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CONTENTS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

WEMBLEY STADIUM (PART 1), MAY 1998

MARTIN HARDY – TUNNEL OF LOVE

DAVID PLATT’S MAM AND DAD’S FARM, JULY 1996

ALAN SHEARER – ONE LOVE

ROKER PARK, THE BLIND AND PARTIALLY SIGHTED AREA, SEPTEMBER 1996

STEPHEN FAIRS – BE THERE

ST JAMES’ PARK (PART 1) V MAN UTD, OCTOBER 1996

PHILIPPE ALBERT – BE HERE NOW

WYNYARD HALL (PART 1), JANUARY 1997

KEVIN KEEGAN – THE END

THE TRAINING GROUND (PART 1), JANUARY 1997

ROB LEE – HURT

THE CHANNEL TUNNEL, JANUARY 1997

KEVIN KEEGAN – DON’T LOOK BACK IN ANGER

SITGES AND THE TICKLED TROUT, JANUARY 1997

BOBBY ROBSON AND KENNY DALGLISH – ONE TO ANOTHER

GOODISON PARK, THE PITCH, JULY 1997

ALAN SHEARER – RUNAGROUND

ST JAMES’ PARK (PART 2) V BARCELONA, SEPTEMBER 1997

KEITH GILLESPIE AND TINO ASPRILLA – ATMOSPHERE

WYNYARD HALL (PART 2), THE BOARDROOM, SEPTEMBER 1997

SIR JOHN HALL – SLIDE AWAY

STEVENAGE, THE RETURN, JANUARY 1998

ALAN SHEARER – MADE OF STONE

DUBLIN, CAFE EN SEINE, MARCH 1998

KEITH GILLESPIE – STREET FIGHTING MAN

MARBELLA, THE CRESCENDO CLUB, MARCH 1998

FREDDY SHEPHERD AND DOUGLAS HALL – TALK TONIGHT

WEMBLEY STADIUM (PART 2), MAY 1998

SHAY GIVEN – SAD SONG

MAIDEN CASTLE, DURHAM, AUGUST 1998

KENNY DALGLISH – HELLO, GOODBYE

ST JAMES’ PARK (PART 3), THANK YOU, JANUARY 1999

PETER BEARDSLEY – PERFECT 10

OLD TRAFFORD, ROCKING, APRIL 1999

ROB LEE – PERFECT DAY

BAKER STREET, LONDON, A T-SHIRT, MAY 1999

LEE CLARK – TRUE COLOURS

WEMBLEY (PART 3), MAY 1999

STEVE HARPER – EVERYBODY HURTS

ST JAMES’ PARK (PART 4), TOON MONSOON, AUGUST 1999

RUUD GULLIT – WHY DOES IT ALWAYS RAIN ON ME

HARVEY’S, A NEW DAWN, OCTOBER 1999

SIR BOBBY ROBSON – WHY AYE MAN

THE TRAINING GROUND (PART 2), MEETING BOB, OCTOBER 1999

JOHN CARVER – YOU GOT THE LOVE

WEMBLEY (PART 4), DELIRIUM APRIL 2000

ROB LEE – HALLELUJAH

ST JAMES’ PARK (PART 5), THE MILBURN STAND ROOF, MARCH 2001

FREDDY SHEPHERD – WE’VE ONLY JUST BEGUN

HIGHBURY, TOP OF THE LEAGUE, DECEMBER 2001

SIR BOBBY ROBSON – DIGNITY

THE MAN CITY TEAM BUS, GETTING EMOTIONAL FEBRUARY 2002

KEVIN KEEGAN – THANK YOU

THE STADIUM OF LIGHT (PART 1) THE AWAY END, FEBRUARY 2002

NIKOS DABIZAS – I WANNA BE ADORED

CLOSE HOUSE, THROUGH THE GREEN, MAY 2002

SIR BOBBY ROBSON – ALTOGETHER NOW

FEYENOORD, INSIDE THE AWAY DRESSING ROOM, NOVEMBER 2002

JOHN CARVER – UNBELIEVABLE

BUCKINGHAM PALACE, NOVEMBER 2002

SIR BOBBY ROBSON – DESTINY CALLING

THE SAN SIRO, GEORDIES HERE, GEORDIES THERE, MARCH 2003

ALAN SHEARER – THE BLAYDON RACES

NEWCASTLE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, THE DEPARTURE LOUNGE, MARCH 2004

JOHN CARVER AND CRAIG BELLAMY – WE CAN WORK IT OUT

MARSEILLE, A WALL OF SOUND, MAY 2004

SIR BOBBY ROBSON – CUM ON FEEL THE NOIZE

THE STOCK EXCHANGE, AUGUST 2004,

WAYNE ROONEY – IS IT REALLY SO STRANGE?

