Right, lads 'n' lasses: a bit of nostalgia. Which would be your fave EVER season? It might be cos it was a particularly happy season for your personally (ie. you got married or something) or it may be because of a string of games. Anything.

I ask this cos Keegan in his autobiog says that our promotion season under him was the msot exciting and most important in the club's history.

-- Anonymous, April 18, 2000

Answers

Worst, in recent memory was the Dalglish season. Demolition of classy team into a nothing team, bad PR from directors etc. Just a disaster.

Best was the first season up. Cole hat-trick against Liverpool, in fact the whole Andy Cole 'gets the ball scores a goal' ethos. Beardsley dancing. Clarkie smiling. Venison being solid. Just lots of smiles.

More distantly the season before Keegan came as a player was about as bad as it gets. We'd become hero-worshippers of the likes of Alan Shoulder and Peter Cartwright. The place was dead on its feet, we were a poor to average second division side with no aspirations, no talent, nothing.

-- Anonymous, April 18, 2000

Interesting you should mention that - Keegan says that we are too prone to cheering a losing side..

-- Anonymous, April 18, 2000

It has to be THAT promotion season for me. So many great memories of places like Bristol City, Brentford, ...etc.

One long party.

Worst ever has to belong to TSM.

-- Anonymous, April 18, 2000

Worst, has to be late seveties, early eighties. Perhaps 79/80. Out in first or second round of each cup, and mid-table obscurity. Peter Withe was our star player (hmmph). At least the following season we had Waddle and Varadi I think (not that we did much better). Best, I agree, first season in the Premiership. Performed above all expectations, and the feeling of playing and competing on level terms with the top clubs of the day really was dream land. It's what we expect now, of course.

-- Anonymous, April 18, 2000

Best season for me is a dead heat between the Keegan promo season and the one after that. I had confidently predicted a top 3 position after our promotion and it was wonderful to see the astonishment in the press as the Sleeping Giant (which most of the press said that Keegan would not be able to wake) slammed many of the best sides in the Premier. The football was awesome. Cole and Pedro were absolutely dazzling.

Other good seasons from memory were the 64-65 promotion year and the Inter Cities Fairs Cup win in 1969. I can't help thinking that the ICFC was the best European competition ever and the standard has really plunged with the Champions League ... (-;

Worst season? There are no other contenders. You should have asked "Which is your worst season apart from the TSM season?". The TSM season was awful in it's own right, but when you look at the contrast to the prior season (the 5-0 and 7-1 season) then you realise just what an awesomely bad job had been done. Probably the worst piece of management of all time (certainly the worst at Newcastle), even though we managed to reach the Cup Final. We are still paying the price with the likes of Hamilton, Brady, Serrant, Perez and others still a financial millstone.

On a personal level it was a good season as I met the likes of Softie, Rik, Screacher, Susie Brown Ale, Steph, Val and others and the BBS became a very important part of my life which sustains me through poor times and bad.

-- Anonymous, April 18, 2000

Fairs cup year, the promo year we beat Swindon away 4 or 5 nil (Moncur etc, still have the programme), and NUFC 5;Manure 0, best three
Dalglish, worst ever, even including various relegation years.

-- Anonymous, April 18, 2000

1995-6 for me. Never happier than that run up until Christmas. Boots and all that season; incredible highs, shocking lows. We even managed to be glorious in defeat with the moral victory when those b*ggers beat us 1-0 at SJP after being dead and buried in the first half without Lucifer's intervention (still convinced), but their deal with Satan kept the scoreline blank. Ginola was magnificent for the first half of the season, Beardsley was Beardsley, Sir Les was 100% hero from the opening day. The FA Cup was an edge of the seat job with a fourth minute of injury time equaliser at Stamford Bridge and the cold horror of a penalty shootout. Vinnie Jones in goal. Bez's public bust up with Keegan, the "I'll love it!" outburst. That incredible 4- 3 at Anfield. Having 90% of football fans' sympathy and open admiration for the way we played - Newton Heath changed tactics after that season and have become more open season by season; English football owes us a debt. Obviously I'd have loved it if we'd won the league, but I'll not swap the memories of that rollercoaster ride for all the Cups in the World. We went down all guns blazing and died with our boots on. Football as it should be every season.

The worst? No contest. 1997-8. For all the reasons already mentioned.

-- Anonymous, April 18, 2000

That just about says it all Softie.

-- Anonymous, April 18, 2000

For me the best is this season, being my first. The change from "sexy football" ( inever did understand that ) to BR was incredible. Some highlights were beating SheffW 8 - 0 , Totnhm 6 - 1 , and smashing Manutd 3 - 0 ,only one of three teams to beat them so far this season. Things to look forward to, smashing Arsnl the same as we did Manutd, finishing ahead of the Makems, and a great next season.

-- Anonymous, April 18, 2000

Hey Deb, didn't know you were also a 'newbie'. So what brought you to the Toon faith? This is my second season, and also my best. Besides being resurrected from the dead by YBR(who walks on water), I've also seen far more games in person. Last season was hellish mainly because of the cup run and being the only Mag in pubs full of Manu, Spurs, etc supporters. It's what drove me to fly to London just so I could watch the final in a pub full of Mags! Heaven help me if by some miracle I manage to get a season ticket next season. May have to resort to living in the UK illegally. ;-)))

-- Anonymous, April 18, 2000

Interesting stuff. Either of the Keegan Messiah seasons (first season at Toon and first season back as manager) would be my faves. In the words of the poet, falling in love, then rekindling an old passion. BTW, he says that while we adored him as a player, we were mistaken if we thought he was very good. In his words, it was only cos we generally saw such crap that we apprecaited him more than we should.. My worst, ironically, has to be the 12 point season in many ways. The disappointment and also being abroad for much of the season and having nee hope ever of getting to a home game.

-- Anonymous, April 18, 2000

With you all the way on that one Softie! Good and Bad! (:o)

Fair comment Deb - sounds to me like you`re hooked! (:o)

-- Anonymous, April 19, 2000

Ciara,
You've cheered me up nee end hinny, you must have a heart like a lion to flog it back and forth across the watter to watch what for the last couple of years has left a bit to be desired most of the time.

Still, even I have to believe that we've bottomed out now and the only way is up.

Bliddy hell, I'd better be careful posting stuff as positive as this or I might be accused of not being the real Pit Bill.

-- Anonymous, April 19, 2000

Best - KK splits it. Keegan as a player - 1st game v QPR - what's he doing playing for us ? The Gallowgate end sucked the ball in for his goal and off we went.

Remember Jimmy Nail at the end of that Geordies in Germany series reading the back page of the Sun - Keegan's signed for the Toon. 5-0 or was it 5-1 in the promotion season v City - I knew we were good then. 3-1 v Brighton - Pedros chip.

Then the return of KK as manager as has been said above.

Worst - the seasons before KK arrived the 1st time.

Low points - Shrewsbury - what were we doing there ? Exeter/Cambridge.

I honestly believe that given time KD would have turned us round but he had such a hard act to follow and the pain in the interim would have been unbearable. He's a good man that took on the hardest job around at the time as 2nd choice to YBR with a smile.

-- Anonymous, April 19, 2000