My favourite memory and I reckon probably loads of other Newcastle fans will have this too is the 4-4 draw against Arsenal at St James Park. Despite the sale of Andy Carroll I remember going into the game with a strangely optimistic attitude, I even put a bet on that Newcastle would win 3-1. I was sat beside my mate who is an Arsenal fan and he had managed to get a ticket beside me in the Gallowgate. My high expectations didn’t last long as Arsenal raced into a 4-0 lead and I remember sitting there at half time with my head in my hands thinking this scoreline could finish anything. There were people leaving but not as many as you would expect and there was a lot of animosity amongst those who stayed.
Even when Abou Diaby got sent off there wasn’t really a change in opinion and that remained the same when Joey Barton scored a penalty. However when Leon Best got our second you could sense a change in atmosphere, people visably lifted and we started to believe this was on. Then when Joey got his second penalty the place erupted, it was on and we had Arsenal on the ropes.
We all know what happened next as Cheick Tiote scored a cracker late on to get us a remarkable draw but in all honesty it was a blur. I remember swinging on the netting in the Strawberry Corner with my mate trying to pull me down, it was just crazy and the noise levels were the loudest I have heard at St James Park. Had Kevin Nolan scored when he had the chance I think the roof would have come off and although a draw was a fair result I think given the scale of the achievement coming back against a quality side like Arsenal, nobody could have argued that we didn’t deserve a win if we had won it.
Paul Dixon
Newcastle United Foundation have a heritage project for fans of all ages called Toon Times.
Toon Times will culminate with a major Newcastle United exhibition at the Discovery Museum, Newcastle, although in the lead up to this event Toon Times wishes to reach out to all Newcastle United fans across the North East and further afield to get involved and share their memories, experiences, photos and memorabilia what people have collected over the years.
We are supporting the project by helping to collect NUFC memories online - fans can share their memories on the Replay Football website, simply select the Toon Times tag when submitting yours.
For more info contact the Toon Times Heritage Project Coordinator, Newcastle United Foundation, gavin.ferry@nufc.co.uk
Memory added on January 23, 2014
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