Next up in my series of modern classics involving Newcastle United is the trip to Elland Road, home of Leeds United, way back in December 2001. A total of seven goals were shared that night in a pulsating encounter with the table toppers, but we had the last laugh this time..
It’s match that will be remembered for it’s slick attacking play rather than defensive fortitude, which obviously added to what was a great spectacle. (more…)
The year is 1996, the opposition was Manchester United, and after missing out on the title the previous season, Kevin Keegan and his team wanted to prove a point.
That was of course a ten minute clip of one of our greatest memories in recent times. That score sent out a message to our rivals that we were not to be messed with. (more…)
The next icon?It’s an iconic jersey around these parts which has been worn by some of the clubs greatest legends over the years, but should Andy Carroll be next in line to wear the famous number 9 shirt?
Many people who read that opening line will probably think I am adopting some form of rose-tinited viewpoint of Andy Carroll’s ability based on his goalscoring exploits of last season. That isn’t true, and we all know that Carroll is far from being the finished article as yet, and we all know that he has issues off the pitch that are waiting to be resolved. Despite that, I still feel Carroll is the perfect player to make the shirt his own and should be given the chance to do so. There has been much made of the fact that Carroll should have to earn the chance to wear our iconic shirt, but I disagree. (more…)
So who fancies living up to this then?Well here it is, the third and final chapter of my mid-term player review. And a topical area for discussion, as speculation remains over a move for Leeds Utd’s Jermaine Beckford, or A.N. Other should we fail in that bid.
The No.9 shirt is almost as synonymous with Newcastle United, as St James’ Park, the black and white stripes or that deed funny accent we’ve got. It’s been made particularly special in this part of the world because it’s been worn by some of the best players this country has seen. The likes of Gallacher, Milburn, MacDonald, Cole, Shearer have graced that shirt and it will undoubtedly always be a big shirt to fill.
Ironic then, given that the No.9 shirt and the prestige it carries with it is currently up for grabs, that we have a group of strikers who fall somewhat short of the standards we’ve come to expect from our centre-floorboards, and that none of them look like earning that honour just yet, particularly in this current barren spell…..
Ready to prove himself?Amidst the many transfer rumours on the go at the moment is some managerial speculation, as the Dail Mail writes that Newcastle legend, Alan Shearer has put his name forward for the vacant managerial post at Sheffield Wednesday.
‘Big Wednesday’ was an American coming-of-age film portraying the ‘growing-up’ of a group of young surfers, dealing with the changes in their lives, and contemplating ‘the mythical day when the greatest, cleanest, most transcendent wave of all will come’. And maybe Shearer’s ‘Big Wednesday’ is close, when he finally gets chance to prove his managerial credentials, or not.
Some will argue that Shearer has already had his chance and proven that he’s not up to task, having singularly failed to have the impact we were desperate for in our relegation run-in. And it was ultimately under his guidance that we dropped like a black and white stone to the depths of the Championship.
But he was undoubtedly given an almost impossible task, as the damage was arguably already irreversible. Morale was shot, and the league position was damning when he took over. However, even his most resolute supporters were disappointed that he failed to inspire any sort of reaction from the hapless squad, and arguably the one thing we expected in abundance from Shearer, was inspiration for the troops. Though they may stop short of laying the blame squarely at his door, one win in eight was disastrously short of what we all hoped for. (more…)
