Article – Middle Age Fanclub

Always look on the bright side; Five Things That Made Me Smile in November.

Another month, another search for the little moments of happiness that are always waiting to be found. With daylight in a bit shorter supply this is the time of year that has the chance to affect my mood the most. I go to work in the dark and come home in the dark, which isn’t very good, really. So, what made me smile last month?

Puffins return! This was a story I read about a colony of puffins returning to the delightfully named Isle of Muck in County Antrim for the first time in years. Apparently, following a programme of rat eradication that started in 2017, combined with the fact that the council now keeps the vegetation low, thus providing less cover for predators, a small amount of puffins has been seen nesting on the island. Puffins are an at risk breed of seabird, as well as being really cute, so their return and attempts at breeding is a real plus. This made made smile, but nearly as much as when the article also informed me that baby puffins are known as ‘pufflings’!

Football and a bin brings joy to lunch break! Another story I spotted, this one. This is the tale of workers at a factory who have livened up their lunch times by devising a football based game that they spend playing on their break. It was something that they came up with about ten years ago, but a video of it went viral and now the world knows all about it. One of the organisers of the game, Connor Fathers explained that they had just thought, “we’re spending every lunch break just staring at our phones, not talking to each other, not doing anything. There’s got to be more to lunch than this.” And so, bin game was born, the premise being that if the group can keep the ball up four times they can have a shot at the bin to score. You maybe have to watch the video to understand the joy behind it, but this really made me smile because it’s exactly the kind of thing I’d love to be doing in literally any spare moments, let alone lunch times!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0mgm9s3

“Do we have to keep renewing this?” Every year, as part of our efforts to promote reading, the school where I work gives every Year 7 student a free book. They get to choose which book they’d like from a selection and then we order them and have to endure “When’s my book coming?” for several weeks after! My class got theirs in the middle of November and despite the questions and the fact that they all knew that they were getting a book, the reactions were priceless. What made me smile the most was the disbelief that they’d just get to take it home and keep it, with more than one of them going up to our librarian and asking, “Do we have to keep renewing this?”. Let’s just hope that they carry on reading as a result!

Garden mural. This was a story I read about a 94-year-old woman in Somerset who had the front of her house painted over as a garden scene, featuring flowers, a lawn and even insects. The woman, Muriel Baker, says that she can’t garden anymore and so the mural on her house makes it seem like she’s living in a garden instead and gives her the enjoyment that she would get from tending one. All round, just a nice story, really.

Running! The final thing that made me smile last month came on the very final day of November. However, it was a ‘smile’ that had been in the making for a full month or so beforehand. On November 30th, I ran the Leeds Abbey Dash, a 10k race in central Leeds, taking us up past Kirkstall Abbey and then back down to Leeds for the finish. Running wise, it was fairly successful. Given prior illness and injury I was more than happy to run it in just over 54 minutes. Even then though, it was only thanks to the staggered start times that I even made it to the start line as the traffic going into Leeds meant that it took me well over and hour to get there. Thus, I missed my actual start time and had to start two times later, if you get what I mean. Still, I couldn’t help but smile given that I’d only managed to complete two 10ks in training – one at 56 minutes and the next at 55 minutes. Sadly, a day later I put my back up reaching down to pick up some washing! Then I picked up some kind of chest infection which is still refusing to budge more than a couple of weeks later. Sometimes, if you don’t just smile at these things, you’d end up crying!

So, there we have it. Proof positive that there’s always something to turn that frown upside down!

Gallowgate Cult Heroes Number 20; Joe Harvey

Time and again it’s said that the word ‘legend’ is overused these days. And it’s right. That bloke down the pub that can stick 6 pickled eggs in his gob at once is not a legend. Reality TV stars are not legends. Put simply, legends are made of sterner stuff and capable of remarkable feats.

In terms of the history of Newcastle United, Joe Harvey is a legend, of that there can be no doubt. Serving the club as both a successful player and manager, Harvey will do down in the history of our club and be talked about long after we’re all gone.

