Reading striker Kevin Doyle has said today that he thinks the Newcastle faithful are the loudest set of supporters he has ever played in front of.
Kevin Doyle – Reading striker expects a noisy reception Saturday
Irishman Kevin Doyle signed for Reading in July 2005 for an undisclosed fee from Cork City.
We expect a full house on Saturday afternoon of just over 52,000 screaming Geordies to fill St.James’ Park and it looks like Doyle is anticipating another noisy affair.
Kevin told the official Newcastle United site today:
“It’s the place where I’ve heard the most noise when anyone scored. It was deafening last season,”
“We were winning and the place was quiet and I thought it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be and then they scored and I just remember it being the loudest it has ever been in any stadium – definitely more than Croke Park. You could not hear yourself think.â€
“It was a wall of noise and was strange because we were playing well and it had been quiet. The way the stadium is designed makes the crowd sound louder.†“I suppose if you are out on the touchline about to take a thrown-in or a corner you will get a bit more abuse, but when you are playing you don’t really notice it.â€
“It doesn’t put you off and the Geordies aren’t nasty, but it was just scary that it could go from quiet to a wall of noise. All the lads said the same thing.â€
“They have their tails up now and they all seem happy again having come into some form,” “The pressure is off them a bit now, but that might be a good thing. They are three points ahead of us and one more win means they will be safe.”
“I don’t know if that will make them relax and play better, but we will be up for it.” “People always say they are not the strongest defensively, but when you win 4-1 like they did against Tottenham it doesn’t matter how your defense plays.”
“They are more into attacking football and showing what they can do going forward. They hadn’t been doing that for a while, but have got that back now after Sunday.”
Reading on Saturday will be a good test for us because they are often a hard team to break down and always give their manager Steve Coppell 100% effort on the field. So it should be a good game, but given our last 3 performances, anything but all 3 points will be a big disappointment to Newcastle fans.
But it will also give us a chance to see if Sunday’s tremendous performance at Spurs was just a flash in the pan, or something we can start to expect regularly from the team. We hope and think it’s the latter, but Saturday will be a good test of that.
Comments welcome.
31 comments so far
staffsmag
Apr 3, 2008 at 11:13 AM
Comment #1Be even noisier on saturday – 3 – 1 to the toon
Spyro
Apr 3, 2008 at 11:15 AM
Comment #2i hope so staffsmag
Spyro
Apr 3, 2008 at 11:16 AM
Comment #3reading are showing us a bit of respect now because they plan to show none in the match itself, we have to be prepared
staffsmag
Apr 3, 2008 at 11:18 AM
Comment #4spyro – in what way ?
Spyro
Apr 3, 2008 at 11:21 AM
Comment #5it will be a physical battle is what i mean, they are gonna get right in our faces
staffsmag
Apr 3, 2008 at 11:26 AM
Comment #6Right I am with you! That’s as maybe but I think with the crowd behind them and the new belief they have given our last three results then we should be a match for any of the teams in and around us. Would you not agree?
HonoraryGeordie
Apr 3, 2008 at 11:30 AM
Comment #7He’s already making excuses, sh*tbag!
Spyro
Apr 3, 2008 at 11:36 AM
Comment #8yeah i hope so staff, its just that we have been in this situation many times before where everyone thought our next game was a likely win, and we have been disappointed, this is why i am looking forward to the match, but not getting over confident
Faustino
Apr 3, 2008 at 11:36 AM
Comment #9Dont mean to be cynical old man…if he thinks it’s loud now he just have heard it the first time Kevin Keegan was manager 😉
But yeah the whole shed should be rocking this weekend … if we attack they will cheer!
Spyro
Apr 3, 2008 at 11:36 AM
Comment #10lol @ honorary
Spyro
Apr 3, 2008 at 11:38 AM
Comment #11i still think Reading will go defensive at the SJP, Tottenham experimented and tried to go extremely attacking on us and we showed we are no push overs. Reading will pack the midfield i think, hop ethey dont though, hope they go for a 442
Leo
Apr 3, 2008 at 11:54 AM
Comment #12is he trying to set up an upset?
is he trying to set up a move?
haha either way he is right, the wall of noise is going to get you
Whumpie
Apr 3, 2008 at 11:55 AM
Comment #13I think they’ll go very hard, very defensive, with lots of ‘reducer’ tackles – so we have to hope we don’t get any major injuries.
But I can’t see any team – ANY – keeping our front trio out completely at the moment. Of course, some may put more past us than we do past them, but hey – better that than the way we were up to recently!
3-1 to us, I think, 5 yellows and at least one sending off between the teams.
Mitch
Apr 3, 2008 at 11:56 AM
Comment #14ive got 3-0 win on at the bookies with viduka first goal. cracking performance last week reminded me of the entertainers, nicky butt has been phenomanal this season and with the players at our disposal up front, on paper we could match the newcastle of old with a few decent signings, exciting season ahead i think!
clinta
Apr 3, 2008 at 12:46 PM
Comment #15it’ll be a tough match , there’s alot at stake for reading too remember, probably more now actually, and it’ll be interesting how newcastle respond at home with this new found expectation on there shoulders, hopefully well
TOON! TOON! TOON!
