Category: Article

Teaching: Back once again for the renegade (school) master…

So here we are again. Summer now feels like a distant memory as I’ve been back at work and into a new academic year for the last couple of weeks.

It’s my 26th year of teaching and I’ve reached the grand age of 53, so as I’m sure you’ll understand, regardless of holidays I’m permanently knackered. For me there’s no longer that fresh feel to every September. Not only will I still be tired, but I’ll have seen and heard more or less everything that’s going to be thrown at me between now and late July many times before. It’ll just have been given a new trendy name. And be delivered by someone with way more enthusiasm than me…

I wanted to write about a couple of new things though, as well as something that feels like it’s as old and predictable as time.

Neither of the new things are entirely new. One is in the setting that I now work in and the other is an old idea that has now resurfaced with a new name. Both are challenging me in different ways.

As part of our role as teachers, we all get a couple of duties to do per week; supervising on the yard at break, that kind of thing. This year I had to rub my eyes when I saw what my new duties would entail. Even when I looked again, they were still there and a couple of months later when a new rota was sent out, they remained. Let me tell you, I’m not impressed. This year I have toilet duty…twice a week.

Now, I have to say that I’m lucky as our student toilets are in fact very modern. Glass fronted, lots of cubicles, one big hand wash station in the middle and some fancy hand driers off to the side. These boys have never had it so good! But, they’re still toilets. So two of my breaks are now spent managing the queue outside of the toilets, while trying to keep the flow of ‘customers’ going inside and watching out for any suspicious vape activity too.

On my first duty last week I had been there all of 6 seconds when one of the smaller boys was sick near the front of the queue, which really does just typify my luck! While he stood there unable to work out what to do next, the other boys were either pointing it out to me or screaming and squirming about it. Meanwhile, I had to find someone with a radio who could get in touch with a caretaker, while simultaneously getting the boys to not walk straight through the sick as I kept the flow of the queue going! Talk about juggling plates!

It wasn’t long before a caretaker arrived on scene, coned the area off and cleaned everything up, but not before some of the queue had managed to ignore my warnings and walk straight through it all! You could say it was a baptism of puke…

Since then things have been a bit less eventful. Queues are pretty orderly and nothing dramatic has happened. The smell however, well that’s another matter…

Many years ago Year 11 students who we didn’t think had the ability to follow the GCSE English course would do a course called Entry Level Certificate, which concentrated on the basics of written communication and meant that those students would at least leave school with some kind of English qualification. These were kids with complex special educational needs, learning delays and sometimes even those that could barely read or write. It worked really well, doing much for the self esteem of kids who’d never before felt too comfortable with the study of English.

In their wisdom, the education gods took Entry Level away though and so every year we were left with a cohort of students who would really struggle to access the content that they were being given, however it was pitched.

As is the way with education though, it was eventually brought back, revamped and given a new name and now I have a group of Year 10 students who are doing that course, bringing back many happy memories of teaching it before. It’s taking a bit of getting used to and because there’s no existing work for it at our school I’m having to do lots of planning, but I have to say that it’s actually really enjoyable.

One thing that certainly isn’t new is how fussy Year 7 students can be. I’m blessed – sort of – with two Year 7 classes this year, although one is only for one library lesson per week. Regardless, I think I’m already developing a nervous tick.

At time of writing I’m two weeks into the new academic year and so have taught these groups only a handful of times. Still, they are proving to be quite painful! Maybe it’s the grumpy middle aged man in me, but they just seem to be a constant stream of often irrelevant questions, fuss, a lack of listening and a way too much stationary!

Today we did a reading test in a computer room. The instructions were clear as day and repeated by not just me, but our librarian who was running the tests, at least 4 times. And yet still, I found myself drowning under a deluge of the same type of questions – “Sir, what do I do now?”, “Sir, how do I log on?”, “Sir, what do I click on?”. In situations like this I find any kind of professionalism that I may possess being tested to its very limits!