Joe joined Newcastle in 1946, a year after the end of Word War II which had stalled his football career and restricted him to guest appearances for several clubs around the country. A box to box midfielder, Joe would go on to help us win promotion to Division 1 in 1948.

Three years later began a golden period for not only the club in general, but for Harvey’s career. He was the integral and inspirational captain as Newcastle won back to back FA Cups in 1951 and ’52. The team would also have top 5 finishes in in the ’48/49 and 50/51 seasons. Joe was very much a no nonsense kind of player with exacting standards of those around him. As captain he was revered by the squad, who respected him totally. However, they feared him just as much! None other than Jackie Milburn noted that many of the players were petrified of Harvey and that running into him “was like hitting a bag of iron.”

Joe clocked up an impressive 224 appearances before retiring in 1953. He then went on to spend two years at the club as a trainer, while also learning his trade as a coach. In 1954, while still at Newcastle, Harvey took the job as manager of Crook Town and steered them to victory in the FA Amateur Cup. He would continue to work in the lower leagues at both Barrow and Workington before finally getting the Newcastle job in 1961.

Harvey would remain as Newcastle manager until the end of the ’74/’75 season, resigning after a 15th place finish. However, his years as manager cemented his place as a club legend. While in charge he took Newcastle to the 1974 FA Cup final – our first since 1955 – and also assembled teams that included players like John Tudor, Terry Hibbitt, Terry Mcdermott, Frank Clark, Alan Kennedy, David Craig, Wyn Davies, Irving Nattrass and Malcolm MacDonald; so he knew a player when he saw one. He remains the club’s longest serving manager to this day.

Without doubt Harvey’s greatest achievement as manager was in winning the 1969 Inter City Fairs Cup; the last trophy we would win for over 50 years (unless, in more desperate times, you insisted that the Intertoto Cup was also a triumph! I know I did…). So, until last March, Harvey’s triumph was the last shred of real glory that we all had to cling to – some of us for far longer than others!

Harvey’s half time pep talk in the second leg of the final will go down in Toon folklore. It wasn’t a moment of tactical genius. Nor was it some Churchillian battle cry. No, instead Harvey simply walked into the dressing room with his team 2-0 down and started by questioning the long faces. Then, when it was pointed out that they were losing and had been chasing shadows for the last 45 minutes, he told his boys that it was ok – “All you’ve got to do is get a goal and they’ll collapse. Score a goal and they’ll fold like a pack of cards.” And the rest is history. Despite the doubts among the players, Newcastle would score three second half goals and clinch the trophy with an aggregate score of 6-2.

Harvey was back to help the club out in 1980, taking over for a time as caretaker manager after the sacking of Bill McGarry.

Joe Harvey died in February of 1989, just over a year after Jackie Milburn. A plaque was unveiled in Joe’s honour in 2014. It was cleaned and restored some years later and can now be found at the Gallowgate End of the ground. Maybe not the statue that some had called for, but proof still that Harvey will forever be a legend at Newcastle United.

Theatre Review: ‘A Christmas Carol’ at Leeds Playhouse.

It’s bitterly cold and raining heavily on what it turns out is a chaotic night on the roads into Leeds City Centre. As a result, once we’re finally parked, it’s a mad dash across a couple of busy roads and through the theatre in order to just get sat down as the curtain goes up and the music begins to welcome us to the world of Dickens’ London.

On stage, there’s no rain but ‘snow’ is falling and while nothing is chaotic, there’s certainly an all action start to ‘A Christmas Carol’ with plenty going on in Scrooge’s factory. The song – and those that follow – is unexpected, but makes for not only a welcome surprise but an amazing start to the play.

Deborah MacAndrew’s adaptation of this festive favourite is excellent with the opening song and the neon ‘Scrooge and Marley’ sign the first hints that this will definitely be a move away from what we might call the traditional version of the tale. The show is absolutely joyful and a real feast for the senses that will leave you buzzing with festive cheer, not least because of the addition of some of the biggest, brightest and shall we say, interesting Christmas baubles that you’re ever likely to encounter!