THE NEWCASTLE BOARDROOM, A PHOTOGRAPH, SEPTEMBER 2004,

FREDDY SHEPHERD – NEW DAWN FADES

MALMASION, A SUITE, SEPTEMBER 2004

GRAEME SOUNESS – BIG RIVER

ST JAMES’ PARK (PART 6), NEAR THE HALFWAY LINE, APRIL 2005

KIERON DYER AND LEE BOWYER – BORN OF FRUSTRATION

LISBON, SO CLOSE, APRIL 2005

GRAEME SOUNESS – FALLING DOWN

BENTON, THE MANAGER’S OFFICE, FEBRUARY 2006

GRAEME SOUNESS – ACQUIESCE

THE STADIUM OF LIGHT (PART 2), THE TECHNICAL AREA, APRIL 2006

GLENN ROEDER – IN THE HEAT OF THE MOMENT

ST JAMES’ PARK (PART 7), A FIELD OF DREAMS, MAY 2006

ALAN SHEARER – LOCAL HERO

TONGE FOLD, BOLTON, MAY 2007

SAM ALLARDYCE – REGRET

MCDONALDS, LIVERPOOL, DECEMBER 2007

JOEY BARTON – LOSE CONTROL

THE BRITANNIA STADIUM, STOKE, JANUARY 2008

HARRY REDKNAPP – PANIC

ZURICH, FIFA HOUSE, JUNE 2007

SEPP BLATTER – MONEY CHANGES EVERYTHING

THE FREEMAN HOSPITAL, WARD 25, MAY 2007

FREDDY SHEPHERD – THIS IS THE END

BURNHAM, SHOP TALK, MAY 1979

MIKE ASHLEY – LONDON CALLING

LONDON, FRESHFIELDS, MAY 2008

KEVIN KEEGAN – PAINT A VULGAR PICTURE

LIVERPOOL, CROWN COURT, MAY 2008

JOEY BARTON – GOING DOWN

THE EMIRATES STADIUM, AUGUST 2009

KEVIN KEEGAN – I KNOW IT’S OVER

JESMOND DENE HOUSE, FEBRUARY 2008

CHRIS HUGHTON – QUIET MEN

THE MEDIA ROOM, BENTON, OCTOBER 2008

JOE KINNEAR – BIGMOUTH STRIKES AGAIN

LIFFORD, TEARS, FEBRUARY 2009

SHAY GIVEN – THE DYING OF THE LIGHT

HOSPITAL, THE MIDLANDS, FEBRUARY 2009

JOE KINNEAR – I’LL BE BACK

ST JAMES’ PARK, (PART 7), THE MEDIA ROOM, APRIL 2009

ALAN SHEARER – THERE IS A LIGHT THAT NEVER GOES OUT

ANFIELD, THE AWAY DRESSING ROOM, MAY 2009

JOEY BARTON – DON’T LET ME DOWN

WHITLEY BAY, A RALLYING CALL, MAY 2009

STEVEN TAYLOR – STAND AND DELIVER

VILLA PARK, MAY 2009

ALAN SHEARER – PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, LET ME GET WHAT I WANT

EPILOGUE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

One of Newcastle’s great managerial partnerships, Terry McDermott and Kevin Keegan have much to ponder.

Kevin Keegan’s uncertainty with the Sporting Club championed by Sir John Hall is clear to see.

Newcastle’s players line up at Wembley alongside Terry McDermott before the Charity Shield in 1996.

Alan Shearer and Les Ferdinand celebrate Newcastle’s fourth goal against Manchester United during a memorable Sunday in 1996.

Philippe Albert admires his work as the ball climbs over the head of (out of shot) Peter Schmeichel for Newcastle’s fifth and final goal against Manchester United.

The author (blue polo shirt with hand against his mouth) listens to Sir John Hall in the build up to the 1998 FA Cup final.

Everywhere you look there is black and white. At the tunnel end at Wembley before the 1998 FA Cup final.

Newcastle’s players line up for Abide With Me before the 1998 FA Cup final.

A dejected Alan Shearer applauds the Newcastle fans following the loss to Arsenal.

Tens of thousands of Newcastle fans wait at the city’s Civic Centre to welcome the players back from the FA Cup final.

Faustino Asprilla completes his flip after scoring against Barcelona in the Champions League at St James’ Park.

Big pants but it was filling the big shoes left behind by Kevin Keegan that proved more problematic for Kenny Dalglish.

Alan Shearer accepts the Carling Player of the Month from Ruud Gullit, but the pair’s relationship was fractured throughout.

John Carver, who was Newcastle coach under Ruud Gullit and assistant manager to Sir Bobby Robson.

Back beside the red carpet before the 1999 FA Cup final against Manchester United.

Sir Bobby Robson, who would lead Newcastle back to the Champions League.

Robson shows his vitality and love of the game never wavered as he goes for a header in training.

