but the fightin' as the 'brave' ootnumbered 'Leazes Enders' charged into the middle of the Shoreham End! (they did have their 'reputations' to think aboot!) led by 'one' 'Doddsy' in his 'trademark' white 'butchers coat' complete with a huge Doc Marten boot crudely drawn in felt tip pen on the back, with: 'LEAZES END BOOT BOYS', written above it! (he has been mentioned before!)

Loads of Toon and 'Blades' fans got 'lifted' by the Yorkshire 'Dibbles', so aa kept mee heed doon, as ah did'nt fancy bed 'n' breakfast in the 'Dibble Savoy'! (or worse still!—'The Sheffield Royal Infirmary'!)




As the 'propa' match kicked off, there was still 'beadlem' in front of iz, and it was hard to concentrate on the action on the field, instead of the 'action' on the terraces!.

Bramall Lane was a three sided groond back then, with a cricket pitch on the far side, and this totally killed the atmosphere. (Just how the fans on that side could see, withoot a pair of binoculars---is beyond me!)

The Toon were by far the better team that day, with John Tudor and 'Supermac' gannin close on several occasions.

Tony Green and Tommy Gibb had blinders,---BUT!,---it was tih nee avail, and Sheffield took the points with just fower minutes tih gan, when Ford (who'd just came on as a late sub) beat Toon keeper Willie McFaul, with his forst touch off the baall! (which was aalso 'The Blades' forst shot of the game!)

Newcastle manager, 'Smokin' Joe Harvey, (who could'nt believe that wi'd lost!) summed it up after the match, when he said:

"IT'S NOT APRIL FOOLS DAY?---IS IT"???"WELL!----ACTUALLY!!-----JOE!!!"








Part Two:-----(A few weeks later!)




♫OH!-MEE LADS-YIH SHOULD'IV SEEN US GANNIN!♫

scene from The Blaydon Races 1862

One Toon fan who'd been arrested after the match at 'The Crystal Rooms', was a lad caalled 'Daft Tommy', who's, name implies—IS!----as 'Daft as a Brush'!, but tih be honest would'nt (and could'nt) harm a fly or punch hiz way oot of a paper bag!.

Tommy had been caught up in 'The battle of Sheffield' after the match and was nicked and charged with bein' 'drunk and dizzy', which is an offence that yih can plead guilty tee, by letter.






Quite a few had been charged with more serious offences like GBH and affray and HAD to appear personally in court. So!---on the day of the court cases a few weeks after the match, the train was 'chocker' with fans travellin' doon tih Sheffield on charges of affray and 'god naa's what'!.

Then---aall of a sudden, 'Daft Tommy' appeared and jumped on the train. The other Toon fans just stared at him, coz they could'nt work oot what he was deein there!?.






"A THOUGHT YIH WERE PLEADIN' GUILTY BY LETTER, TOMMY?", one fan asked him, with a puzzled look on his face!.

"I AM!", said Tommy, "A'V GOT THE LETTER IN MEE POCKET!!!", he said az he pulled the 'said' letter from hiz 'nanny goat'!

("There's nee answer tih that one!??-------
IS THERE"!???)



"
On their arrival in Sheffield, they heeded straight for the court hoose, where one joker said:
"THE JUDGE IS A GEORDIE, TOMMY!---IF YIH SING THE 'BLAYDON RACES' TO HIM WHEN YIH GAN IN THE DOCK, HE'LL LET YIH OFF!".

SO!---'Daft Tommy' gave the judge a rendition of the 'Geordie National Anthem'-----------
AND GOT FINED 300 quid! FOR CONTEMPT OF COURT!!! (A considerable sum in 1972!)

(There's DEFINITELY! nee answer tih THAT ONE!?????)





Footnote:
Tommy's 'claim tih fame', is that he used tih stand on one of the concrete crash barriers in the middle of the aad 'Gallowgate End', and give the crowd a rendition of the early 'sixties classic', 'LITTLE WHITE BULL!'

Geordie Glossary of Terms & Phrases (for the benefit of 'non Geordie' readers)
(as the words appear)

Toon fans=Newcastle supporters
forst=first
aboot=about
one armed bandit=gambling fruit machine
radgies=hooligans
doon=down
Leazes End Boot Boys=Newcastle hooligans
crew=hooligans
lang=long
the Sheffield dibble=the Sheffield police force
meat wagon=prison van
the flyin' squad=Sheffield police 'snatch squad'
collared=arrested
skinheed=skinhead
mee=my
hoyed=thrown
nutters=idiots
one-nowt=one-nil
Arthur Scargills=gargels=beers!
sleavy dive=run down pub
foond=found
gan=go
hard end=hooligans terrace
oot=out
pagger=fight
radgie gadgies=hooligan fans
heed caved in=head butted/punched
wor=our
tih=to
lang=long
lifted=arrested
Yorkshire dibbles=Yorkshire police force
dibble savoy=police cells
propa=proper
iz=me
groond=ground
withoot=without
gannin'=going
nee=no
fower=four
aalso=also
wi'd=we had
yih=you
should'iv=should have
caalled=called
drunk and dizzy=drunk and disorderly
tee=to
GBH=grevious bodily harm
chocker=full
doon=down
aall=all
coz=because
oot=out
deein'=doing
a'v=I have
nanny goat=coat
heeded=headed
court hoose=magestates court
yih=you
gan=go
aad=old

WHAT A PARTY!🥳👍🏁🏆🥇

 Posted ‘high noon 🛎️bells’ Sunday 30th March 2025

An estimated 300,000 fans torned oot for the victory parade yesterday!