However, the best was saved for later in the lesson, when bored of having to answer questions on the test, one of them asked our librarian “Miss, how many questions are there?” Rather than tell the individual student, she stopped the group and addressed them all, telling them that the programme was measuring their reading age and thus there were no set number of questions; it would end when the program had got a reading age.

Two minutes later came the same question. And again seconds after. And again a few minutes after that.

As we were packing up it was all I could do not to ask the question myself. However, looking at my colleague I decided that I valued my life more than a valued a cheap laugh!

Anyway, only 36 weeks more to go!

Magpie Moments Episode 3.

Whatever your era or age as a Newcastle United supporter, you’ll have rarely experienced a dull moment. Unless of course you still remember almost every deadline day under the stewardship of Mike Ashley. However, in the third episode of the Magpie Moments series I think I can bring you a few moments that might just raise a smile.

Who the f*** is Micky Quinn? Micky Quinn can be safely referred to as a legendary number nine at Newcastle. But when he signed it was a bit of a different matter for some fans. At the time there was a bitter battle between fans and board and some fans were boycotting the first game of the 1989/’90 season. I remember it well. My cousin Shaun was standing on the ‘picket line’ and almost persuaded me to join him as I walked up towards the Gallowgate, but thankfully I went in. Quinny himself remembers it well too and wrote about seeing a banner that read ‘Who the f*** is Micky Quinn?’ as he walked up to the stadium in his excellent autobiography ‘Who Ate All The Pies?’! Thankfully, most Geordies knew exactly who he was by the end of that 90 minutes, Quinny scoring four as we beat promotion favourites Leeds United 5-2! The first was a penalty at the Gallowgate end and what I remember most about it was Quinn’s technique of standing outside the box with his back to to the keeper before his run up. The hat-trick goal was a hooked right foot volley from close in at the Leazes end and then the fourth was a one on one with Quinny looking exhausted as he ran through and just finishing with a shot from outside of the box before he got caught by the chasing defenders! Some amazing moments at the start of a season that would promise much but fail to deliver in the most spectacular style.

The away kit at home, under the lights and Alex Mathie! Monday 13th September 1993 saw a Newcastle game almost called off because of the opposition’s kit! Sheffield Wednesday rocked up at St. James’ Park in our first season in the newly formed English Premiership (now the Premier League) with a specially commissioned one off kit for the televised match. The only problem was that the kit was white and featured a black stripe. Until Newcastle offered to wear their all blue away kit, the fixture was in danger of being called off! As for the game, well first of all I remember that it was just too weird to watch us play in blue at home. And it seemed so for the players as well as Sheff Wed gradually took control and went 1-2 up as we looked like a side who’d never played together before. In the meantime Wednesday had chance after chance after chance. Toon substitute Alex Mathie – recently signed from Morton – changed the game. Firstly he provided the cross that eventually fell to Andy Cole to equalise and then he scored a beauty. Mathie was around the edge of Wednesday’s box when a ball was played forward from the right. He allowed it to come over his shoulder before volleying it over the keeper and into the net without breaking stride. Ultimately, Mathie didn’t make it at Newcastle, but he gave us a hell of a moment with that goal.

Shola’s new identity. Not particularly a ‘moment’ this one, but just a quick story that always makes me smile. It was well known that Sir Bobby Robson wasn’t always the best with names and could be quite forgetful when it came to his players identities. One of the best examples of this came up when Shola Ameobi was asked about nicknames in an interview. At first he said he didn’t have one, so the reporter asked, ‘what does Bobby Robson call you then?’ to which Shola replied, ‘Carl Cort’! Always makes me laugh!

Always Look on the Bright Side; Things that made me smile in August.

August is a month where I fall out of routine. As a teacher, I’m enjoying the summer break; six weeks of work free bliss. And because of that, I rarely remember to keep up with the routines that I establish during term times, including looking for the little smile worthy positive moments in the news. So, this month, my bright sides are a bit more generalised.