Wembley Way is dominated by black and white before the semi-final of the 2000 FA Cup against Chelsea.

Alan Shearer leads Newcastle out of the tunnel at Wembley before the semi-final against Chelsea, with Shay Given at his side.

Robert Lee cannot hide his joy after equalising against Chelsea with an excellent header.

Sir Bobby Robson walks pitch side past the Newcastle support at Wembley.

Nikos Dabizas takes off his strip in celebration after scoring the first winning Tyne and Wear derby goal at the Stadium of Light.

An emotional Kevin Keegan gives Newcastle fans the thumbs up as he returns as the manager of Manchester City.

Peter Beardsley in his first spell at the club shoots for goal against Manchester United in the snow of St James’ Park.

Freddy Shepherd pours the water as Douglas Hall looks on.

Sir Bobby Robson, back at Barcelona’s Nou Camp, with his Newcastle players.

Graeme Souness stands to the side of the dugout as Newcastle face Crystal Palace.

Lee Bowyer (left) and Kieron Dyer are held apart after fighting each other during a 3-0 defeat to Aston Villa.

Glenn Roeder congratulates Tim Krul for a clean sheet on his debut in the UEFA Cup at Palermo.

Sam Allardyce in the away technical area at the Reebok Stadium during his first game in charge of Newcastle.

Joe Kinnear.

Chris Hughton takes charge of Newcastle at West Brom following Joe Kinnear’s heart attack during the early hours of the morning.

Alan Shearer swaps the number nine shirt for a suit as he becomes manager for the final eight games of the 2008/09 season.

Mike Ashley, who took full control of Newcastle United in July 2007 for £134 million. (Getty)

DAVID PLATT’S MAM AND DAD’S FARM JULY 1996

ALAN SHEARER – ONE LOVE

THE FARMHOUSE IN RURAL CHESHIRE WAS OWNED BY THE PARENTS of David Platt. In the kitchen sat Douglas Hall, Freddie Fletcher, Freddy Shepherd and Kevin Keegan.

The football agent Tony Stevens walked into the room. Behind him was Alan Shearer.

‘I’m not going to say this and that,’ said Shearer. ‘The only thing I want to know is, can I have the number nine shirt? That’s all I want to know, the rest I’ll leave to Tony.’

Keegan stood up. ‘You’ve got it,’ he said.

Shearer walked out and left.

Shearer was 25. He was the captain of England. He had finished top scorer in the summer’s European Championships. He had already won the Premier League title with Blackburn Rovers, with whom he had scored 30 league goals or more in the previous three seasons. There had been contact with Inter Milan. Manchester United, who had just won their third Premier League title, had already made their move.

He was the most coveted player in Europe in the summer of 1996.

Newcastle had just three things in their corner; burning ambition, Kevin Keegan and Shearer’s place of birth, Gosforth, about three miles from St James’ Park.

That would prove to be enough.

‘Alan had been to see Alex Ferguson the day before,’ Keegan said. ‘I met him in Huddersfield in a terraced house that nobody knew about.

‘Jack Walker always said he’d let him go for £15 million.

‘He promised Alan that, so everybody knew, it was a buyout clause for a better word. He’d talked to Sir Alex and I went to David Platt’s mam and dad’s place in Cheshire with Douglas, Freddy and Freddie Fletcher. Freddie was very influential in what we did at Newcastle, we called him the Jockweiller,’ Keegan said in Sky’s Sporting Heroes.

‘You’d like him in the trenches with you. We’d spoken about how we would do it and what it would be like.

‘Alan asked for the number nine shirt. That’s how easy Alan was.

‘We sat with Tony. The deal was done within about 10 or 15 minutes, honestly. That’s my recollection of it. Douglas wanted him, Sir John wanted him and Freddie wanted him. He wanted to come.

‘It was an easy deal to say but then the next part was the difficult part.

‘Tony went to talk to Alan about what had been agreed for him, in a different room.

‘Douglas phoned up Jack Walker (the owner of Blackburn Rovers). We were on a speakerphone. Douglas said, “Jack, we’ve just talked with Alan Shearer, we’ve agreed terms with him, we’re ready to sign him. We believe the fee is £15 million.”

‘Jack said, “That’s correct, but it’s one hit.”

‘We said, “What?”

‘He said, “I want the £15 million plus the levy (which is about 11 per cent). It’s £17 million, one hit, you pay it today and he’s your player.”

‘You usually pay over four years. We put the phone down, looked at each other, and went, “Phew, you can’t do that.”

‘Douglas said, “We can,” and we did it. That’s what happened with Alan. He was the easiest player to sign, he wanted to come, he wanted to wear the number nine shirt.

‘Everybody wanted to wear it; there’s not many who can carry it. Not like Alan Shearer.’

Ferguson was enraged by the U-turn.

