As a football fan you sometimes spot players and wonder what it would be like if your team signed them. A bit of imaginary scouting, I suppose. I’ve done it loads over the years and then winced as said players have more often than not signed for other clubs. Peter Jackson was probably the first that I noticed who actually went on to sign for Newcastle.
I was 14 years old when he signed in October of 1986. Costing £250,000 from Bradford, Jacko was a no nonsense centre half that I’d probably seen on the telly and admired, wondering if there was any way we might go out and sign him because he looked, to my young eyes, a great fit for Newcastle and the kind of players that would be appreciated by our fans. Jackson was Bradford’s youngest ever captain and skippered them to the third division title in 1985, the same year as the Bradford Fire disaster.
He could play a little bit and was obviously a bit of a leader, but the best thing about him was the fact that he just got stuck in. He would fly into tackles and blocks and launch himself at headers; one of a dying breed who would stick their head in where plenty others would just shy away and say no thanks.
As someone who has always coveted wingers and strikers it was rare that I loved watching a defender as a kid. But Jacko changed that. When he wasn’t snarling at opposition centre forwards, he did actually play with a smile on his face and from day one it was abundantly evident that Peter felt privileged to play for Newcastle United.
Jacko played in some decent Toon sides that included the likes of Beardsley, Gazza, Roeder, Goddard and Mirandinha; sides that should have achieved more than they did. Mind you, he also played alongside Tony Cunningham, Frank Pingel and Ray Ranson, so maybe he never really stood a chance!
Making 72 appearances and scoring 3 goals, my abiding memory of Jackson was watching him emerge from the midst of a brawl against Portsmouth at home with two of their players – one might have been the loathsome mackem Kevin Dillon – in headlocks. Heroic stuff to a kid in their teens. If my memory serves me rightly he was inevitably sent off at a time when we were struggling in the league, but still, chinning two opposition players? Legend.
Leaving the Toon to return to Bradford in 1988, Jackson would go on to play for Huddersfield and Halifax, while later managing both Bradford and Huddersfield with relative success. He’s still spoken about in glowing terms by Bantams fans that I know and remains one of my favourite players from my formative years as a Newcastle fan to this day.
Middle Age Fanclub 