Summer and a bit of a heat wave. Now, I feel it’s best to quantify the term ‘heatwave’. I live in England which is never particularly warm in comparison to a lot of other countries. However, this year, for a week or so we had a bona fide heatwave and temperatures that at times became unbearable. Why smile then, you might ask. Simple. Being without work for 6 weeks meant that I was free to sit out in the garden on such hot days and chat to family or read a book or even, if I was feeling a little more ambitious, do a bit of gardening. And it’s wonderful just to feel the warmth of the sun on your skin. In the north of England it’s easy to get used to the wind and the rain and so it’s always a reason to smile when the sun gets out in summer.

We’ve got a clean patio! Having had a lovely family holiday in Wales we returned to normal life that included the added bonus of a patio now full of weeds. We’d done some work getting them off before we’d left but when we got back home after a week it was like a mini jungle. Now, after much trowel work, boiling water pouring and sweeping our patio looks lovely and it’s been fantastic being able to sit there in the sun without wishing it wasn’t a mess. Sometimes, it’s the strangest of things that can raise a smile!

My son’s GCSE results. Despite the fact that it feels like mere minutes ago that I was regularly picking my kids up from their primary school’s after school club, they’re in fact both finished in regular education. The youngest, my son, finished Year 11 in July of this year and so picked up his GCSE results near the end of August. He passed everything, which was great, achieving excellent results in Maths, English Language and i Media. It’s obviously really stressful for everyone, especially him while waiting for the results, so knowing that he got through it all so well was more than enough reason for a bit of a smile. It’s nice to know that he’s got that particular hurdle out of the way. Now he’s just got to do it all again with 2 year’s worth of A-Levels!

Newcastle. My home city, the place I was born and raised and unfortunately, somewhere I left when I was in my early twenties. Every August gives me plenty of time to visit home and catch up with family and friends. And this August I was lucky enough to be able to visit twice. Firstly, I took my son up to watch a Newcastle United match. Just a friendly game, but it was the first time I’d been in a while and it felt wonderful to be back in the stadium, being part of a fabulous atmosphere and just being able to watch my team. A week later we visited again for a couple of days in order to see family and friends, catching up with everyone that we wanted to see and having a great time. My dad hasn’t been in the best of health for the last year and so it’s good to check in with him and see that he’s gradually getting stronger again. He’s not quite the same, but it’s comforting and more than enough to bring a smile to my face to see that he’s getting better.

Running. I’ve had a strange year with fitness and have never quite got myself to the levels that I want. It’s been very ‘stop, start’ with illness and injury dominating, meaning I’ll get out for maybe two or three runs in a row and then suffer some kind of setback. However, towards the end of August I felt like I’d made a breakthrough. Having injured my back and worrying that I wouldn’t be able to run for at least a couple of weeks, I recovered within less than a week and was running again. Fingers crossed, everything’s been fine since and although I’m not running with a smile on my face – more a grimace – I’m finding a little bit of consistency. There’s always a positive to be found!

So there we have it; another month, another five things to smile about. Hopefully I’ll have lots to smile about in September, despite having to go back to work!

Isak and the agent: If you can’t say anything nice, you shouldn’t say anything at all.

So Alexander Isak’s agent, Vlado Lemic, has issued a statement about his client’s move to LiVARpool. A short, barbed sentence that I guess is meant to make reference to the so-called promises that were made and the fact that Newcastle/PIF were less than enthusiastic about letting Isak leave.

Lemic’s statement was simple, as I guess you’d expect. It said,

“It’s nice when you have someone to be with, but it’s even nicer when you know who you’ll never be with again.”

So, there’s a bit to unpick there really, but I’ll try to keep this relatively short as I’m actually quite keen to move on from our former number 14.

Firstly, never forget that your client always had someone to ‘be with’ and to suggest it’s nicer to know you’ll never be with them again is quite the insult.

Isak had team mates who loved playing with him, some who would become friends, who even after his antics have issued statements of their own, wishing him the best of luck. He had people like Jacob Murphy who supplied him through balls and crosses that meant that a great deal of the hard work had already been done. On top of this he had Eddie Howe and his coaching team, as well as all of the analysts and performance staff. All dedicated to one thing; squeezing every last bit of potential out of that squad and in particular people like Isak. Remember, he hadn’t exactly set the footballing world alight before Eddie Howe and Newcastle United got involved. Newcastle plucked him from relative obscurity, albeit at great cost, and turned him into one of the best strikers on the planet.