‘We got Shearer there with his agent and we took the bank manager with us,’ added Freddy Shepherd, the former Newcastle chairman. ‘We put him in a different room. I think David Platt was a friend of the agent we were using at the time.

‘We could trust him. He wouldn’t tell anybody. We got there and I had made a promise to Martin Edwards [the Manchester United chief executive] that we wouldn’t compete against each other. We said we wouldn’t go to more than £10 million for him.

‘I got outside the back door and I phoned Martin up and he lived beside me in Majorca. I said, “Martin, we agreed to tell each other – I knew he’d already broke it and offered more – but I still said, “We will offer more than the ten for Shearer.”

‘He went, “Aah, ok, fine.” He was a real gentleman Martin. He said, “I appreciate you telling me.” He didn’t say anything back to me!

‘I walked back through the door and I thought, “I’ve kept my word”. Shearer was there. Keegan was there. We all went through the whole thing and Shearer said, “I’ve got to speak to Jack”.

‘I heard him say, “Jack, I’ve done what I promised for you. We got the title. You always promised I could go.”

‘He said, “Yeah, hang on he wants to speak to you.”

‘I got the phone and Jack went, “Freddy, I’m telling you something now, you can have him for what’s agreed, but if it was Manchester United, it would be £20 million for him!”

‘He said, “I’m doing you a favour. You can have him for £15 million.”

‘We went to the bank manager in the kitchen, “He wants the money up front.” Usually it’s paid in two or three trenches. The bank manger said, “Okay then.” He was a Newcastle fan. We did the deal upfront so Jack got all his money.’

Keegan was the first to leave, to meet up with the players he had left on the runway at Heathrow Airport.

‘Kevin left early,’ added Shepherd. ‘We had to sort Shearer’s wages out. We were going to Osaka in Japan so he went off.

‘We got the next plane over. Keegan was on the first plane. We got the second plane, me and Douglas, and then we went to the training ground. That’s how it was done. Man U really made an effort to get him. They really, really made an effort, but we won.’

Martin Edwards, by contrast, could not hide his disappointment. The Manchester United chairman and chief executive, along with Ferguson, had failed once more to persuade Shearer to move to Old Trafford.

‘There was no way Blackburn were prepared to let him come to us,’ said Edwards. ‘The club made that clear by rejecting our offer.’

Keegan had first to tell Les Ferdinand he would not be wearing Newcastle’s iconic number nine shirt.

‘It’s not about the shirt for you Les, it’s not that important,’ Keegan told him. ‘It’s a number and it was part of the deal to get Alan here. You’ll be a great partnership. I don’t want you to worry about losing the number nine shirt. It’s not that significant.’

Ferdinand looked at Keegan and pointed at the gold pendant that hung from his chain.

‘How come you still wear the number seven then boss?’ Ferdinand asked.

Keegan confirmed to his players what [Terry] McDermott had said as the flight to the Far East had took off, that they were indeed signing Alan Shearer. Then he spoke publicly for the first time of what Newcastle had just done.

‘This signing is for the people of Newcastle,’ he said. ‘It just shows you the ambition of Newcastle United. We are the biggest thinking team in Europe now.

‘We’re not the biggest, most successful team, but we’re the biggest thinking club and we have tremendous support from above which allows me to buy players.’

‘I was particularly impressed with Alex Ferguson,’ said Shearer. ‘But Kevin Keegan also has great qualities and it was the challenge of coming home and wearing the famous black and white shirt which made up my mind for me.’

The £15 million fee was the first time an English club had broken the world transfer record since 1951. It eclipsed the £13.3 million Barcelona had paid for Ronaldo. It was a truly staggering moment. It called for something special.

On 6 August, a week later, Tyneside came to a halt, as did much of the country’s media. Sky News went live to St James’ Park, where the Leazes End was full of supporters, whilst more than 10,000 waited in the car park.

Nine men in suits sat at a makeshift top table to officially announce the signing.

‘Welcome Home to the One and Only Alan Shearer,’ was written in large letters on a blue sign behind the main stage that had been erected. There were seven huge Newcastle Brown Ale beer mats around the lettering and two pictures of the club crest. There was one empty seat in the middle and then Sir John Hall, the Newcastle chairman and majority shareholder, started speaking.

‘Probably I wouldn’t have come here if I didn’t realise how much we were spending!’ he said.

‘In four years we’ve come a long, long way. We’ve come a tremendous way. Look at the tremendous stadium we’ve built behind us and now we’ve learned it’s too small. We’re going to have to build a bigger stadium and plans are under way.

‘We will invest huge sums in our academy. We will be at the forefront of sports science.

‘We have built, under Kevin, an excellent squad of players. It’s very difficult to improve on that squad, but I’m sure we’d all agree, that today we’ve found that player.

