Archive for tag: Malcolm MacDonald.

Who are the top 5 Newcastle United strikers of all time?

May 25th, 2020 | 3 Comments |

Toon flag.
Newcastle United: A long history of great centre forwards.
With the long pause in Premier League action, I thought it might be a good time to go down memory lane and look at some of our favourite players from times past, so I have decided to list five of the top strikers in Newcastle United’s history. All the players selected played at least 150 games for the Magpies at the highest level, which means that great, but more fleeting Newcastle centre forwards such as Albert Shepherd, Albert Stubbins, Andy Cole, Les Ferdinand etc have not been included. The players are listed in chronological order, starting with the most recent players and going backwards in time. (more…)

One Chrissy Hughton?

November 1st, 2010 | 39 Comments |

One Chrissy Hughton?
One Chrissy Hughton?
Personally, I’m still buzzing from yesterday’s 5-1 demolition of derby day rivals Sunderland.

As results go they don’t get much better than that, but one thing I found that was a nice extra touch was the widespread backing for Chris Hughton that sounded out from the crowd on a number of occasions yesterday.

In a week where Hughton’s tenure as Newcastle boss had been called into question, mainly by the media, it seemed quite appropriate that the crowd united behind Hughton in front of a worldwide television audience. It was a proper ‘two-fingers’ to the press who have been trying to stir up some trouble where none had previously existed.

Chants of ‘One Chrissy Hughton’ and ‘Walking in a Hughton wonderland’ rang out from various parts of the ground yesterday, although I have no doubt that the media will try to paint us as fickle and suggest that we were only singing those songs as we were winning against our unwashed rivals from down the road. (more…)

Vying for No.9 at Newcastle United? – Part Deux.

January 12th, 2010 | 129 Comments |

So who fancies living up to this then?
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…..

So how far short have they fallen so far? (more…)

Vying for No.9?

November 3rd, 2009 | 54 Comments |

So who fancies living up to this then?
So who fancies living up to this then?
Well here it is, the third and final chapter of my first term, first team player review. And not a moment too soon it would seem, to take the focus off Llambias’ less than convincing SSN interview.

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 partcularly 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…..

So how far short have they fallen so far? – (more…)

The Forest controversy of 1974.

October 16th, 2009 | 63 Comments |

Toon fans, 1974 - great hat!
Ticketless Toon fans, 1974 - great hat!
The Forest fixture against Newcastle United on Saturday brings to mind a bizarre group of matches between our two teams in 1974.

Following success in the earlier rounds, Newcastle United found themselves at home in the quarter finals of the FA cup in front of a crowd of 54,500 facing second division Nottingham Forest.

Excitement was at fever pitch as we were only a couple of games away from the final. The great unwashed of Sunderland had won the cup the previous year, so surely it was our turn to get out the daft hats, practise Abide with Me and take a trip down Wembley Way?

Our form leading up to that game had been poor, especially at home, so the writing seemed to be on the wall when we went behind in under 2 minutes. It didn’t get much better and we started the second half 2-1 down. Coming up to the hour mark, disaster struck when our big centre half Pat Howard was sent off for pushing the referee in the chest when disputing a penalty award. Forest scored and we found ourselves trailing 3-1. (more…)