According to the Journal, we'll be away for the first game of next season:

NEWCASTLE fans will have to wait until the second game of the season before they can turn the new 52,000 capacity St James's Park into a Geordie fortress.

United have been drawn to play their first league game of next season away from home, throwing up the possibility of a midweek curtain-raiser for the refurbished stadium.

However, club officials are not complaining as Journal Sport understands that Magpies' chiefs considered approaching the Premier League with a view to playing their first TWO games of the 2000/01 campaign on foreign soil.

It is understood that Newcastle wanted an extra week to make sure everything was in working order at their #75m stadium.

And they were keen to open up on home soil with a glamour game against Sunderland. That could still happen, but it is likely to be four days after the start of the season as part of the second round of Premiership fixtures.

The official Premier League fixture list is due to be announced later this month and although United played at home on the opening day last season there were high hopes that Newcastle would again kick off their league programme at home.

With the second highest capacity in the Premiership and a state-of-the-art stadium, Bobby Robson's men will have a huge advantage as they bid to regain their place among the top flight's elite.

However, the pressure is now on to complete the rebuilding process in time for the start of the new season on August 19 and ensure St James's Park is up and running, ready for its first competitive fixture the following week.

Newcastle had considered a request to play consecutive games away from home at the start of the season but a Premier League spokeswoman revealed: "We have had no official approach and the fixture list has now been drawn up for the start of the season.

"Even if the club had asked us to accommodate them it is not something we are able to do in normal circumstances."

-- Anonymous, June 17, 2000

Answers

That's a point - the fixture list will be out shortly.

-- Anonymous, June 17, 2000

Hi Dougal...have you decided not to go to Euro 2000? Can't wait to see the fixture list so I can start planning my next trip over! :-))

-- Anonymous, June 17, 2000