‘More specially, he’s a Geordie. I feel a great pride in bringing him back to the North East. It’s a great region. It’s a hotbed of soccer. This club is going places. Alan Shearer, together with all the other players, is an investment in the future of this football club.’

And then came the rallying call.

‘I am delighted, absolutely thrilled and delighted, to Kevin and the board, thank you for bringing Alan here, it’s my great pleasure to welcome Alan Shearer to Newcastle United Football Club.’

Shearer ran up steps from within the Leazes End.

He looked to the back of the stand, to see where the rows of people ended. He shook Sir John Hall’s hand and then Kevin Keegan, the most significant figure in the modern history of that football club, pulled out a seat for him.

‘Obviously thanks for the tremendous welcome that you gave us all today,’ said Keegan. ‘It’s a great privilege for me.

‘It’s more days than I care to remember that I went to a Blue Star Soccer Day, sponsored by the brewery, and Alan was there.

‘It’s your money, it’s the money you’ve spent. It’s the money you’ve spent on your replica shirts, home and away.

‘It’s the money you’ve spent on your season tickets and your bonds, and your platinum clubs, and the programmes, and the black and white magazines and I see it as my job, and it’s a privilege to have the job, of reinvesting that money.

‘You put it in and I put it into the team, so that when you come to watch the product on the park here it’s the very, very best that we feel we can provide, because that’s what you deserve.

‘It’s his day. It’s your day. It’s lovely to see a Geordie come back home. We’ve sold them off time and time again up here and we’ve built stands with the money. We’ve tried to buy other players to replace them.

‘That’s gone at this club now. He’s come here because he knows he’s got a great chance of winning something,

‘We’ve bought him because we know even with the great players we’ve got he’s going to improve them. He’s yours. It’s your days.’

There was applause right throughout the stand.

Finally, Shearer spoke.

‘Can I just say has anyone got any spare tickets for Sunday?’ he joked.

‘Personally I’d just like to thank the welcome that has been given to me and my family. Nothing should surprise me with the fans of Newcastle but the reception certainly has done. If any supporters deserve success it is the fans of this club. I will try with the rest of the players to bring it to them.

‘As anyone knows I’ve always wanted to play for this club. I’ve never hidden that fact. It’s a dream come true.

‘To play in front of my mam and dad at Newcastle is something else. I wanted to come here with my best years in front of me. I’m very excited. I just want the games to come along so I can get playing and training. The players have made me extremely welcome.’

ITN then asked if there was additional pressure from being the most expensive player in the world.

‘The price tag has nothing at all to do with me,’ said Shearer. ‘All I do is try to do my best.’

Sky News asked if this would be his last move. ‘I hope it is,’ he replied. ‘I hope I can spend the rest of my career here.’

He was asked about the time he played in goal, briefly, during a trial at Newcastle when he was young.

‘The story is out of all proportion,’ he said. ‘I came for a trial along with loads of other Geordie lads. It was about numbers. We had a game and everyone had to take their turn in goal and I was no different to everyone else. I was in goal for 15 minutes and I’ve never heard the last of it.

‘To say I spent all week in goal is not true.’

GMTV then spoke of the added pressure on trying to end Newcastle’s barren run of silverware.

‘I don’t believe it’s pressure,’ said Shearer. ‘If it is, give me more of it. I can only do my best.’

In the car park at the back of the Leazes End of St James’ Park that day were more than 10,000 Newcastle fans. It was raining, everyone missed that. It should have been a warning.

‘Ladies and gentleman, Newcastle United presents Alan Shearer!’ shouted Alan Robson, a local disc jockey, perched on a makeshift gantry.

There was a huge roar.

Shearer ran up the stairs. He had a short-sleeved Newcastle shirt on and he was wearing black Adidas tracksuit bottoms. He punched the air with both fists and he waved.

There were arms in the air wherever you looked. Most of them were in short sleeved Newcastle shirts. It looked like a goal had been scored at a game.

He smiled wider and he waved his fists more.

He turned to show the number on the back of his shirt.

He had the number nine.

There was another roar.

The cry went up. ‘Shearer, Shearer.’

He turned back round and waved his arms, as if conducting an orchestra.

He was given a microphone.

‘At the end of the day I’m one of yous!’ he said. There were more cheers. ‘If anyone deserves success it’s you lot, thanks very much.’

Thousands of arms were raised in celebration once more.

Mothers danced with their babies. Children were everywhere.

A song started.

‘He’s coming home, he’s coming home, Shearer’s coming home.’

It was a party in the rain.

The Sunderland Echo’s front page read, ‘Oh no, look who the Mags have signed now!’ Newcastle had Alan Shearer.

They were bound to win something.

His first game was at Wembley. Perfect. The Charity Shield, against Manchester United. An early chance for revenge.

Newcastle lost 4–0, and when the game finished, the heavens opened once more.