As an English teacher, I know what I was expecting. There are only so many times you can read through the novella before you find that you can ‘hear’ the same voices and ‘see’ the same settings and having never seen ‘A Christmas Carol’ on the stage before I found this version more than a refreshing change. That said, when the Ghost of Christmas Carol didn’t sound like Brian Blessed my mind was temporarily blown! The ghosts though are all superb with Claudia Kariuki bringing a real sense of sparkle to the Ghost of Christmas present, while the presentation of the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come is quite stunning and might even feature in a few Christmas nightmares in the audience.

The play is set in Leeds and revolves around Scrooge and Marley’s factory in where the workforce toil in a permanent state of fear of their boss, Ebeneezer Scrooge. And then, when he’s visited by the ghost of his old business partner Jacob Marley, we’re taken on a familiar journey towards redemption as the three ghosts show Scrooge what he was, what he is and point him in the direction of what he perhaps should be.

The cast are superb throughout, making even scene changes and scenery shifting some kind of almost balletic event and there’s never a dull moment. Obioma Ugoala is a terrifying Jacob Marley – something else I wasn’t expecting – as well as an appropriately jolly and benevolent Fezziwig, throwing huge amounts of energy into both roles. Meanwhile Danny Colligan is perfect as Fred, the very antithesis of his uncle Ebeneezer. And a word too for Rosie Strobel who does an excellent job of scene stealing as a rather raucous Mrs. Dilber!

Reece Dinsdale is excellent as Scrooge, throwing around Bah Humbugs with an extra large helping of disdain. And then, when the ghosts start to exert their influence he’s appropriately vulnerable and shows signs of humanity that we don’t always associate with Scrooge before his redemption. A fitting performance for such a classic character.

Overall, ‘A Christmas Carol’ is nothing short of a triumph. A fast paced, festive production that will make you laugh, sing, clap along at times and maybe even shed a tear. Having not felt particularly festive going in, I came out pretty much full of Christmas cheer, which for me was about a fortnight early! A cracking Christmas production!

I give ‘A Christmas Carol’…

Magpie Moments Episode 5

Welcome along to another episode of Magpie Moments where we look at some of the more interesting things that have happened at our beloved club over the years.

Beardsley goes in goal! Yes, you read that right. There was once a game where club legend Peter Beardsley ended up in goal. And that was only a small part of the story. In April, 1986 Newcastle played away at West Ham Utd. We would end up getting beaten 8-1 with the Hammers scoring four in each half. Our cause wasn’t helped when goalkeeper Martin Thomas went off injured and we were forced to put defender Chris Hedworth in nets. These were of course the days of only having one sub and who was wasting that one spot on a keeper? Things would continue to slide downhill though with Hedworth then also getting injured! Up stepped Beardsley to have a go as we battled on with only nine men. It’s safe to say that things didn’t improve! The game was not only memorable for the scoreline and the amount of goalkeepers, but also for the fact that our ‘legendary’ hard man centre forward Billy Whitehurst scored; one of only seven goals he’d manage in black and white. Oh and as if there wasn’t enough going on, Hammers’ centre half Alvin Martin grabbed a hat-trick!

Shearer’s record breaker. If you were there that day I’m sure, like me, you’ll never forget the noise. A guttural roar that started in the toes of every person present and roared out through the throats in celebration of a legendary achievement. A significant piece of black and white history being made right in front of our very eyes. The goal itself was a fairly scrappy affair. A long kick out from Shay Given was met with a flick on by Shearer. The ball arrived at the feet of Shola Ameobi, who just when it looked like he’d lost it, managed to back heel it into the path of the onrushing Shearer, who held off the challenge of Pompey’s Andy O’Brien and toe poked past the keeper. The celebration was true Shearer; arms aloft, fists pumping, screaming at the crowd. Seconds later, the chant of ‘Shearer, Shearer, Shearer’ rang out and felt like it might never stop, until it did. And when it did, and the game kicked off again spontaneous applause broke out. A moment that I’ll take to the grave.