And while we’re on the subject of Eddie, maybe ask yourself what kind of person falls out with someone as dedicated, hard working and frankly brilliant as Eddie Howe?

If the statement is aimed at our owners, then it’s still pretty misguided, given the healthy wage that Isak was on at Newcastle. Maybe just be grateful for what you had rather than not acknowledging the privileged position a person is in when they’re earning well over a hundred grand a week in a region like ours, where it’s fair to say we’ve not always been the most prosperous in terms of wages, job security etc. Read the room, mate.

Alexander Isak also had an enormous amount of love and support from Newcastle fans, both in the stadium, the city and around the world. Put simply, he was idolised at Newcastle. It would be churlish of me to not mention that this idolisation was only right as well. Newcastle fans love a goalscorer, always have. So in part, it was a two way street. But for Lemic to issue a statement that in some interpretations, snubs our fans is at least very much lacking in class. But then again, are we really that surprised?

From enormous flag displays, a packed stadium chanting his name every week and thousands having his name on the back of their Toon shirts right the way through to kids mimicking his celebration in the playgrounds and football fields of the region; Alexander Isak was treated like a god on Tyneside.

Mr. Lemic, your client had plenty of people who backed him to the hilt during his time at Newcastle. You and he should thank your lucky stars that you were able to sample that because I’m sure that it felt a lot more than just ‘nice’. As for it being even nicer to never be with people again, well I think the feeling’s mutual.

Isak was lionised, idolised and adored by everyone associated with Newcastle United. And then the two of you came up with a despicable plan that took from hero to zero in no time at all. As many have said before me, good riddance!

Gallowgate Cult Heroes Number 17; Pavel Srnicek.

Football fans tend to fall in love with certain kinds of players. Goalscorers, obviously. Wingers or maverick attacking midfielders (now christened number 10s by the FIFA generation), anyone with flair or maybe even the player that’s all guts and glory, throwing himself into tackles that have the rest of us wincing. Goalkeepers? Not so much. But you’d have to be a hard hearted soul to not have had even a little bit of love for Pavel Srincek.

If my memory serves me rightly – and it frequently doesn’t – Pavel arrived on trial on Tyneside before being signed on a permanent deal by Jim Smith in 1991 from Czech side Banik Ostrava. He cost a mere £350,000 and would go on to make over 150 appearances, becoming a bit of a legend in the process.

The first Czech player to ever play for the club and the first foreign goalkeeper that I remember us having, the first thing that struck teenage me about Pav was his hair. If ever there was an eastern block haircut it was Pavel’s. Part mullet, part Cossack hat, it seemed to spawn out of the middle of his head and just journey outwards, ending in a fringe that almost covered his eyes. In his later years he’d grown it out, parted it and wore a little headband, looking pretty darned cool, but in 1991 he looked more like he should be in a bad death metal band.

Growing up in communist Czechoslovakia, Pavel only spoke Russian and initially struggled with the language barrier. This and what seemed like a natural instinct to come for every cross that entered the box saw him make a shaky start. Smith, the manager who’d signed him, had also been sacked and so Srincek made his debut in new boss Ossie Ardiles’s notoriously shaky side. He conceded 32 goals in his first 15 games (6 in one game against Tranmere…let that sink in, youngsters) and was subsequently dropped by Ardiles. But there was definitely something about this droopy haired Czech.

Pavel was a great shot stopper and of course would grow into a fine goalkeeper in his time on Tyneside. He became an important part of the squad under Kevin Keegan and in many ways was a pioneer with his willingness to take the ball with his feet and play out from the back. He grew braver as he got used to the league and was always capable of a spectacular save. And I think part of what endeared him to us Geordies was the guts he showed during hard times. Yes, he struggled to settle and adapt to the more physical side of the English game, but he never gave up and never gave anything less than 100% in terms of effort.

