1989/1990

[Guest Tuco Ramirez]

I wrote this about three or four years ago on Newanks Online, just before I was banned and I stopped, I'll write more in the next few months when I have time because I've only really written about one game here, and if anyone wants to add their memories of that season that'll be great, I love looking back at our past.

 

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I started doing a diary from memory of the 1989/1990, through the eyes of an 11 year old lad, me. My intention was to do loads of seasons, so in 30 years time my memories will become more vivid, as I'll have a record of what happened, but it's hard f***ing work, but enjoyable at the same time. I'll do about 6 different parts of 89/90, I've written about 20 paragraphs for the first one, and the opening game against Leeds hasn't even kicked off yet! If you're not interested that's fine, but if you're some w*** like Invicta Toon, if you have nothing good to say, say nothing, and for those who want to read more about this tragic season, I'll update it every three days.

 

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My memories of 89/90 Part One

 

I was 11 years old in the summer of 1989, and my whole world revolved around Newcastle. Even at 11 I was mortified and quite depressed at how things had gone so terribly wrong since we’d sold Gazza just 12 months before. We were relegated, and as ever Newcastle were as ever THE National joke. We were a feeder club. We bought players off Portsmouth, Birmingham and Crewe, and we’d sell players to Liverpool, Tottenham and Everton. That was the way it was in 1989. We had no self respect at all as a club. The fans had seen years of false dawns, all of their players were being sold and for what? A new stand that probably wouldn’t be filled due to the numerous body blows the side was consistently taking by, a draconian board failing to appreciate what the fans wanted.

 

All through the summer there was a lot of talk of mass boycotts. People had just about had enough of McKeag and a hierarchy who had achieved nothing really since the mid 50’s. A group formed during the summer going under the name of USFC (United Supporters For Change), looking back they were nothing more than a few teenagers and early twenties lads who thought the best course of action was to boycott matches, thus forcing senior board members to resign, enabling Malcolm Dix, Hall and the Magpie Group to take us to the promised land. While ethically I appreciate why the USFC did this, as a young child my life wouldn’t be complete without a Saturday afternoon in the Gallowgate, and there was no way I was allowing my dad and my friends to follow suit.

 

On the playing side we basically finished the previous season, with a joke side. I remember we in essence didn’t have a striker, Anth Lormor and Steve Howey played up front in the final desperate act in a 2-0 defeat at Old Trafford. Mirandinha was still on the books, but he couldn’t be arsed towards the end, and he was shunted off to Portuguese side Belenenses, Smith didn’t like him at all, that much was obvious and the feeling was very much mutual.

 

On a brighter note a few of the summer arrivals, certainly proved to be decent value. Mick Quinn came in from Portsmouth for £680,000 (a big fee then), Mark McGhee crossed the border from Celtic, another Scot to join the club was young winger John Gallacher for a tiny fee, Kevin Dillon the experienced Birmingham schemer came in on a free and Smith made him club captain immediately, while Mark Stimson came North from Tottenham. Added to this we still retained a few decent players from the previous season, Bjorn Kristensen (Benny) for one, Kevin Scott, Brock was mediocre but was a decent passer, Andy Thorn was at the club, and in Tommy (the barman) Wright, we had a competent keeper, who loved the club from the word go..

 

The Second Division was looking extremely strong though aside from Newcastle. Newcastle had finished rock bottom of the First Division, and also relegated West Ham and Boro were well clear of us despite demotion. Leeds United, had done something that was almost unprecedented outside the top flight. They spent approaching £12m building what was to prove to be a brilliant side. Strachan, Sterland, Chapman, Vinny Jones, Chris Fairclough and John Hendrie, amongst others came in all with hefty fees on their heads, adding to a few magnificent young players, like David Batty who went on to play 39 games that season, and the effervescent Gary Speed. They weren’t the only decent side though, oh no. Sheffield United and Wolves both came up, from the Third Division, with feared striking partnerships. Wolves’ strikers were arguably the most potent in the division with Steve Bull, who became the clubs leading ever scorer, and Andy Mutch. Leicester had a reasonable side buoyed their inspirational captain Gary McAllister, and young impressive Arsenal loanee Kevin Campbell. Sunderland as much as I hate admitting it were one of the better sides, all in all it was a hugely competitive league. When you consider Reading won it in 2005/2006 with 112 points, it demonstrates how competitive the league was in the 89/90 season when 85 points was good enough to capture the title.