Keegan on the steps of the Milburn reception. Andy Cole remains to this day one of the greatest strikers to ever wear the black and white shirt. There are still many who rank him as their favourite ever player. So when he was sold, seemingly out of the blue, to bitter rivals Man Utd it’s safe to say that it was a bit of a shock. Such was the shock that some fans descended on St. James’ Park where manager Keegan would come out onto the steps to talk to them and try to allay any fears about their team, ambition etc. In a way it was typical Kevin Keegan; wearing his heart on his sleeve and deciding to confront the situation head on. Those supporters had worshipped him as a player and still did as the saviour of the club and the man now in charge of the team. Keegan explained that the playing style had become predictable and stale and so had sold Cole to prompt a change of direction. Evolution rather than revolution. Of course, there had been a falling out between player and manager, but we weren’t to know that at the time. Instead, Keegan spoke with passion and smoothed things over with the fans, gaining a standing ovation for his troubles at the end of it all. Only at Newcastle United!

Keegan on the steps of the Milburn stand

Gallowgate Cult Hero Number 19; Jonas Gutierrez

Sometimes a player comes to Newcastle and just gets it. Not just the club, but the city, the region, the people. Malcolm Macdonald, Shay Given, Ryan Taylor and more recently Bruno and Joelinton are all good examples. As managers Kevin Keegan, Rafa Benitez and Eddie Howe are great examples of this. And it’s one of Keegan’s signings that seems to have also fallen in love with not only the club, but the city and the people. Gallowgate Cult Hero number 18 is Jonas Gutierrez.

Gutierrez was signed from Real Mallorca in July of 2008. Newcastle had thought that they could get him on the cheap due to him buying out his own contract – not like Mike Ashley to be sourcing that kind of deal, I know – but in the end the fee was decided by tribunal and cost Newcastle a few million more than was originally expected. But the Argentinian international proved to be a bit of a bargain in the end.

Jonas was known for celebrating goals by wearing a spiderman mask and promised that this would continue with his first goal for the Toon. However, despite scoring in November, the mask wouldn’t make an appearance until he scored in the 6-1 home drubbing of Barnsley in the following March. And it was a fitting strike too – a cracking 25 yard drive that went in off the underside of the crossbar.

Gutierrez was a winger who could play on either side. He was often skilful and an asset to the team going forward. But it was probably his enthusiasm and work rate that made him so popular with the fans. Jonas was a grafter, pressing defenders before it was trendy and tracking back like his life depended on it. As we all know though, his first season with the Toon wasn’t to be successful as we were ultimately relegated. Many thought that the likes of Gutierrez and Coloccini would be off. Instead, both decided to stay and fight for the club.

It was probably here that Jonas cemented his place in the hearts of many supporters. As we all know, we were promoted as champions at the end of that season and Gutierrez stood out in that promotion season. However, on our return to the Premier League he found himself competing with Hatem Ben Arfa for a place in the team and invariable lost out. He still managed to make several valuable contributions though as we pushed ourselves into a 5th place finish under Alan Pardew.

Undeterred, Jonas kept working hard and proving his importance to the squad. The spectacular goals continued as did that undeniable work rate. And then, in early 2013 doctors discovered that Jonas had a testicular tumour, which would be operated on at the end of the season in his native Argentina.

Post surgery as he was loaned out to Norwich it looked like his Toon career was over and that as a club, we hadn’t really bothered to look after him. And yet, with the loan move largely unsuccessful, Jonas returned and came on as a sub against Man Utd at the back end of the 2014 – 2015 season, given the captain’s armband as he took to the field to a hero’s reception. But the best was yet to come.

Going into the final game of that season against West Ham at home we needed a win to guarantee staying up. Gutierrez was the star. Firstly he put the cross in for Moussa Sissoko to head the opener, but then in the 85th minute, he cut in off the left hand side and sent a scorching grasscutter into the back of the Gallowgate net via a slight deflection. Cue absolute hysteria!