Pavel embraced life on Tyneside and revelled in the old terrace chant that told him ‘Pavel is a Geordie’. So when someone had a t-shirt with that very legend printed on the front for him at the end of the promotion season of 1993, he wore it with pride on the lap of honour after we’d hammered Leicester 7-1. Those of us who were there can no doubt close our eyes and see it now.

Pavel returned briefly to Ostrava in 1998, before joining Sheffield Wednesday later that same year. His career would later take him to Italy, with Brescia and Cosenza, before he headed back to the UK for short spells with Portsmouth and West Ham. From there he headed to Portugal, joining Beira Mar and making almost 100 appearances. And then, something truly special happened.

In 2006 Pavel came back to Newcastle as manager Glenn Roeder signed him as cover for Shay Given and Steve Harper. He would only actually make two appearances in his second spell, but the first would illustrate what a hero he was to our fans and would give me one of my favourite Pavel memories. With Shay Given pulling up injured late in the game vs Spurs at home, Pavel was thrust into action. He didn’t have a lot to do as there were literally three or four minutes left in the game and Newcastle led 3-1. But the noise from the standing ovation as he took to the field was spine tingling.

After a 17 year career with almost 350 appearances and 49 caps for Czech Republic, Pavel went into coaching, becoming the goalkeeping coach for Sparta Prague in 2012.

Sadly, as we all know, Pavel died aged only 47 in 2015 having suffered a cardiac arrest while out running in his homeland. A tragic loss, a cult hero and a proud adopted Geordie.

Gallowgate Cult Heroes; Number 16 – Peter Jackson.

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.

Magpie Moments Episode 2.

From limbs all over the terraces celebrating the latest goal to watching on helplessly as a much loved favourite is sold, as we found out last time, there are many types of moments as a football supporter. So, here’s some more Magpie Moments for you!

Fabian Schar’s thousand yard chip. Ok, so it wasn’t that far out and it was only last season, but I thought this one was well worth a revisit. Last season’s away game at Leicester was an excellent all round Toon performance. Three goals, a clean sheet and we can even throw in a cracking interview with Jacob Murphy on Sky afterwards. But none were the moment of the match. That came in the 11th minute of the game. Newcastle were already 1-0 up and cruising thanks to a Jacob Murphy tap in. Step forward Fabian Schar. Moving forward with the ball and still inside his own half, our Swiss genius looked up and decided that a chip at goal from 55 yards out was well and truly on. I mean, find me another centre half who thinks like this! Leicester’s defenders are up near the halfway line and their keeper has decided to go on the wander and is a good 30 yards from goal. Schar looks up and goes for goal and as the ball sails over the keeper’s head it’s odds on that Schar is joining Murphy on the scoresheet. The commentary team are giving it big ‘Ooooohs’ and we’re told ‘This could be something extraordinary’. But no, with a resounding ‘smack’ the ball hits the bar and despite his best efforts to shin it out for a goal kick, Murph is there to bundle it home. But imagine if Schar’s attempt had hit the net!

A Budgie saves the day! Hands up if you’ve ever watched a football match in an ice jockey rink. Aye, there won’t be many of us! But one of my personal favourite memories of watching Newcastle happened in Whitley Bay Ice Rink. Despite wagging school and queuing up outside St. James’ from very early, we couldn’t get tickets for the away leg of the now infamous Play Off semi final against Sunderland at Roker Park. But our disappointment was tempered when someone told us of a beamback at Whitley Bay Ice Rink of all places and so we bought tickets that same morning. So, on a Sunday morning in May 1990 we found ourselves sat high up in the ice rink as a big screen beamed back grainy images from Joker Park. Strangely, we’d managed to arm ourselves with a cut out of Uri Geller’s hand in the hope that the legendary spoonbender might bring us some luck. It was a scrappy game with very little goalmouth action until a penalty was given to sunderland in the final minute. There was nothing else for it but to place all available hands on Uri’s! Then, we started to try and channel his superpowers, chanting ‘We Three Are One’, something we still do to this day. Safe to say that it was a bit of an unusual sight as Paul Hardyman ran forward to take the kick. It felt like there was going to be nothing we could do to avoid taking a defeat into the second leg at St. James’ Park. But as their left back placed his penalty to the left hand side of the goal, our keeper John Burridge sprung over and dived onto the ball. Cue absolute bedlam, which got worse as we watched the penalty taker go on to kick Burridge while he lay on the floor. At least one of us toppled down the seats of the ice rink, drinks were spilled, beanie hats thrown and Uri Geller’s photocopied hand was lost forever. But we’d had our moment and surely the second leg at home was to be a formality. Sadly not though and the rest is history. However, the Budgie moment will live with me and my mates forever!