ROKER PARK, THE BLIND AND PARTIALLY SIGHTED AREA, SEPTEMBER 1996

STEPHEN FAIRS – BE THERE

AWAY FROM THE SMILES, AND THE THOUSANDS OF FANS, AND THE Tyneside sports shops running out of the letters S, H, E, A and R was doubt.

Away from the dramatic decision to break the world transfer record, Kevin Keegan was faltering.

On Saturday, 18 January 1992, a crowd of 15,663 had watched Newcastle lose 4–3 to Charlton, having led three-nil after 34 minutes. The entire team that finished the game that day cost £850,000.

The transformation to four and a half years later was staggering. Newcastle United still wore black and white stripes and still played at St James’ Park, but after that it was hard to find similarities to the club which Keegan had walked into on 5 February.

Nobody knew where Newcastle were going that day.

Everybody in world football knew who they were after breaking the world transfer record.

It was a club that was becoming increasingly difficult to keep the shackles on – on the cusp of being out of control even – a one city club with the relentless demand that went with it.

Keegan had been at its centre, from the day he disbelievingly found a training ground that had not been touched since he had left as a player in 1984. Keegan changed everything, physically he led, but the change went to the heart of the mentality of the supporters and to those who sat with him around the Newcastle boardroom and plotted and fought and sometimes railed against his tenacity.

There had been threats to walk out before: following a victory against Swindon, shortly after he had taken over when promises about finance for players had not been upheld; and again in the cooling embers of the summer of 1996, after which Newcastle awoke to find they had not, after a monumental campaign, become champions of England.

It was hoped that Keegan was recharging, but those close to him knew he was tired, and scarred from the campaign.

‘At the time I had a big ten-year contract all signed and sealed which gave me a big loyalty payment at the end, when I would be 53,’ he wrote in his autobiography.

‘The problem was that I felt I might be dead by then the way things were going. I put it to the board that if they were to sack me if we had a bad start to the season it would cost them a fortune.

‘Sir John favoured the long-term plan and to be honest I was enjoying it all so much [when that contract was signed], I was my own boss, no one argued with me and no one tried to interfere in team selection.

‘The upshot was that we sat down [in the summer of 1996], discussed and agreed to a two-year contract which would give me £1 million a year, with £1 million to be paid three months after the actual flotation of the company on the stock market.’

All of that was kept private.

The public face of the club, and indeed Keegan, belied this discord.

Newcastle signed Shearer and the wind could not have been much more forcibly blasted into the club’s sails. The Charity Shield scoreline had caught the eye – Newcastle’s players would subsequently say they were exhausted from a three week trip to the Far East – but Keegan was losing his single-minded mentality. He dropped Peter Beardsley, then picked him and then regretted it.

Newcastle were awful. It was their first time at Wembley in meaningful competition since the League Cup final of 1976 and they did not play. Eric Cantona and Nicky Butt scored in the first half, David Beckham added a fine third and with three minutes remaining Roy Keane completed a rout. The day was not supposed to end like that. Then the heavens opened. Soaking wet, defeated and inside the stadium Keegan was left to rue his decision.

‘The fans were clapping the team all the way back to the dressing room and that made the thrashing even worse,’ said Keegan.

Newcastle lost the first league game of the season as well, at Everton. Again, they did not score. A midweek home game with Wimbledon saw Alan Shearer get his first goal for the club, a curling free-kick from 20 yards. The celebration was a reminder of the pressure that a £15 million price tag had weighed upon him. He looked genuinely delighted and Newcastle won 2–0, but again, the performance was not great.

Shearer scored in the next game as well, at home to Sheffield Wednesday, but then Peter Atherton and Guy Whittingham scored. Newcastle had lost two of their first three games. It had been December before that happened in the previous campaign, and we were still in August.

Newcastle were 13th, having signed the most expensive player in the world. There was also a problem with David Ginola, who had been refused a move to Barcelona, something the player struggled to accept.

‘I went to the board again and said that if they weren’t happy with the way things were going and wanted to make changes it was fine by me,’ Keegan added. ‘But there was no resignation offered, or asked for, no row, or fall out.’

Next up was Sunderland at Roker Park, the first derby there in four years.

Northumbria Police, and the two clubs, in an act of extreme folly, banned away supporters from both fixtures. Fans from Newcastle and Sunderland united to try and overturn the decision. There were marches and pressure was applied but no one budged, not in time anyway. No one really thought about the fans.

It was a night game at Roker Park, on 4 September, and the atmosphere was vitriolic. It was not a place to be for anyone with connections to Newcastle United, a witch hunt went on throughout the ground to find any hidden supporters from Tyneside. There was a fight during the first half in the Roker End, and some Newcastle fans were removed. By then Sunderland were winning, following a Martin Scott penalty, after Robbie Elliott had tripped Steve Agnew. It was a lonely place to be when Scott scored.