That celebration will stay with us Geordies, as it will with Jonas, for many years. First with the shirt spinning above has head and then the iconic shirtless pose in front of the Director’s Box, cupping his ears and screaming in their general direction. Newcastle were safe, but more importantly, Jonas had beaten cancer and taken some sort of retribution out on Mike Ashley. This would be his last goal and last appearance for the club.

Jonas still talks fondly of his time on Tyneside and seems to be a regular visitor to the city. In his own words he feels “like a Geordie” and speaks with nothing but warmth about the club, the city and the fans. He was even seen busking at Greys Monument in recent months! Jonas Gutierrez; the very epitome of the saying, ‘once a Geordie, always a Geordie.’

NUFC: Making the case for creativity.

So, it’s the understatement of the year to say that things aren’t going as well as we’d like for Newcastle United at the moment. Three wins in 11 games in the league, 5 defeats, no win away from home, only 11 goals scored and 14 conceded, 6 of which have come in the past two games. Not exactly going to plan.

Clearly, there’s lots to discuss as barely anyone is producing the goods at the moment. However, I’d like to make the case for a bit more creativity in the team and squad.

Firstly, let me say that I fully understand that the likes of Bruno, Tonali, Murphy et al are all capable of unlocking defences. So, this isn’t a criticism of anyone in particular. But in the last two games we have amassed a whole 5 shots on target, showing that either chances aren’t being created or players aren’t backing themselves to shoot.

It seems clear enough to me that we lack flair and the ability to unlock stubborn defences, especially away from home. Someone capable of a moment of magic who can carry the ball and either beat defenders or commit them so that space is freed up elsewhere.

On Sunday afternoon I watched the second half of the City v Liverpool game and was fairly mesmerised by the performance of City winger Jeremy Doku, who time after time ran with the ball and made things happen. I thought of our wingers; Gordon, Barnes, Elanga and Murphy. In the league, especially away from home, they look scared of flying at a full back. Elanga especially looks like he’s struggling, short of confidence and a fish out of water, but the other three seem to prefer cutting back and laying the ball off rather than hitting the byline or dribbling on the inside and heading towards goal. Yes, Jacob Murphy is likely to bag an assist now and again, but he’s also likely to pass back the way too and take the sting out of attacks.

And it’s not just City and Doku either. West Ham have Bowen, Brentford’s Ouattara scared the life out of us at the weekend and the likes of N’Diaye and Grealish at Everton simply want to make things happen. Manchester United have M’Buemo, Palace have Sarr, Villa can choose from Rogers and Buendia, while Bournemouth have a few and even the likes of Leeds have someone like Dan James who will try to run at defenders.

Meanwhile, we seem to have lost our bravery, our creativity and our intensity. Five shots on target in the last two games tells its own story.

As a younger man, I watched Newcastle teams featuring the likes of Hibbitt, Beardsley, Gazza, Ginola and Robert; players with the gift for unlocking defences. Fast forward to 2025 and we don’t have that in our locker. Yes, Bruno and Tonali are both capable of a cute pass and have shown that at times this season. But where is the equivelant of those players mentioned above? Where is the breathtaking piece of skill? Where is the pinpoint delivery from corners or free kicks? And who is there that might just bend a free kick around a wall?

And what of Nick Woltemade? For me, with 6 goals he’s started well, but he’s looked lost in the last two league games. It’s okay to drop into spaces between the midfield and defence, but when the opposition see it coming and there’s no one running beyond you then it seems like a sure fire way to give them the ball back. Howe needs to find a better way to use the big German and perhaps that comes when Yoane Wissa is fit, but until then, we’re not creating chances at one end and struggling at the other.

For me, we need another striker in January. And I don’t mean chasing a £70m bundle of hype like Sesko. Surely, with the network of scouts available there is a young, quick, hungry striker worth taking a punt on somewhere.

Options like this can maybe free up Big Nick to play more of his natural game. He’s a player I really like; someone who seems to read the game well and a player who gives us that little bit of the unexpected that maybe we’re missing. But without support from a winger or midfielder running beyond him then it seems like all too often he’s getting caught on the ball in crowded areas.