 

Leeds, who had been in almost terminal decline since their hugely controversial 1975 European Cup Final defeat to Bayern Munich, were installed as low as 6/4 to win the league, and when the fixture list came out the biggest two clubs in the division would lock horns at St James’ on the opening Saturday.

 

I remember my mates dad, who was likeable in a way despite being a foul mouthed, drunken, abusive, psychopath at times, said there was no way he was allowing his son to go to the Leeds game. He recounted countless tales of serious violence with Leeds fans in the 70’s and 80’s and he tried his best to convince me not to go, “they’re animals, they’re not human, they smashed up The Magpie (on Barrack Road)….” His comments seemed to me even more poignant by the fact that it had been reported in the local press that after selling the 5,000 Leazes End tickets in a matter of hours, many hundreds of Leeds fans had obtained tickets for the Newcastle sections of the ground, and without being cynical, ticket sales were so slow it wouldn’t have surprised many if the club had unofficially sanctioned it.

 

Anyway this was the first season I was allowed to go on my own, although my dad came along a lot but against Leeds there was me and two of my mates, as we walked along Stawberry Place, we picked up our usual hot dog with onions, from this funny lookin bloke, with KEEGAN’S HOTDOGS, in big letters along the side of his little food trolley, we could see that estimates of a gate under 20,000 were going to be wide of the mark. That said there were scores of people in these USFC, telling us we were killing the club by going in, **** them I thought at the time. So in we went handed over our £2 to the turnstile operator, straight up the Gallowgate steps turn right for a quick piss, in what was, for younger people reading who never had to put up with this, basically an open sewer, but I look back fondly on the Gallowgate bogs.

[S-I-S-S-O-K-O 0]

I remember the Leeds game well. Not long after the match me and my mate went on holiday to Crete. No such thing as mobile phones or internet in those days and we had to go to this pokey little pub in Agios Nikolaos to listen the the results coming through on the BBC world service. It's a long time ago and I could be wrong, but I think we drew away to Leicester 2-2 then beat Oldham at home the two weekends I was away. We had to wait until the Tuesday for the Sunday papers to arrive and find out who scored the goals.

[Barney 0]

Really good read so far. Looking forward to the rest.

[manc-mag 1]

Being a kid (well 12/13) the thing I remember most about going in 89-90 was the thought that SJP would somehow have landed somewhere else in a completely different part of town almost like Dorothy's house given that we were now playing lower division opposition. Relegation was that surreal and difficult to get my young head round at the time. Not that we hadnt had enough time to come to terms with it of course we were so well and truly relegated adrift of everyone else the season prior.

 

Coincided with me starting secondary school this did (and Citeh passing us coming up the other way iirc) and the fucking grief I got Still I actually liked not being part of the Pat Heard for the most part; there was only one other Newcastle fan in a school of 1700 Mancs (an older lad from the NE) and he made sure I didnt come to any major bother so that was alright by me.

 

Despite relegation I think I just enjoyed seeing us near the top of a division for the first time in years and actually winning games. Obviously the end of the season utterly put paid to that in the cruellest way possible (could that honestly have been any worse btw, seriously, taking everything into account including the Swindon debacle...even now 20 years later it doesnt seem real?).

 

Touching on the Gallowgate Stevie, the thing I loved was was the sheer contrast of climbing what was basically a shrubbery into a concrete terrace of noise...and the fact it seemed unique to Newcastle (I dont remember any other ground 'landscaped' in quite the same way anyway). Probably means little to anyone lucky enough to have stood in the Leazes prior to '78 as it can hardly compare to that I spose but for me it was magic. I also remember Keegan commenting (on relegation) at the end of Kenny Wharton's testimonial that the Milburn stand 'wouldn't look so good in the second division'. I know what he meant (obviously), but I fucking loved it on a personal level.

 

I was a right football stadium nut back in those days. Near Rainman like stuff if truth be told.

[shackbleep 0]

Pedantic I know Stevie but we bought Dillon from Pompey, not Birmingham.

[manc-mag 1]

Pedantic I know Stevie but we bought Dillon from Pompey, not Birmingham.

 

More than made up for that with the straight-faced inclusion of the phrase: 'wide of the mark' iyam.

Edited September 13, 2010 by manc-mag

[NJS 3984]

I'm always willing to read stuff like this - maybe at 11 you won't have much drinking and fighting to add but I'm sure others can do that.