Hibbitt’s pass, Supermac’s goal! I wasn’t there as I was only actually two years old, buy I’ve heard all about this one as well as having watched it time and time again over the years. What a goal and what a moment! In between telling me all about Tony Green and Malcolm MacDonald, my dad is happy to wax lyrical about Terry Hibbitt’s pass for the second goal and I used to think that he’d romanticised it, having been at Hillsborough that day. He hadn’t. This was the FA Cup semi final from 1974, played at Hillsborough and having been under intense pressure from Burnley for much of the match Newcastle had scored on the break in the 65th minute. Our number 9 Malcolm MacDonald had scored after chasing a long ball from Terry Hibbitt having been almost wrestled to the ground by the Burnley centre half. But the moment of the match came ten minutes later, again on the break. Burnley launch a high ball into the box and Bob Moncur heads it out. It drops to John Tudor who hooks it clear out towards our left where Hibbitt is running on to it. Hibbitt lets it bounce once and then hits the sweetest left foot, first time through ball over the Burnley centre half and into Supermac’s path. Supermac seems to use his bollocks for the first touch, knocking the ball into his path and then finishing with a bobbling shot through the keeper’s legs. Cue bedlam! If you’ve never seen it, get on YouTube and search it out. If you were there, feel free to let us know how it felt!

And there we have it. Three more Magpie Moments and a fair few more to come! Howay the Lads!

Gallowgate Cult Heroes Number 15, Wyn Davies.

After he sadly passed away earlier this week aged 83, it felt wrong that I hadn’t recognised Wyn Davies as a Gallowgate Cult Hero, especially given the impact he had on the club and the fans during his time on Tyneside.

Wyn Davies was one of the first hero figures that I was made aware of as a kid. He was before my time, but became part of my education as a budding Toon fan via my dad and my grandad.

Born Ronald, but known as ‘Wyn’, Davies was signed from Bolton Wanderers in 1966, going on to make 188 appearances before he was sold to Manchester City in 1971. At the time of signing he’d cost a record fee of £85,000 having been the most feared striker in Division 2 at Bolton. At Newcastle he proved to be a great success, scoring 40 goals, but being more well known for his aerial ability and his success in bullying defenders. In those days of teams playing 2 up front Wyn became the big ‘un supporting the more prolific little ‘un that was Pop Robson and the pairing was a great success. And of course, Wyn would be an integral part of that Fairs Cup winning team of 1969.

As a kid I remember hearing tales of his famous leap, his fantastic heading ability and how Davies just seemed to have this ability to hang in the air. My dad still tells stories of the Fairs Cup run in 1969 where Wyn simply bullied European defences. During the run to the final Wyn scored four goals and then in the first leg of the two legged final broke his cheekbone. He still played a week later in the second leg though – no mask, no protection. Imagine that in this day and age! The only restriction on Wyn that day was that the club doctor would only allow him one pint in celebration before he was whisked off to hospital for treatment!

Wyn would continue to have an influence on me as I began to go to games with my mates in the late 80s and early 90s because of the famous song related to his name. During his time at Newcastle fans had adapted the Manfred Mann hit, ‘Quinn the Eskimo'(The Mighty Quinn) to include Wyn’s name and it seemed that some older fans didn’t want to let go. And so, I found myself singing along on the Gallowgate in my early independent years as a Toon fan. Then, within a few years we’d adapt the song again to fit our new hero Micky Quinn. Of course, my dad was only too keen to remind me that it wasn’t really Quinny’s song!

