United aces just the ticket at Metro stop
ASTROLL into the ticket hall underneath St James’ Metro station brings you to a black and white ‘walk of fame’.
Legends who have turned out for the Magpies down the years are immortalised, in the heart of the city, just a stone’s throw from the hallowed turf of St James’ Park.
They are the boot prints of a select group of Newcastle United idols who have lit up Tyneside. Shearer. Macdonald. Robson. Crowe. Beardsley. Albert. And more.
The hand prints of some great custodians are there too, set in stone for generations to come - gaolkeepers McFaul, Given, Harper.
Nexus, the public body which runs the Metro, launched the display in the summer of 1999 when St James’ Metro station was re-branded into its now familiar NUFC colour scheme.
United manager Ruud Gullit cut the ribbon, just a few weeks before he quit after fielding a weakened team in the ‘monsoon derby’ defeat to Sunderland.
The development was part-funded by the club when work got underway to increase the capacity of the ground from 36,000 to the 52,000-capacity ‘cathedral on the hill’ that the fans know
and love today.
Alan Shearer was the first player to set his boots into the wet concrete in May 2001, and he was joined that day by the manager Bobby Robson.
A galaxy of stars past and present were to follow, not the least the likes of Bobby Moncur and Peter Beardsley.
The last player to set his prints was goalkeeper Steve Harper in 2010.
Many other club legends are yet to have their prints done, and Nexus hasn’t ruled out doing more in the future.
Andy Bairtstow was the head of marketing at Nexus in the late 1990s when the display was launched.
He said: “It was a fantastic project to be involved in.
“The club were expanding the stadium and we’d just launched the Magpie Mover pass.
“They contributed to a redevelopment of the Metro station, with the club logos and colours.
“It was decided to have a ‘walk of fame’ to pay homage to former players and the idea of the boot prints was part of that.
“All of the players and former players that we worked with were brilliant and it got great publicity.”