With the January transfer window a while away yet – and let’s face it, we’re not good at getting people in quickly – short term solutions might come from the youth ranks. After all, we’re looking for something different to help solve the problems that have left us looking up at the majority of the table and there are young, keen hungry players within the ranks that are worth a seat on the bench.

Sean Neave gets better every time I see him and looks to be a player with both a bit of skill and an eye for goal. His strength might be an issue in the Premier League, but that said he’s done well when I’ve watched him in the Football League trophy against men’s teams.

There’s been a bit of a clamour to see more of Park Seung-Soo since he impressed with cameos in pre-season. A wide player who looks brave and creative and runs with the ball really well, he might just be capable of unlocking defences in the latter part of games as we search for something.

Alfie Harrison is another one who carries the ball well and has an eye for a pass. After arriving with quite a bit of hype around him in February 2024, opportunities have been limited, but on the occasions that I’ve seen him, he’s looked to be someone who’s buzzing with creativity and could well be worth a place on the bench with such a crowded fixture list.

One thing’s for sure; something has to change in order to break the cycle of away defeats. That may come from existing squad members such as Jacob Ramsey or Lewis Miley, but away from the glare of St. James’ Park, maybe it’s time to give youth a bit of a chance.

Magpie Moments Episode 4.

Being a Toon fan means that there’s never a dull moment…unless you had the misfortune to sit through much of Steve Bruce’s football. But our football club has provided its fair share of memorable moments over the years. So, welcome to Magpie Moments, episode 4!

Griffin Conquers Juve! It’s October 2002 and Newcastle United have lost their first three Champions League group matches. Next up is the mighty Juventus at St. James’ Park under the lights. A classic European night. Memory tells me that we were getting a bit of a chasing for most of the game, but won a free kick over by the corner flag on the East Stand side of the Leazes just after the hour. With the box loaded with the likes of Shearer, Speed and er… Titus Bramble, Laurent Robert shaped to cross it before slipping it short to the edge of the box for Andy Griffin. He then went round a defender before a heavy touch took him almost to the line. Faced with the chance to cross it he just hammered it across the box where Gianluigi Buffon’s attempt to stop it just diverted it into the net. Cue delirium and the start of a great escape from the group that no one could have seen coming! Sir Bobby Robson called it “one of my greatest Newcastle victories”. I was sitting next to a group of Italians in the Leazes that night and even they went mad. I never found out who they really supported!

Matty Longstaff’s debut screamer. Everything about this made for a magical moment. The game had seen both sides have good chances to score, but going into the final 20 minutes things were deadlocked at 0-0. Suddenly, Newcastle broke. Alain Saint-Maximin ran forward and surrounded by defenders, fed the ball wide to Jetro Willems who still had little in the way of options in the box. Sensibly he held it up and then laid the ball off to the edge of the area where Longstaff was steaming in. Without breaking stride he belted a grasscutter into the bottom left hand corner as St. James’ went crazy. Matty had started the game, making his Premier League debut alongside his older brother Sean; a moment in itself. And for me, the best thing after the goal itself was seeing brother Sean delightedly celebrating with Matty at the Gallowgate end. The winning goal on debut against Man Utd, under the lights at the Gallowgate with your brother. The stuff that dreams are made of!

Takeover Take Off! As the recent anniversary of the takeover shows, we can all remember where we were and how we reacted to the news that Amanda Staveley had finally done the deal and freed us from Mike Ashley. For me though, it didn’t feel real until the first post takeover game. There were a few big moments on the day. The Wor Flags display and the line from Big River on the banner in the Gallowgate was pretty spine tingling. Then there was the sight of Staveley, Mehrdad Ghodoussi, Jamie Rueben and Yasir Al-Rumayyan in the director’s box that confirmed that this was really happening. But the biggest moment of the day for me was the moment when Callum Wilson put us ahead inside two minutes. The noise, the relief, the expressions on the faces of everyone involved. The result didn’t matter a jot. Newcastle United were finally on the up again!

Three more fantastic Magpie Moments. I hope you enjoyed reading about them as much as I did writing about and reliving them!