At half-time it was still 1–0.

If Newcastle had lost they would have gone third bottom. Sunderland would have gone third top.

Instead, the new team finally clicked. Sunderland were blown away in the second half.

In the 52nd minute Alan Shearer saw off two players to find Les Ferdinand to his right, he went past Richard Ord and Scott and floated a cross that Peter Beardsley met with his head.

It was a superb, angled header, redirecting the pace of the cross and squeezing in at the far post in front of the Fulwell End. There was another search around the ground for celebration. It was confined in the main to the pitch and the Newcastle dugout. There was relief in there. Then just past the hour Shearer chased down Ord near his own goal and won a corner. David Ginola hoisted it over and Ferdinand was unstoppable, powering a downward header past Tony Coton.

Dal Singh was there with his friend Steve Fairs, also a lifelong Newcastle fan.

Dal was blind, a telephonist with Barclays on the central exchange. Steve was his eyes for the night.

‘He was able to get two tickets for the blind and partially sighted area of Roker Park,’ said Steve.

‘He needed a chaperone and it was in the main stand, to the left of the tunnel.

‘It was an aggressive night. There were some nasty chants going on.

‘When Newcastle equalised there was an incident going on above us because we could hear lots of banging.

‘Across in the Clock Stand and in the paddock there was an incident. Then in one of these corporate hospitality boxes near us, something was kicking off.

‘We were up celebrating Beardsley’s header. This bloke next to me goes, “Listen, you’re out of order, you shouldn’t be doing that.”

‘I said, “I’m supporting my team”.

‘I was even more conscious of what was going on around us after that. I realised it was a tense atmosphere and Dal had been jumping around when the goal went in. I said to him, “We need to be a bit careful here. We can’t celebrate like that again.”

‘He went, “okay” and by that point we were hiding our colours.

‘Dal was plugged in to hospital radio listening to the match via the seats.

‘When Newcastle got the corner, Dal knew, but as it came across, he accidentally pulled his earphones out of the socket.

‘Ferdinand rose like a salmon and buried it. I was so excited but I just tensed my body and held the emotion in.

‘Dal went, “What’s happened? What’s happened?”

‘I whispered to him, “Ferdinand’s just scored!”

‘He leapt into the air and went, “Get in you bastards!”

‘I grabbed him. “Sit down, sit down man, you’re going to get us killed!”’

Keegan did that. He made blind Newcastle fans fearless in Roker Park.

Meanwhile, back in Tyneside, there was chaos in the Newcastle Arena, on the banks of the river Tyne, which had staged a beam back from the game. 7,000 supporters, denied the opportunity of going to the game, packed in to watch a giant screen of the game. When the first feed came through from Roker there was a celebration. One person said it was like watching footage from the moon.

By the time Ferdinand had scored and Steve had dragged the delirious Dal back to his seat, celebrating supporters were toppling over chairs in delirium.

Newcastle won 2–1. It was the fourth derby win a in a row for Newcastle but nobody made much of that.

More, it was the shot in the arm the new team needed.

Newcastle won the next five Premiership games on the bounce, Shearer’s goal at Derby on 12 October, his sixth in his ninth league game, took Newcastle top of the league. This was how it was supposed to be in the brochure. They were through to the next round in the UEFA Cup as well, and on 20 October, Manchester United were back in town.

ST JAMES’ PARK (PART 1) V MAN UTD, OCTOBER 1996

PHILIPPE ALBERT – BE HERE NOW

‘ON A DAY WHEN NEWCASTLE WOULD HAVE TAKEN ONE, HERE THEY are, looking for number five … with Philippe Albert! …’

The importance of commentary can never be understated, get it wrong, talk too much, miss the mood, do it from a studio for goodness sake, and it punishes the memory. You can’t watch it again if it’s wrong, but when it’s right, when it’s so right that it becomes part of the history, it adds poetry to the occasion.

Martin Tyler nailed the moment Philippe Albert chipped and bewildered Peter Schmeichel so precisely that it was like an assist on the goal. ‘Absolutely glorious,’ he shouted.

Perfect.

That it was the fifth, the icing so delicately and beautifully placed by an elegant defender, that at times epitomised what Keegan’s team was all about, made it feel like it was meant to happen. Albert scored the fifth and slid on his knees in front of the dugouts at St James’ Park. He was joined by teammates. Everyone looked so happy. You forget that sometimes, sometimes, when it all works, it’s about enjoyment, and having the time of your life.

‘It was one of those moments when he almost saw something was going to happen,’ said Tyler. ‘A fifth goal was around the corner but to do it like that was the most extraordinary moment of an extraordinary day.

‘It summed up all the entertaining potential Newcastle had around those years. They were tremendous to watch. When they all hit it off on the same day they were unplayable, and that was one of those days.

