Newcastle United Home 1997/1999

Newcastle United Home 1997/1999

Season 97/98

During the summer, David Ginola and Les Ferdinand were sold to Tottenham Hotspur, while in a pre-season friendly match, Alan Shearer sustained a horrific ankle injury which would keep him out for half the season. Manager Kenny Dalglish signed goalkeeper Shay Given, midfielder Temur Ketsbaia, striker John Barnes and veteran striker Ian Rush, the club’s eldest player signing at age 36.

Kenny Dalglish
The highlight of the 1997–98 season was to be the club’s run in the UEFA Champions League. Seeing them defeat Barcelona 3–2 after a hat-trick from striker Faustino Asprilla. The club’s Premier League form, however, began to suffer following Asprilla’s departure from the club in January. And despite the return of Shearer to the starting line-up, he was unable to recapture the form he had found under Kevin Keegan. The club reached the FA Cup final only to fall to a 2–0 defeat by Arsenal.

Controversy surrounded the club in March 1998 when chairman Freddie Shepherd, and deputy chairman Douglas Hall (son of previous chairman Sir John Hall, who had retired during the summer), were filmed in a Spanish brothel. Making a series of remarks to an undercover tabloid journalist. They ridiculed Shearer, boasted of “ripping off” supporters with the club shirts they sold. And called the women of Newcastle “dogs”. Both subsequently resigned, and Sir John Hall returned as acting chairman for the remainder of the season.

Newcastle enjoyed a good run in the 1997–98 FA Cup and reached the final for the first time in 24 years. They never looked like winners, and the final whistle blew with a 2–0 scoreline giving the trophy to Arsenal. But as Arsenal had completed the double, Newcastle entered the 1998–99 Cup Winners’ Cup.

Dalglish’s cautious brand of football proved unpopular with supporters used to Newcastle’s previous swashbuckling style. More importantly this cautious style was not producing results. Many players signed by Dalglish did not live up to their predecessors. The team’s 13th-place finish gave particular cause for concern. As Newcastle had finished runners-up in the last two seasons and had never finished below sixth. To add insult to injury, Newcastle only managed to score 35 league goals all season.

The Shirt
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