Always Look on The Bright Side of Life; Five Things That Made Me Smile in October.

October was a bit of a funny month. While there was plenty to keep me optimistic and to make me crack the odd smile, it also signalled the closing weeks of that tough first half term of the academic year. So even smiling felt like an effort! Anyway, here’s what made me make that effort last month!

A groundsman’s pitches go viral. As someone who used to coach football teams, this one caught the eye. I never had to cut the pitches, but was responsible for marking the lines out every once in a while. However, this was a story about Joe Mecke-Davis, the groundsman at Westfields Football Club in Herefordshire. Because his club isn’t professional there are no rules as to how he cuts his pitch and so Matt has let his imagination run wild over the years. Now, his designs are in the running for an international award after images of his pitches went viral. Have a look for yourself…

The joy of a free book and a writing workshop! Every year at the school that I teach at each student in Year 7 gets to choose a free book. It’s a sponsored thing designed to promote reading. And if you didn’t know, reading figures are dropping fast. Obviously, as an English teacher and a fairly prolific reader, I find this trend really worrying. Naturally then, I think the scheme where kids get a book for free is just a fantastic idea. But the thing that made me smile more than anything this year was the enthusiasm of the my students who were desperate to get a look at the choices and haven’t stopped asking when they’re going to get their book ever since! Alongside this, recently I had to nominate 5 students to take part in a workshop with a visiting author. I decided to nominate a couple of really shy, quiet boys because I thought they might benefit from working with a writer for the day. We had to give out little tickets to the event as well and so I kept my group of five back at the end of the lesson to give them their tickets. Both of my shy students looked like they thought they had done something wrong, but the smiles on their faces and the expressions that said ‘Me, really?’ almost made the whole slog of an 8 week half term worth it!

Dinosaur Discovery! I read a brilliant story concerning a discovery of dinosaur footprints last month. They’re part of the longest trackway site ever discovered in the UK. They were originally found by a farm worker driving a digger and since their discovery archaeologists have been excavating the land bit by bit. Now, they’ve unearthed five different trackways of massive footprints that go on for 150 metres and are thought to have been made by both sauropods and a Megalosaurus, the largest predatory dinosaur known in the UK during the Jurassic period. I find things like this fascinating!

Divers discover $1 million worth of treasure. Another article that I read last month told of the discovery of treasure found on a centuries old Spanish shipwreck off Florida. It’s thought to be part of up to $400 million worth of treasure that was lost in the same hurricane, which divers are now frantically hoping to find more of! I used to collect old coins as a school boy and loved finding rare ones, so this story couldn’t have failed to make me smile!

Finally…half term! I’m writing this after work on the final day of the first half term of the academic year. It’s been a long, gruelling 8 week stint, marked particularly over the last two weeks by massive bouts of illness across the school. On at least two days this week we’ve had over 100 students off ill. So partly, I’m happy that I seem to have avoided it and also I’m just thrilled to bits that I now have a week off! The next one leads us right up to Christmas; something else to smile about!

I hope you enjoyed my reasons to smile this time around. There’ll be more at the start of December. Hopefully November is full of positives!

Victory over Benfica with a little help from Wor Flags, Joe Harvey and Nick Pope.

Once again Wor Flags managed to get it just right last night. On another big European night at St. James’ Park they remembered the biggest with an inspirational display dedicated to the Fairs Cup heroes of 1969.

I was born a few years after that Fairs Cup win and spent my formative years thinking that another success was probably just around the corner. It wasn’t. And so Joe Harvey’s boys became the stuff of legend to me. A group of players that any Newcastle side would need to live up to.

At half time last night, the words of Joe Harvey in Budapest drifted through my mind. Two nil down at half time in the second leg of the final all those years ago, Harvey told his players not to worry. “Get a goal and they’ll fold like a pack of cards.”

It was apt last night too, I thought. We were 1-0 up, but in need of a goal. With the game ticking over the hour mark, Benfica were having a lot of possession and it felt like we needed to weather the storm. If we could get a goal though, they’d fold.