‘When St James’ Park is bouncing like that it’s a ground you want to be at. The old gantry wasn’t particularly accessible but it was a great position. In commentary you learn to trust your love of the game.

‘I felt there was another goal there. It happened more or less on cue, but for him to do something I presume he’d never done in any point in his career, was very impressive. If it had been Paul Gascoigne or Glenn Hoddle you still would have went wow. But for it to be a centre-half just rubber stamped it. It was a blessing to be there that day.

‘I’m not sure at what point I knew it was going in because the ball is in the air and it enters the net slowly.

‘Every time we see each other we talk about it. He’s very modest about it and I always thank him profoundly for allowing me to find the words for his goal!’

Albert, the elegant Belgian defender, admitted there was more on the goal, and indeed the game, because of the way Manchester United’s players had acted at Wembley.

‘Every year I talk to Martin Tyler at the semi-final of the FA Cup and every year he talks about that chip,’ said Albert.

‘We had played Man United at Wembley coming back from the Far East and we were tired. We shouldn’t have played the Charity Shield. Man United won 4–0 and at the end some of their players were taking the piss out of us.

‘So we wanted our revenge and that 5–0 was our revenge. It’s 4–0 at Wembley, you get hammered and they come to Newcastle and you score five. That’s a revenge, a fantastic revenge.’

Four goals came before the moment of magic from Albert. Darren Peacock scored with a header, David Ginola smashed one into the top corner, again as Newcastle shot towards the Gallowgate End in the first half, as they had on the fateful night where nothing would go for them, seven months earlier.

This time everything went right, Les Ferdinand scored the third with a header and then Shearer, of course, scored the fourth and danced in joy in front of the Manchester United supporters, tucked away in a corner of the stadium between the Leazes End and the East Stand.

Then Albert swept forward with the ball and scored a goal that Schmeichel could not have saved even if he’d been stood on a ladder.

‘The game before he used to come very quick off his line to reduce the angle,’ added Albert.

‘He was very good at it. I knew if I was in that situation he would come straight away. I had only one idea, I didn’t want to kick the ball as hard as I can.

‘My only idea was, “I am going is to chip him.” I didn’t see him coming off his line but I knew he was there.

‘You have one chance to make the chip and the ball goes in the net. A fantastic memory. Honestly, it’s great. Chipped goals are the best goals, especially if it’s against Man U!

‘When I go back to Newcastle during one day I maybe have to explain 200 times or 300 times about the goal. In Belgium nobody talks about it.

‘I used to work on the Champions League.

I used to go to Chelsea and even the Chelsea fans, they recognise me and say what a chip against Schmeichel, we hate Man U, we hate Man U!

‘Everywhere I go in England I have to talk about that goal. I’m not doing the first step to say to the people, “I’m Albert, remember the chip.”

‘They come to me and if they come to me they want to talk about it, I will do it with a lot of pleasure.

‘I have to live with it. It is fantastic. When you have a central defender who scores a goal like this, against the best goalkeeper in the world, the goal has been watched all round the world. That is something special. I am quite proud of it.’

Pride: there was a fair bit of that washing over Tyneside on 20 October, 1996. As soon as the game finished, all over the city, the celebration started. There is a pub for every occasion in Newcastle. They were all full on that Sunday evening. Nothing could spoil a sublime day.

That moment you walked into the Hotspur, opposite the bus station, along the street from the Ladbrokes where a 50p bet on John Cornwell to score Newcastle’s first goal against Charlton in 1987 had won you twenty quid, dripping with joy, and hugged your friends, smiling and laughing, will never go.

No need for words. No pontificating or procrastinating. Just joy, pure joy; the disbelief of the delighted. You drank and you smiled and then you talked and you sang. The glory of a supporter. The endless miles of pain for a brief, as it would turn out, snapshot of another land. Stuffing Man United, on telly.

Piers Morgan watched the game in his front room. He was editor of the Daily Mirror then.

‘A dull old Sunday so I sat in front of the box watching Newcastle, incredibly, thrash Manchester United 5–0,’ he recounted in his book, The Insider.

‘It was stunning to watch, and when I called in to the office it was all they were talking about. “Let’s splash it,” I said. “Erm, we can’t do that, it’s just a football match,” was the universal response. “Yes, but it’s news, we’re all amazed, so the public will be amazed too.”

‘Most people thought I’d taken leave of my senses but we did it anyway, under the headline “5–0.”

‘Sales of the Mirror rose by 50,000 copies. A quarter of the increase was in Liverpool alone, where apparently it became a collector’s item. There were also heavy extra sales in places like Newcastle (obviously), North London and Leeds.’

‘Absolutely glorious,’ said Tyler, and he was so, so right.

Keegan should have left St James’ Park that night and never come back.

Everything he stood for happened that day.

His legacy should have been that extraordinary game, not what would follow.