From Newcastle, Wyn went on to have a distinguished career, playing for both Manchester clubs, Blackpool and numerous others before retiring while playing for Cape Town City in 1979.

Wyn the Leap, The Mighty Wyn, a Gallowgate Cult Hero sadly missed. As the song said, ‘You’ll not see nothing like the Mighty Wyn’.

R.I.P Wyn Davies.

Gallowgate Cult Heroes Number 14; Liam O’Brien.

In terms of word association, if I was to mention the phrase ‘over the wall’ many of you would shout back Ryan Taylor’s name. But for older Mags, the original ‘over the wall’ fella was none other than Liam O’Brien.

Signed for £275,000 from Manchester United in November 1998, O’Brien was primarily a central midfielder (a ‘6’ if you play want to sound all clever and modern) who would go on to make 185 appearances, scoring 19 goals. Never the quickest over the ground, his range of passing was to be admired and O’ Brien was what we’d probably best refer to as ‘classy’; a player who always seemed to find just enough time on the ball. He worked hard and could always be relied on for a bit of a killer pass, often dictating the pace of games in the centre of the park. Not a world beater, but good enough to take a game by the scruff of the neck on occasion.

In his first season we were relegated from the old first division, but it was testament to O’Brien that he didn’t immediately jump ship. His loyalty wasn’t particularly rewarded though as we were to stay in Division 2 for three years before getting promoted in that memorable ’92-’93 season under Kevin Keegan. O’Brien had been instrumental in the latter stages of the previous season in helping keep us from the drop into the dreaded third tier.

It was in the promotion season though that Liam O’Brien cemented his place as a cult hero and Newcastle United legend in particular with his free kick against Sunderland at Joker Park.

A Gary Owers own goal had put us ahead before Gordon Armstrong equalised at the Fulwell End in the 70th minute to raise mackem hopes. I remember him going particularly mental as well and rather than celebrate in front of their fans, he seemed to make a beeline more for our fans than anything, screaming his vitriol like a deranged madman. Alas, it would do him no good, the silly mackem…

Just six minutes after the equaliser we won a free kick that was fairly central and just outside the D of the 18-yard-box. A few of the players stood around the ball, but none looked overly likely to take the kick. O’Brien himself just seemed to be stood, casually chatting to Kevin Brock and John Beresford, but as the whistle is blown he simply took a couple of steps forward to plant a beauty over the wall and curling into the near corner. Mackem keeper Tim Carter had been stood on that side of the goal, but was totally powerless as the ball nestled in the bottom corner.

Pandemonium ensued as O’Brien leapt in the air to celebrate with our fans before being swallowed up by the likes of Barry Venison and Ray Ranson. Watch it back now and you’ll see that the Roker End is just a sea of tightly packed in Geordies all going mental at the goal. You’ll also hear Middlesborough manager at the time, Lennie Lawrence call it just before the kick is taken telling the commentator, “I fancy Liam O’Brien over the wall”. Incredible stuff.

O’Brien would have other notable moments in a Toon shirt. He’d scored the equaliser in the previous season at Roker Park with a lovely chip at the same end and I seem to remember a few piledrivers from range across the years. But he will be forever remembered for one of the most nonchalant free kicks in one of the most high pressured games that any of us will ever recall.

Within a couple of years Liam was transferred to Tranmere where he’d spend 5 years before moving back to Ireland with Cork City and his first club, Bohemians where he retired in 2002.

Over the years O’Brien and that goal have been the subject of a much loved terrace song as well as one of the most iconic Newcastle photos you’ll ever see, taken from the camera gantry high above the pitch. A fitting tribute to a true Gallowgate Cult Hero. Liam O’Brien, cult hero and Newcastle United legend.

Magpie Moments – Episode 1.

Football fans will tell you there’s almost nothing like the moment the ball hits the back of the net. Players too, obviously. It’s visceral, animalistic almost; the roar, the way we throw ourselves around, hugging strangers, screaming at the sky!