 

I remember approaching the season with no great hope - as you say we'd been shit even for a relegation team so I couldn't see a few signings making the difference.

 

I'd been to Cyprus on holiday for two weeks and we flew back on the Saturday morning - I was up for going to the game but I remember a couple of my mates couldn't be arsed. In the end I think I got a taxi from the airport and only got there about quarter to three.

 

I Can't remember too much about the game now but I can remember how good McGee looked. I also thought Quinn looked like a great buy as I spotted his now famous trait of being faster than anyone over 2 yards if there was a sniff of a goal. Gallagher also looked good - a proper enthusiastic young kid who didn't give a fuck who he was up against.

[NJS 3984]

Touching on the Gallowgate Stevie, the thing I loved was was the sheer contrast of climbing what was basically a shrubbery into a concrete terrace of noise...and the fact it seemed unique to Newcastle (I dont remember any other ground 'landscaped' in quite the same way anyway)

 

Leeds was a bit like that in the corner of the old stand until someone set it on fire in 92

[shackbleep 0]

Pedantic I know Stevie but we bought Dillon from Pompey, not Birmingham.

 

More than made up for that with the straight-faced inclusion of the phrase: 'wide of the mark' iyam.

 

 

I totally get what he's saying though - despite everything that has happened since, those days were still some of my happiest following this club. You felt everyone on the terraces were all signing from the same hymn-sheet - not the divisioned carry on we have these days where there are 2-3 different groups each blaming someone different for what's going on.

 

The other important factor was of course the lack of importance where money was concerned. We weren't arsed about the pedigree or status of players we were signing, we cared simply on the level of whether or not they'd improve the team. These days we judge before they've even pulled on the shirt and in some respects, attack the players beforehand too. If we cast our minds back to that summer who had ever heard of John Gallacher? But by god he improved what we had.

[manc-mag 1]

Touching on the Gallowgate Stevie, the thing I loved was was the sheer contrast of climbing what was basically a shrubbery into a concrete terrace of noise...and the fact it seemed unique to Newcastle (I dont remember any other ground 'landscaped' in quite the same way anyway)

 

Leeds was a bit like that in the corner of the old stand until someone set it on fire in 92

 

 

 

 

 

Tremendous recall tbf. (Though that was more just like banked up earth wasnt it, compared to the back of the Gallowgate which had that almost lattice* like construction)

 

*I realise lattice isnt the right word

[NJS 3984]

Touching on the Gallowgate Stevie, the thing I loved was was the sheer contrast of climbing what was basically a shrubbery into a concrete terrace of noise...and the fact it seemed unique to Newcastle (I dont remember any other ground 'landscaped' in quite the same way anyway)

 

Leeds was a bit like that in the corner of the old stand until someone set it on fire in 92

 

 

 

 

 

Tremendous recall tbf. (Though that was more just like banked up earth wasnt it, compared to the back of the Gallowgate which had that almost lattice* like construction)

 

*I realise lattice isnt the right word

 

It always looked huge when I was a kid and usually went somewhere else with my Dad but it wasn't that big really. I still can't my head around them getting 60k into the ground in the Fairs cup days when you see how shallow the popular side and Leazes were as well.

 

We played Leeds on Boxing day 76 when I was 12 when there was 56k there and I remember being quite scared at the front of the Leazes. One of the biggest cheers I've ever heard at a game happened when they announced the end was full just before kick off.

[manc-mag 1]

Pedantic I know Stevie but we bought Dillon from Pompey, not Birmingham.

 

More than made up for that with the straight-faced inclusion of the phrase: 'wide of the mark' iyam.

 

 

I totally get what he's saying though - despite everything that has happened since, those days were still some of my happiest following this club. You felt everyone on the terraces were all signing from the same hymn-sheet - not the divisioned carry on we have these days where there are 2-3 different groups each blaming someone different for what's going on.

 

The other important factor was of course the lack of importance where money was concerned. We weren't arsed about the pedigree or status of players we were signing, we cared simply on the level of whether or not they'd improve the team. These days we judge before they've even pulled on the shirt and in some respects, attack the players beforehand too. If we cast our minds back to that summer who had ever heard of John Gallacher? But by god he improved what we had.