Ten minutes later, Nick Pope collected a corner and went looking for options. Still in his own box, Harvey Barnes was one of a few players who started running as Pope carried the ball forward. And then it happened – Pope channelled his inner Tom Brady and launched a Hail Mary up field and into the path of Barnes who had sprinted into Benfica’s half. The covering defender couldn’t quite get there and Barnes was in, although a little wide. The rest is history.

Pope gets some stick for his distribution and rightly so at times. However, he was a hero last night with that throw as well as the customary crucial saves that we’ve come to expect!

In the shadow of the great Joe Harvey, Eddie Howe’s Mags made it another fantastic European night with a resounding 3-0 win. Here’s to another European adventure. Howay the lads!

Gallowgate Cult Heroes; Number 18 Paul Goddard

Every once in a while, we make a signing that almost goes under the radar and then creates a pleasant surprise when it comes to how good the player actually turns out to be. One of the best examples of this that I can think of in recent memory would be someone like Yohan Cabaye, who was quite a low profile arrival but went on to have a big impact on the team.

Paul Goddard was also a good example of this particular phenomenon. With almost 250 appearances and 77 goals for QPR and West Ham, he’d seemed settled where he was and was actually quite reluctant to move north. This was the 80s and a time when moving north from London might have felt like moving to the Arctic Circle! And in fact it was this feeling of being unsettled that would plague him during his time on Tyneside and eventually lead to him moving on. But in the two years that he spent here he managed to become a very popular member of what started off as very much a failing side and grew into something far better.

It was October 1986 when Goddard joined the Toon. We were struggling and Goddard came in and gave the side a real boost. He took a little bit of time to find his feet in the team and didn’t score until his fifth game; a 1-1 draw away at Charlton. Bur Sarge, as he was known, had undeniable quality. Despite being relatively small, he was strong and his hold up play was excellent, allowing others to come into play. He was a good finisher too and someone who seemed to play more on instinct than anything else, reading the game well and knowing when to risk a flick or play the tricky pass. His movement was excellent too. Despite his presence though, as 1987 approached Newcastle remained near the bottom of the league and indeed hit rock bottom after a 4-1 away defeat at Old Trafford on New Year’s Day 1987. Goddard had still only scored one goal.

More defeats followed and it wasn’t until February that Paul grabbed his second goal. Newcastle were stuck at the bottom of the league.

And then, as April approached things took a turn for the better. Goddard would go on a scoring streak, notching in the next 7 games as we won 5. Newcastle were up to 17th where we would finish the campaign. Sarge was a huge reason for us staying up.

For season ’87/’88 Goddard was joined by Mirandinha playing up front. The Brazilian would prove to be a constant source of frustration to Sarge though who time after time would take up a position in space awaiting a pass only to see Mira invariably shoot, regardless of the angle. I seem to remember a few stand up rows taking place in the middle of the pitch as Goddard pleaded for a pass! Even then, Paul managed to score ten times in all as we finished 8th in the old Division 1. The team featured Goddard, a Brazilian international in Mira, Peter Jackson and Glenn Roeder at the back and a host of exciting young players like Darren Jackson, Brian Tinnion, Michael O’Neill and of course the one and only Paul Gascoigne. As a Newcastle fan this was a time when you could help but feel a bit of optimism. Also as a Newcastle fan though, our hopes were about to be shattered.

Goddard had been unsettled in Newcastle from more or less the moment he’d arrived. And now he decided that he wanted to leave in order to head back to London. Add to this the devastating departure of Gazza to Spurs and suddenly everything wasn’t so rosy in the Gallowgate garden.

Bizarrely, Goddard would then move on to Derby – not exactly famous for being near London – where he would score 15 goals, staying for just over a year. Later moves would take him to Millwall and then Ipswich where he finished his career.

Had he stayed at Newcastle I think Godard would have really made a name for himself and perhaps been able to help develop players like Michael O’Neill who never really fulfilled his potential. However, for the time he was at the club Goddard did more than enough to be thought of by many who remember him as a bit of a cult hero.