Violence made a dark day darker

It goes without saying, but we echo the club's statement condemning Sunday's appalling post-derby violence - though would point out that many if not most of those involved hadn't attended the game and so it's unjustified to tarnish all Toon supporters with the same brush, and that it's overstatement to link events to the incidents of crowd violence at Saturday's Millwall v Wigan FA Cup semi-final and conclude that we're witnessing a renaissance of 80s-style football hooliganism.

Nevertheless, it just served to make it an even more depressing afternoon. A comment from a North-East-based friend in the legal profession made me chuckle, though: "A bad day to be a Newcastle fan. Unless, of course, you happen to be Duty Solicitor"...