Some of the photos, videos and drones are absolutely brilliant!

“IT’S WOR CUP!”

FOR THOSE WHO KNOW ME, I’M ON THIS VIDEO THAT EMIL KRAFTH TOOK ON THE OPEN TOP BUS PARADE******FAME AT LAST!🤪👍🏁🏆🥇📽️

PRE PARADE BANNERS AND FLAGS!

 Posted ‘midneet 🛎️ bells’ Friday 28th March 2025

Been in the Toon tooneet to see the displays of NUFC fans banners, flags and displays for tomorrow’s open top bus parade!

The Geordie Times will of course bring you pix of the Leegue Cup parade sometime on Sunday!

“Keep the faith! NUFC!”

OPEN TOP BUS PARADE CONFORMED!

 Posted ‘high noon’ 🛎️bells’ Tuezday 25th March 2025

Updated Wedinzday neet!

Updated Thorzday afternooon!

THE LOSERS OPEN TOP BUS PARADE GANNIN UP NEWGATE STREET IN 1974 WHEN NUFC LOST 3-0 TO LIVAAPOOOL IN THE FA CUP FINAL 

("IMAGINE THE SCENES IF THEY EVER WIN ANYTHING!", SAID THE COMMENTATOR IN THIS VIDEO!)

PS: NOT SEEN ON THIS PHOTO, BUT A FAN THREW A CARDBOARD CUT OUT OF THE FA CUP COVERED IN SILVER FOIL ONTO THE OPEN TOP BUS AND BOBBY MONCUR SHOWED IT TO THE CROWD!

At last sense haz prevailed and there will indeed be an open top bus parade aroond the Toon, albeit a short one from SJP, Gallowgate, Percy Street , The Great North Road and finally the Toon Moor, where the climax of the party will end in front of at least 150,000 fans of aall ages!

Aall who showed an interest have been given free tickets!

The bus route map iz shown below!---Timings are az follows!

The open top bus parade will start at '4:30pm bells' and eventually arrive at the Toon Moor at '5:00pm bells' for the antisapated event!

*HOWEVER! Have you seen the weather forecast for Saturday which could put a dampener on precedings!🥶 ☔️ ⚡️ ⛈️ ⏬️⏬️⏬️

WILL THERE BE A SHORT PARADE TO THE MOOR?

 Posted ‘12:49pm bells’ Munday 24th March 2025

News that the NUFC team will leave SJP on the short trip to the Toon Moor next Saturday have been deein the roonds!

We have nee idea if the bus will be an open top one on the jorney via Gallowgate, Percy Street and The Great North Road which takes yoo to the ‘closed’ shop’ event on the Moor?

What we dee naa iz that The Great North Road will be shut aall day next Saturday and most likely Gallowgate and Percy Street az well!

The Geordie Times will keep yoo informed if there IZ to be a short parade aroond the streets mentioned!?

In other news NUFC Lasses beat SMB Lasses 1-0 at SJP yesterday in front of a record NUFC Lasses crowd of ower 38,000!👏 (Higher than the mackem men’s team got for their last Championship home game at the 🆘 (Stadium of 💩)

The Leegue Cup aalso made an appearance with Fairs Cup captain and club CEO Darren Eales paradin the cup at half time!⏬️

CLOSED SHOP OWN GOAL!

 Posted ‘high noon 🛎️ bells’ Saturday  22nd March 2025

AV SEEN THE CUP ‘LIVE’ AT WEMBLEY, SO I WILL GIVE MEE EVENT TICKETS TO MEE GRANDDAUGHTER AND HOR MAMMY, WHO WERNT THERE!

News that NUFC are to hold an event on the Toon Moor with season ticket holders and members gettin priority reaches The Geordie Times! (2 days late!)

Rumours of an open top bus parade before they gan to the Moor are deein the rounds!

If that’s the case I will just gan to that az I’m NOT standin in a field for 5 hours waitin for the cup presentation with nee booze allowed! (You WILL be searched before you gan in az well!)

Have got 2 free tickets for mee granddaughter and hor mammy!

But there’s a catch! The food and soft drinks from NUFCs preferred vendors ARNT free!—and they will take your eyes 👀 oot for burgers and hotdogs and pop, etc!

It’s very wrong to exclude fans who are locked oot of SJP and give priority to the likes of me and the 32,000 others who saw the cup win live!

