Man who was heart of club for decades
ONE of my earliest memories as a Newcastle fan was seeing physio Derek Wright hurtling on to the field in either a bright yellow or bright blue sweatshirt to attend to injured players.
I’m sure this is the same for a lot of supporters of a certain age, but Wright’s determination to simply beat the opposing physio to the injured player after a collision was one of the highlights of match day.
This was long before the days of social media and the digital age meaning everything that fans were seeing counted and Wright never let anybody down.
Derek served so many different managers but his human care and emotional intelligence was there for all to see.
He will be remembered as one of the most familiar faces in the club’s modern history. And not just for the injury care he gave players such as Rob Lee, Alan Shearer and Shay Given.
There are plenty of great stories of Derek’s time at the club. Here are a handful of lines I think fans will find interesting:
THE FIRST MAN WHO KNEW IT WAS OVER
Wright’s level of understanding when Shearer was injured at Sunderland in 2006 was second to none.
Shearer’s derby collision with Julio Arca was far from the worst injury of his career.
But when his knee locked up at the Stadium of Light, moments after he’d smashed home a penalty, both Wright and Shearer knew one thing – the game was over for Big Al.
It meant he wouldn’t get a Premier League farewell at St James’ Park. Wright’s levels of empathy in this situation were excellent as he helped Shearer off the field.
When the dust settled, it emerged Shearer’s last kick had been in a 4-1 win over the Wearsiders.
Both Wright and Shearer would have accepted that situation if offered but those key moments as he assisted the England star off the pitch were a measure of the man.
THERE WHEN SIR BOBBY NEEDED HIM
When Sir Bobby Robson was sacked in 2004, Wright was one of the first on the scene at the training ground.
As Sir Bobby packed up his things and walked away with only his brief case and his golf clubs, he was consoled by Wright.
After turning things around and helping Newcastle climb from the bottom of the table and into the Champions League he was reminded that his time had been a massive success.
And even though Sir Bob felt – at the time – he’d left after missing out on the top four in 2004, the context from Wright, who’d seen it all at the club, was an important moment. Shearer did
Derek served so many different managers but his human care and emotional intelligence was there for all to see
get a farewell in his testimonial in 2006. It was a night that was fondly remembered as Celtic came to Toon.
The night was also a goodbye as a player for Lee Clark who enjoyed a run out in a 3-2 win.
There were plenty of fun moments in the fixture that evening with Shearer coming on as sub to score a staged winning penalty at the Gallowgate End.
When Clark was down injured, Wright attended the scene as usual, but instead of producing a magic sponge to aid the midfielder’s recovery, he instead issued him with a meat pie to help him get back into the game!
THE SEASIDE CAMEO
When Newcastle infamously lost 1-0 to Whitley Bay in a friendly back in 1991 a worried Ossie Ardiles watched on from the bench at Hillheads.
Short of players, Newcastle put together a scratch side as Steve Veitch scored the winner for the Bay.
It was certainly a night to forget as far as the scoreline was concerned, but Newcastle’s best player was probably Wright who starred as a powerful right-winger!