The night fans got a taste of what might have been
I’M surely not the only Newcastle United supporter who’s occasionally indulged in ‘what if’ conversations with mates in the pub as the pints have flowed.
What if Gordon Lee hadn’t sold Supermac in 1976? What if the Magpies had beaten Manchester United at St James’ - instead of losing 1-0 - in the 1996 title run-in? What if Kevin Keegan hadn’t suddenly quit as manager halfway through the following season? What if Sir Bobby Robson hadn’t been sacked in 2005? What if Mike Ashley had bothered to invest in the club after acquiring it in 2007 rather than run it into the ground?
All whimsical stuff, of course, and there’s another tantalising ‘what if’ concerning a theoretical Toon dream team in the early 1990s. What if Chris Waddle, Peter Beardsley and Paul Gascoigne hadn’t all left the club in the mid to late 1980s, and instead stayed to form a potentially all-conquering Newcastle United XI lining up alongside the likes of Alan Shearer and co?
In the real world, things panned out rather differently, but 25 years ago on one night at St James’ Park, United supporters got a glimpse of what just might have been. It was January 27, 1999, and the occasion of Peter Beardsley’s testimonial game. The visitors on the night were Celtic, backed by thousands of noisy fans who’d travelled down from Glasgow and even draped an Irish tricolour across the Tyne Bridge before the match.
Beardsley was 38 and nearing the end of his illustrious playing career, having lit up Newcastle United during two dazzling spells at the club 1983 to 1987 and 1993 to 1997. On an emotional night, in front of a sell-out 36,000 crowd, Peter Beardsley’s Select XI boasted a star-studded line-up packed with past and present Newcastle heroes.
Alan Shearer, Andy Cole and Steve Watson from the buccaneering days of Kevin Keegan’s ‘Entertainers’ turned out, as did Keegan himself, making his first appearance at St James’ since his shock departure from the club two years earlier. The former player and manager joined in the action for 20 minutes and was given a rapturous reception. Another former Newcastle manager - and one-time Celtic superstar - Kenny Dalglish joined the kickaround for a while too.
Also on the pitch were the three prodigious local talents who’d heartbreakingly left Newcastle United in quick succession to further their careers at a time when the club was in the doldrums. Chris Waddle left for Spurs in 1985, Peter Beardsley for Liverpool in 1987, and Paul Gascoigne for Spurs a year later. All three went on to enjoy major success at club level and played together as England regulars, most notably in the team that reached the World Cup semi-finals at Italia ‘90.
The sight of the three of them in black and white shirts once again was a poignant one. The one and only time the talented trio had been on the pitch together as Newcastle United players in a competitive match was in May 1985when Gascoigne came on as a sub in a home game against Spurs, joining Waddle and Beardsley who were already on the field of play.
And it was perhaps Gazza who prompted the biggest source of regret among Newcastle fans. The supremely gifted midfielder and generational talent was a mere 21 years old when he left the club. It was a huge loss. On that night 25 years ago, we could only speculate as to what might have been.