Newcastle United need to move from St James’ Park to a brand new ground – My unique up-close memories…
I have finally wrote something for The Mag after a few years of deliberating over it, if they decide to use it..
Like everyone else I am here because I am a fan of Newcastle United.
I can be honest though – until I was about eight it didn’t hit my radar that I even lived in Newcastle!
So for a couple of years I supported Leeds United as they, at that time, were very successful and always seemed to be on the back pages of the newspapers my parents bought. Allan Clarke was my ultimate favourite.
I remember those football sticker books of the day – you had to glue the top strip of the back of the picture and then stick it in the correct place in the book? Well, my hand was shaking when I was putting Allan Clarke’s in! Concentrating so hard to get it perfectly lined up and of course the pressure was too much, and I would make a complete hash of it and it would look the worst in my book when I wanted it to be the best.
Watching the 1973 FA Cup final with my mam (dad was at work) and her then instilling the deep dislike of Sunderland into me. Her saying; “It’s just one of those days when no matter what they do (they being Leeds) they just won’t score”, she was right, and it was such a disappointing day for me as a Leeds fan.
By the time of the 1974 FA Cup final, I was now aware of where I lived and who I was and I was a Newcastle United fan, first and foremost. From that day to this and to the day that I die.
When they returned as losers from that cup final, I was there with my mam, and we made it into the ground. We stood below where the players were all taking turns to say something. I take it this would be about where the director’s box is now?
Supermac said something like, “We are going to put that glint of silver in your eyes”, my mam quick as a flash said, “It will be silver in our hair before we win owt.” She was so right! She had passed on of course by the time we did win something and it’s my hair that’s all silver now! Well, almost.
I would like to think that I have a unique viewpoint. In reality, I probably don’t at all.
I lived, for the first 30+ years of my life, just over the road from Leazes Park in what is called very grandly for some reason, Arthurs Hill. In 1969 when we played Rangers in the Fairs Cup semi-final, it was our houses that got their windows smashed and had to stay indoors as rampaging Rangers fans stampeded through our yards, spaces and streets with the police following. I was four then and I can tell you it was quite terrifying.
When Supermac made his debut (yes, I was aware of this), I was playing footy with a couple of mates at the back of our houses that we used to call ‘The Square’. The Square was a multi-functional bit of spare land between the houses. If you go to what was the Black Bull pub on the corner of Barrack Road and Stanhope Street and look across Stanhope Street, you will see where I used to live, but behind those houses there used to be a large area which had the houses of Stanhope Street, Wellington Street, Diana Street and Spring Garden Lane as its boundary. And it was a boundary for 6’s and 4’s when we played cricket. It also had a flat area where we would play tennis and many spaces for footy, Kingo, Kicky the can, S.P.O.T, World cups, Cannon etc etc. A true all weather, multifunctional arena.
The council eventually put in brick flower beds and such like to stop us from playing, but then we just spent more time in Leazes Park over the road.
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