Hopefully the club, council and ‘the dibble’ will see sense and allow a bus parade before they heed for the Moor!—Hopefully for those who get tickets that it’s not p*ssin doon aall day next Saturday!—or else the whole event will gan doon like a damp squid 🦑! 

In other news congrats to Dan Burn 🔥 for gettin hiz forst Ing-er-land cap last neet at Wembley—for the 2nd time in 5 days!  He nearly scored again az well in the 2-0 win ower  Albania!👏 

CURRENT PREMYAA LEEGUE CLUBS AND LAST MAJOR TROPHY WIN 🏆

 Posted ‘high noon 🛎️ bells’ Thorzday 20th March 2025

AZ OF TUEZDAY, THESE ARE THE CURRENT PREMYAA LEEGUE CLUBS AND THE LAST TIME THEY WON A MAJOR TROPHY!

*IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT THE BOTTOM 5 ON THE LIST HAVE NEVER WON A MAJOR TROPHY IN THEIR ENTIRE HISTORY!

THE TOON 2 THE LIVERBIRDS 1 *** LEEGUE CUP FINAL 2025 *** "IT'S WOR CUP!"

 Posted 'high noon bells' Tuezday 18th March 2025

“IT’S WOR CUP!” (IF YOO CAN SPOT IT!?)

WRITE YOUR NAME IN THE HISTORY BOOKS

THE TYNE BRIDGE EVEN CAME DOON TO CHEER THE LADS TO VICTORY!

Well!---A'v finally recovered from the best day of mee life on Sunday when we beat The Mickey Mousers at Wembley to lift wor forst domestic trophy for 70 years!

This woz mee 10th visit for a competitive game at Wembley watchin' The Toon and with 9 defeats in a row before Sunday, aa woz 'Finkin' "Am I the Wembley Jinx fan!"? (3 FA Cup final defeats, 2 Leegue Cup final defeats, 2 Premyaa Leegue defeats v Sporz, 1 FA Cup semi final defeat and 1 Community Shield defeat!)

Yiv aall eethaa saw the game yihselz at Wembley or live on the telly, so I will just give mee own personal very brief highlights of the game!

It woz obvious from the start that we were 'up for it' az we attacked the far goal where the Livaapoool fans were and we went for 'the jugular' ----The breakthrough finally comin' near the half time break!

45th minute: A perfect Kieran Trippier corner, finds the heed of Dan Burn and hiz powerful heeder across the box beats Kelleher in the Livaapoool goal to put us 1-0 up----Exxxtatic scenes followed in the Toon section of 32,000 fans! 

52nd minute: A Jacob Murphy knockdoon in the box finds Alexander the Great (Isak) and he hit a sweet shot past to double wor lead and double the noise from wor fans behind that goal!

2 minutes before this, Isak had a goal disallowed for offside, so this definitely made up for it!

94th minute: A brief scare az Livaapoool pull a goal back through Elliott---It went to VAR and took ages for the decision to be made!

The ref bundered by first sayin on hiz mic that the goal had been disallowed, but the baall woz then put back on the centre spot to resume the game????

The game finally finished in the 111th minute to wild celebrations from the team, 'Steady Eddie' and hiz back room staff,---and of course us fans, who had waited so so lang for domestic silverware!

The sight of the Leegue Cup bein hoisted up by Bruno, Kieran Trippier and injured Jamaal Laselles brought happy tears to my eyes!

THAT gypsy 100 year curse that woz said to be given in 1955 after gypsies were forcibly removed from wor old trainin groond in Benwell, proves to be a complete myth! 

If there's one thing for certain, when we travel to away games in the future the home fans wont be able to sing, "YOU'VE NEVER WON FCUK ALL!", ever again!

Attendance: 88,513 (32,000 very jubulant Toon fans!)

CUP WINNERS!

FAN PIX

VIEW FROM BLOCK 124, ROW 32, SEAT 36  (The seat number iz imprinted in mee brain!🧠)

The pre and post match 'gargels' took place in 4 different towns and cities on the day before, the day of the match, and the day after! Marlow, High Wycombe, London and then Bormingham on the way back yem the next day!---In total we visited 14 different drinkin dens!  The runnin' total for this season IZ 79 different boozers

MARLOW

MARLOW

MARLOW FC CLUBHOOSE

AZ YOO CAN SEE, WE TOOK IN A SOUTHERN LEEGUE GAME THE DAY BEFORE THE FINAL! FOR THE RECORD, MARLOW 1. TAUNTON 1

HIGH WYCOMBE

HIGH WYCOMBE

HIGH WYCOMBE

HIGH WYCOMBE

HIGH WYCOMBE TRAVELODGE BAR

HIGH WYCOMBE

WEMBLEY, LONDON  YES THEY SOLD BOOZE AZ WELL!

HIGH WYCOMBE

BIRMINGHAM

BIRMINGHAM

BIRMINGHAM (AALSO VISITED FOR BIRMINGHAM CITY GAME)

TELLY PIX WATCHIN’ REPLAY OF THE GAME ON TUEZDAY!⏬️

FAN PIX

PLAYERS AND OWNER CELEBRATIONS