 

 

A different world I suppose for the reasons that you've spelled out and I agree totally about the feeling of following them that season. The following season just felt like wilderness and numbness after the mackems. It's odd how one year can remain so vivid yet a later one can just become a blur.

[manc-mag 1]

Fucking hell, lob the semi final penalties onto the list. The summer of 1990 man!

[manc-mag 1]

Why did we have them 'flared' crush barriers btw? Everywhere else seemed to have the same type apart from us.

[shackbleep 0]

Why did we have them 'flared' crush barriers btw? Everywhere else seemed to have the same type apart from us.

 

Most people had the steel ones IIRC yet ours were good old fashioned reinforced concrete. I think I remember reading somewhere in the aftermath of Hillsborough that "if they'd had concrete crush barriers like at Newcastle United, the barriers most likely wouldn't have failed".

[Park Life 70]

Love it when you do these kinds of posts Stevie.

[shackbleep 0]

Love it when you do these kinds of posts Stevie.

 

I concur

[Tom 13875]

Spot on although you are releasing confidential information to out of towners.

[Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0]

Why did we have them 'flared' crush barriers btw? Everywhere else seemed to have the same type apart from us.

 

Most people had the steel ones IIRC yet ours were good old fashioned reinforced concrete. I think I remember reading somewhere in the aftermath of Hillsborough that "if they'd had concrete crush barriers like at Newcastle United, the barriers most likely wouldn't have failed".

When I was little I used to sit on one of them with my dads arms either side of me. He had to hold on tight sometimes otherwise I'd have been lost in the seething mass

[shackbleep 0]

Why did we have them 'flared' crush barriers btw? Everywhere else seemed to have the same type apart from us.

 

Most people had the steel ones IIRC yet ours were good old fashioned reinforced concrete. I think I remember reading somewhere in the aftermath of Hillsborough that "if they'd had concrete crush barriers like at Newcastle United, the barriers most likely wouldn't have failed".

When I was little I used to sit on one of them with my dads arms either side of me. He had to hold on tight sometimes otherwise I'd have been lost in the seething mass

 

I used to sit on one too. Regularly got launched 10ft in front of where I was sitting when there was a crush from behind.

[StevenL 0]

Interesting read, I was born in 1989.

[KingKev 0]

Will have a look at that, the first bits sound quite interesting.

[Guest Tuco Ramirez]

Pedantic I know Stevie but we bought Dillon from Pompey, not Birmingham.

No greater pedant for factual inaccuracies than me so I can hardly accuse you of that, and yes your are right, came with Quinn.

I was a right football stadium nut back in those days. Near Rainman like stuff if truth be told.

Haha you are me both. I had an almost fiendish fetish for them myself. I bought this book below in about 1995, one of the best I've ever bought. There was about 7 pages on each English and Scottish team and their stadiums, with old and new pictures, and indepth history about them. Must've read it cover to cover about 5 times, and sold it for coppers to the back page along with about another 20 gems, and they gave me £12 for them the greedy cunts.

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0...hestadiumgui-21

 

If you ever come across this book, you will love it. Archibald Leitch seemed the daddy of the top class grounds in the 20's and 30's. He built the main stands at Rangers, Sunderland and Everton, you will probably recognise his designs to this day with a zig zag pattern between stands like this....

 

 

Don't get me wrong I hate Rangers passionately, they are in general bigoted scum who hate people like us because we were born catholic, and for years openly got away with open apartheid policies, but I have to concede, Leitch's stand which they added a tier to in 1989, is the finest piece of architecture in not just world football, but world sport. Best stand in the world in my view.

[Guest Tuco Ramirez]

Why did we have them 'flared' crush barriers btw? Everywhere else seemed to have the same type apart from us.

 

Most people had the steel ones IIRC yet ours were good old fashioned reinforced concrete. I think I remember reading somewhere in the aftermath of Hillsborough that "if they'd had concrete crush barriers like at Newcastle United, the barriers most likely wouldn't have failed".

When I was little I used to sit on one of them with my dads arms either side of me. He had to hold on tight sometimes otherwise I'd have been lost in the seething mass

Me too I remember that season 89/90 we played Sheff Utd I remember we won 2-0 and they had an illuminous away kit. They were top at the time and shit. Me and three of my mates were sat on one near the back of the Scoreboard and these cuntish blokes said they were gonna start a Blaydon Races surge to get us off. The cunts! We couldn't get back after that.

[Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0]

Did he do the Holte End at Villa Park Stevie?