The last word...

THE 10,000 season ticket give-away at Newcastle United was a hollow victory for the club’s stay-away fans fed up with owner Mike Ashley.

The gaps in the St James’ Park crowd reached embarrassing, branddamaging levels against Southampton last weekend with the lowest top flight crowd for nine years... 42,000 in a 52,000 stadium.

TV cameras panning around for atmosphere shots and finding empty seats — at a club who are broadcast live more than most because of the size and passion of their support — is the last thing the Premier League wants to go global. So a club that once boasted of huge waiting lists for tickets, made the highly unusual decision to fill their ground for free. Existing season ticket holders could apply for an extra one for nothing. £0.

Boss Steve Bruce says it will help the atmosphere. Managing director Lee Charnley reckons it will bring a new generation of supporters in, and is a motiveless gesture of goodwill to those who’ve stayed loyal.

Yet bizarrely this has split fans 50-50, for or against the move.

The stay-aways are fuming. The underlying cause of the boycott has to be addressed. A perceived lack of ambition. An owner in Ashley (above) who admits he wants out. They say there’s 10,000 wanting to pay to go back when Ashley sells.

Protestors should be content they have made their point and forced the club to act in a generous way by writing off 10,000 tickets, which have been quickly snapped up.

Sunderland used to give away thousands of tickets every match to prop up crowds in the Premier

League. They once sold kids’ season tickets for a quid. Toon fans used to mock, and they shouldn’t have. Football should be made as cheap and accessible as possible, by any means.

Newcastle can be criticised for many things over the last decade, but filling their stands by handing out freebies to those who stick with them this summer when Rafa Benitez left isn’t one of them.

SUNDERLAND have kicked out their most skilful player, Aiden Mcgeady, ordering him to get a transfer in January.

The question now is whether the Ireland star will last longer at the club than boss Phil Parkinson, who made the bold decision after seven defeats in his 12 games in charge.

Mcgeady is likely to be the club’s biggest earner on £15,000 a week, and until now was deemed worth it. Getting rid will help finances more than it helps the team.