But football’s moments can never really be restricted to just goals. Over the course of a season there will be hundreds of things you remember for years to come. Over the course of your life supporting a team, there will be untold thousands. So, I thought I’d write about our my own Newcastle United moments. Each month I’ll string a few together in I guess what we could call a trip down memory lane. Some are from games I’ve attended, some from stuff I’ve watched on the telly, while others have been passed down to me by others. There’s no order of importance, just Magpie Moments.

Mitrovic’s late equaliser v Sunderland (2016). I remember this one quite vividly. We’d lost the previous six games against Sunderland and it looked like we’d make that seven. Rafa Benitez had not long taken over from Steve McLaren and the team were still without a win under the new manager. This felt like a turning point though. With less than ten minutes left, Georginho Wijnaldum clipped over a beautiful hanging cross that Aleksander Mitrovic gladly headed home at the back post. St. James’ Park erupted, a few thousand mackems deflated rapidly and Mitro took off his shirt to reveal a surprisingly doughy physique! Spinning said shirt around his head, he seemed to just run around in circles for a bit before a supporter joined him from the East Stand. As Mitro ran towards him the bloke slipped and almost two footed the Serbian into next week until he took evasive action and dived over the supporter! Both ended up on the floor before jumping up and hugging like long lost brothers. The pitch invading fan was then carted off by stewards with a look on his face that said, ‘What have I done wrong?’ Only at Newcastle United!

Keegan vs Ashley. It was never a great fit and never going to last, but when Mike Ashley brought Kevin Keegan back to the club the romantic in us all probably took over. We were once again royally in the brown stuff, but King Kev would work his magic and before too long he’d have Shola playing like Messi and the Toon climbing the table. And then, in a tale of lies and deceit and one that takes in names such as Milner, Schweinsteiger, Llambias, Wise and Xisco, it was all over. Keegan resigned less than a year after being appointed and Chris Hughton was left in caretaker charge for the next home game against Hull. The atmosphere that day was poisonous; possibly the most toxic I can recall as a Newcastle fan. Walking up to the ground the tension was tangible and the closer I got to St. James’ the more I thought there might not even be a match. It felt like something close to a riot or a revolution was in the air and the match itself felt irrelevant, played as it was in front of a crowd baying for blood. Leaving the ground that day, I felt as low as I’d felt as a Toon supporter. And believe me, that was a tough competition. It wouldn’t matter. Ashley and his cronies would remain for quite some time, mismanaging the club horrifically. Keegan would never return, although there’s hope for next season. This wasn’t quite the straw that broke the camel’s back, but it was a moment that told us that drastic action would be needed to rid our club of this particular owner and although it took some time, we got there eventually.

Dyer v Bowyer. Saturday, April 2nd 2005 and unbeknownst to everyone in the ground, including our two protagonists, Newcastle United are about to reach a new low. And if you’ve followed the club from the depths of the 70s and 80s, I know that’s a big claim! In fact, if you know of this game and Steven Taylor’s ‘Platoon’ style handball, you might not even see Dyer and Bowyer as providing its lowest moment! This was a shocker of a performance as a team including the three aforementioned players plus the likes of Jenas, Robert and Shearer, found themselves 0-3 down and already reduced to ten men with only minutes left to play. Then, just as Newcastle continued labouring on, still huffing puffing and trying to find a route to goal, another pass goes astray and suddenly all Hell breaks loose. For a moment the Premier League turns into Sunday league as Bowyer approached his team mate Dyer and they started throwing punches. I mean, I say punches… In truth, barely a connection was made and the whole thing ended with lots of shirt grabbing before Gareth Barry and Stephen Carr managed to intervene and dragged the scrapping pair away. Inevitably, both Dyer and Bowyer were sent off and we finished the game with 8 players! Apparently Bowyer had become more and more wound up, believing that Dyer wasn’t passing to him, words were exchanged and then…FIIIIIIIGHT! Personally, I missed the whole thing up in Level 7 as my eyes just naturally followed the ball! In fact, around me, no one seemed to know until word filtered around the Leazes. Once again though, the kind of moment you rarely hear about but fully expect at Newcastle United!

What’s your favourite Magpie Moment? Any spring to mind? I’m happy to take requests!