ObaFan2
Apr 3, 2008 at 12:56 PM
Comment #16“People always say they are not the strongest defensively, but when you win 4-1 like they did against Tottenham it doesn’t matter how your defense plays.â€
Ha ha, words getting around already 🙂 Just like the good old days…………… bit premature maybe?
joppadoni
Apr 3, 2008 at 1:25 PM
Comment #17we won 1-4 coz our defense played mint… our midfielders got goals they never do norm.. but also ruled the field and our forwards did very very well. this weekends prediction is another mint defensive performance. 2 – 0 to the toon, no doubt Sir ( as he should be called in this part of england already… ) Owen with two fine headers, one from outside the box no doubt. clean sheet ftw.
evildick
Apr 3, 2008 at 1:30 PM
Comment #18if any of you lot are going, please scream your lungs out for the lads because i’m doing the same in some seedy bar in sydney but they can’t heat me!!!
Geordie Gerrard7
Apr 3, 2008 at 1:58 PM
Comment #19evil dick, will do
Newcastle United.
Apr 3, 2008 at 2:08 PM
Comment #20Maybe he wants to play for us, He’s right though. I know an Everton fan from Uni and he says he’s never been to a stadium like it for atmosphere and noise.
The passion you feel in SJP is spine tingling, It really is!
Whumpie
Apr 3, 2008 at 2:14 PM
Comment #21I can’t wait to take my kid to SJP. Or my wife, for that matter! I’ve been to a fair few stadia in my time, but SJP does a spine tingle like no other.
And while I’m going all ‘parentitis’ I have to tell one wee story: my 2-year-old boy, at a nursery in Beaconsfield near London (dead posh), goes up to the little stage area and microphone in the corner for the first time. Can’t even speak more than half a dozen words yet, bless him.
And his first action in front of a mic? Twinkle Twinkle Little Start? Nah. He yells “TOON! TOON!” at the top of his lungs. My wife, love her, screams “Black and white army” from across the room and enjoys the bafflement of all the posh mums.
That’s ma chava!!
JP from The Rock of Gibraltar
Apr 3, 2008 at 2:20 PM
Comment #22We should win this!! We can’t be inconsistent like we have been for years now. We must keep up our good run of results and thrash reading. Us fans should scream our lungs out in support, that’s what will raise our players game.
Come on lads lets scare off reading with the noise we make! Bring them on!!!
ScottyT
Apr 3, 2008 at 2:22 PM
Comment #23well if am being honest st james isnt as loud as it used to be .. due to a poor team or just poor support at home. id love to think that the whole stadium would sing their hearts out each and every week but sadly it just doesnt happen.
it shows how good our home support could be when you look at our away support. its always a much better atmosphere at away games i have to say because all the fans sing and are up for it.
you get a few fans who sing in an area but never the whole area which is a huge shame. wish everyone would make noise then doyle would see how loud we really can be cos last season was nowt compared to what we can be like.
Faustino
Apr 3, 2008 at 2:47 PM
Comment #24Whumpie that is a truly a fantastic story!!!!
Punk Skunk
Apr 3, 2008 at 6:56 PM
Comment #25Lol!..Nice one Whumpie, my ‘lil girl (11 months) already understands Toon Toon, & claps along with me & her mam…It’s priceless!..
Punk Skunk
Apr 3, 2008 at 6:58 PM
Comment #26ScottyT, i gotta feelin’ the ‘Big’ noize is on it’s way back bro’!..
…Ho’wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!..
CRAIGG
Apr 3, 2008 at 7:56 PM
Comment #27Scotty T you are right its noise has gone down people dont sing much anymore and the away fans are crap Unless we play a big club or the mackems they hardly make a sound
Clubs like Reading, Wigan, Blackburn and Fulham, who take one man and his dog to away matches ruin the premiership for me.
david
Apr 3, 2008 at 9:03 PM
Comment #28it’d take quite a noise to beat a crowd in croke park ( especially with 30’000 less people )…….. shows a good bit of passion don’t it!!!
Geordie Gerrard7
Apr 3, 2008 at 10:15 PM
Comment #29whumpie, thts class, what a missus, more to the point well done raising such a bright bairn.
ScottyT
Apr 3, 2008 at 10:36 PM
Comment #30punk skunk – defo hope so m8 have a feeling if KK can keep us playing this type of football and get us moving in the right direction you could be right
craigg – ttly agree with the away support thing at least with the likes of mackems l’pool or man u u get a bit of banta but the ones u mention especially fulham (i cant remember hearing them once last match) do contribute to the poor atmosphere.
on tha topic of club support chelseas support for the quality of there team is shocking imo, obviously u have boro who have nearly 2 empty stands for most home games, have to say the loudest fans at home excluding us r probably l’pool mackems nd pompey.
but yh like i say if we could get into europe somehow next season then hopefully the fans who dont sing atm can make the atmosphere like it used to be. (gutted that the only 2 home games ive not been able to get tickets for in the last 3 years were stoke on keegans return nd sir alans testimonial 🙁 ) p.s. (yes went to brummy fa cup game 5-1 lol – not good hardly any1 there as well)
Whumpie
Apr 4, 2008 at 9:03 AM
Comment #31I think we need new songs. All the best ones involved “monkey’s heed” and died when the mackems de-chimped themselves and sacked Mr Reid years ago. We’re left with generic, short, crap chants (“Newcastle, Newcastle, Newcastle..” etc.)
But how the hell do you go about getting new songs going at SJP??