Toon honour for Andy sees him taking a trip down Memory Lane...
WE’RE standing four floors up from the very steps that Kevin Keegan once perched on at St James’ Park to explain his reasons for selling one of the most exciting players to have ever pulled on a Newcastle United jersey.
In January 1995 Keegan risked his own reputation by selling Andy Cole to Manchester United.
An incredible 23 years on from a transfer that had children in tears and adults marching up to the club’s reception to demand answers, you could say Cole’s return is the calm after the storm in one sense – but also a vivid reminder that Newcastle is a club that must maximise its potential whenever possible.
Cole’s arrival in 1993 and his sale two years down the line – which eventually resulted in Les Ferdinand replacing him – are symbols of the club when there was genuine vision.
The sight of Cole back at St James’ Park instantly brings back memories of those halcyon days of the Entertainers and reminds us all of the heights United are capable of with the right TLC.
Cole was back at United to be inducted into the hall of fame at the annual Foundation dinner, but the night was also a nostalgia trip for many fans of a certain generation.
In the club’s plush Bamburgh Suite some guests summed up just how special St James’ Park can be by venturing into the stands to look at the hallowed turf by night, amid a firework display, to absorb the stadium beneath the stars.
Just a few days earlier, the tension at St James’ had been almost unbearable before referee Craig Pawson signalled the end of a fraught contest against Watford which delivered a narrow and nervous 1-0 win.
There’s no doubt that the manner of victory was very different from the days when Cole rattled in 41 goals in a single season.
He wasn’t the only Entertainer in the room but there was something comforting about the fact that Cole, Rob Lee, John Beresford and Lee Clark were all sat on the same table side by side looking back on the good old days.
During each mini break between courses at the dinner, all four former United stars were asked for selfies from fans young and old. Cole’s arrival at Newcastle was a story in itself as Keegan and Terry McDermott sat beneath a portrait of Bill Shankly in the club’s old managerial office to scan the fixture list back in early 1993. It was mid-afternoon, but Keegan really wanted to be at Bristol City’s midweek game against West Ham and quipped to club director Douglas Hall that they should be jetted down to scout him. Within an hour or so, Hall returned to say that a private plane you will struggle if you don’t invest had been money. arranged to do “That is the nature of the beast. exactly that and “If you look at the teams that have the rest is history come up they have all invested – and as Newcastle even they are struggling. snapped up Cole “Newcastle made a minimum from the Robins to investment and they are struggling. spearhead the “They need that investment. club’s attack. “They might be able to do that in On his return to January but we will have to wait and Tyneside, Cole see.” admits he would Even during Cole’s explosive two love to see that type of years on Tyneside, there were still ambition all over again at ups and downs. Newcastle. People talk about the “Goldfish He told the Bowl” experience in this footballmad Chronicle: city and it can become “The intense for young and successful Premier players. But nobody probably had it worse League than Cole. is a division Long before the term “selfie” was even fashionable, every move where Cole made in Newcastle would
result in huge interest from his adoring fans.
His celebrity status at times caused tension between himself and Keegan with the duo infamously falling out in late 1993 in a training session which resulted in Cole walking out and even missing a game – the Coca-Cola Cup defeat at Wimbledon – which sent those shockwaves around the Toon. But Cole said: “I have not got a bad word to say about Kevin.
“I always say he was the man who gave me a chance to come here and enjoy it.
“He wore his heart on his sleeve and, sometimes to his detriment, that let him down.
“But I really enjoyed playing here and for him.”
Newcastle’s current boss Rafa Benitez has been compared to Keegan and Sir Bobby Robson in terms of a Messiah-like figure to keep the fans onside.
Cole said: “Yeah, I can see that from the outside. I am not sure what he is like as a manager to work with.
“Kevin was very infectious and he wanted the team to play in a certain way.
“There wasn’t too much defending in that.
“He just wanted to see loads of goals. “That’s why I enjoyed playing for Kevin.”
When speaking on the way Mike Ashley runs the club compared to Sir John Hall, Cole added: “It’s different – that’s all I can say. “Benitez did an unbelievable job last year.
“This year has been a struggle and as I say you need to spend to go forward.”
The Premier League is a division where you will struggle if you don’t invest money. That’s the nature of the beast
Andy Cole