John Gibson speaks to The Mag – What an interview (part 2)! | OneFootball

John Gibson doesn’t need any introduction.

The renowned football journalist has been supporting, as well as writing about, Newcastle United for longer than he cares to remember.

Gibbo has been a voice of the Toon for the Chronicle since 1966.

The Mag’s writer David Punton sat down with John Gibson to talk all things black and white.

Newcastle United – its past, its present and its future (This is part two of the interview – part one of this epic was published on Thursday, see HERE)

What five United games stand out in your memory and why?

Barcelona 3-2 up here in the Champions League, because of the Tino Asprilla and Keith Gillespie double act.

Ujpest Dozsa 2 Newcastle 3 in the second leg of the Fairs Cup final. When we were 2-0 down at half-time I thought we had blown a three-goal lead from the first leg and the cup was about to disappear. Without Willie McFaul the Hungarians would have had a hatful but Uncle Bob Moncur came up with a killer goal, little Benny Arentoft of all people got a second, and sub Alan Foggon raced through for a spectacular winner on the night and a 6-2 aggregate score.

United 4 Paris Saint Germain 1. I mean, what a night. What joy. We turned them into marmalade. Everything was perfect. Even Big Dan Burn and Fabian Schar, two defenders, got on the scoresheet. Fab’s was fab, as they often are.

Newcastle 5 Man United 0 in October of 96. So satisfying considering we twice finished runners-up to them in the PL. All topped off by Albert’s delicious chip.

Newcastle 4 Arsenal 4 in Feb of 2011. It was the Gunners of Arsene Wenger as well. Remember we were four down at half-time. I was sitting next to SuperMac in the Press Box when he suddenly announced he couldn’t stand the humiliation any longer and shot off to get in his car and drive home. He missed the greatest comeback of all time which was completed with a corker of a goal from Cheick Tiote, bless him, a real rarity.

May I give a sixth an honourable mention? Beating Sunderland 5-1 up here in 2010, our biggest derby victory in over 50 years. Steve Bruce was in their dug-out, Kevin Nolan scored a hat-trick, and the Mackem Slayer Shola Ameobi got the other two.

Who would make your team of best 11 Newcastle players you have seen in your lifetime?

Given; Craig, Albert, Moncur, Clark; Beardsley, Gazza, Waddle; Milburn, Shearer, Macdonald.

Mind you, I feel uneasy at leaving out scores of gems like Hibby, David Ginola when he first arrived, Tony Green, Big Frank Brennan, Bobby Mitch. A couple of the current crop could eventually make it too if they keep going.

What have you made of the job Eddie Howe has done at United?

Excellent.

He has so much going for him. Man management, thoroughness on the training ground, diplomat in Press conferences, affinity with the fans.

We have gone from regular relegation fighters to finish in the PL top four, play in the Champions League, and make a Wembley cup final. With more to come.

The man himself – John Gibson

NUFC people who you least liked to interview?

Again, in no order, Bill McGarry, Gordon Lee, Mike Ashley (because I never did), and a centre-forward called Mike Larnach because he was hopeless. That’s about it.

Who are the five best players in the current Newcastle United side?

Isak is as smooth as silk, Gordon relentless in attacking defenders going inside or out, Big Joe literally a colossus, Bruno the heartbeat, though I just wish he had a bit more pace because players can run by him, and Fabian Schar who was lower than a snake’s belly under Steve Bruce but is now a James Bond of a performer.

Just an added mention for Tripps, who did us proud upon arriving here and set the tone.

The departure of Amanda Staveley and her husband from United’s boardroom and the appointment of Paul Mitchell as sporting director, what is your take on it all?

I was desperately sad to see Amanda go and worried about how it came about.

I have never known a previous director be so loved by the fans.

She became a legend as the face of the new Newcastle United – I can only recall Tony Green doing it in a shorter space of time. Paul’s appointment has left everyone apprehensive, including Eddie initially. It is up to him to prove himself.

What do you think of PSR regulations and what does the long term future hold for Newcastle United?

Financial fair play is a curse on football. When Arab money took over Man City and a Russian bought Chelsea they didn’t face the same crippling restrictions United have because the rules weren’t in then. Quite simply the Premier League had their strings pulled by the Super Six who are scared to death of what Newcastle might become. We will get there, though it might now take a little longer.

Do you think United should build a new stadium or stay at St James Park?

It is a complex question.

I did a podcast for the Chron on the subject and it ran for an hour and a half, there was so much to discuss.

It’s romance v reality.

We want to hold onto 130 years of history but not jeopardise the next 100 years.

If we can completely rebuild SJP in stages that would be ideal for me but if we have to start all over again elsewhere it has to be on adjacent land and not moving away out of town.

Biggest regret when covering NUFC for the Chronicle?

Oh, not winning more trophies.

I’m the only journo still working who covered our last success in 1969 and I’ve cancelled dying so I can cover the next one!

Your biggest United scoop?

Blimey, good question. The signing of Kevin Keegan as a player (tipped off by Lawrie McMenemy), his return as manager (knowing as part of the Magpie Group).

The biggest scoop you should have had but missed?

A Newcastle United player walking out a couple of days before an FA Cup final at Wembley.

It was my own fault. I stopped it happening and so missed a sensational story.

Stewart Barrowclough was going to take to his toes after hearing he wasn’t playing in the 1974 final, until I went up to his room and persuaded him not to for his own sake. He was a pal and it would have destroyed his career. Two years later he got his Wembley moment when he played in the 76 League Cup final.

Sometimes you have to put friendship before business and besides I got plenty of stories later because I had proved to players I could be trusted.

How would you have enjoyed starting off as a journalist now having to do multimedia covering NUFC in the modern digital era?

I would have hated having to do clickbaits, rewriting other people’s stories.

And I don’t like mass interviews where you all sit in a room, a couple ask questions, and everyone writes down the answers.

I used to meet Joe Harvey face to face alone every day for the Chron. You lived or died by your ability to communicate and build up a rapport. There are still fabulous operators today of course who I greatly admire, it is just the herd element that is not me.

However, I love the modern era as much as the old days. You have to move with the times and embrace change. When I started there were no phones in the Press box at Leeds and I had to write down my running report during the game for the Pink and a local schoolkid who was earning a couple of bob took it from me, ran downstairs to an open phone, and read it over to a Chronicle copytaker.

Later, when I was on the other side of the world for the Olympics or World Cup, I had to get up at whatever time in the middle of the night coincided with 8am here to phone my stuff over. There was no laptop and pressing a button.

However, I love today with podcasts, new technology, and instant availability to the public.

When starting at the Chronicle could you ever have imagined that The Pink would no longer be around? It is almost 20 years since the last one was published in 2005.

Like I’ve said, times change and we have to move on or die. I prefer to move on.

The Pink was part of every Geordie’s life and I loved doing it. I remember after writing a report for the Sunday Sun as well, leaving St James and the fans streaming out of the ground rushing to buy a copy of The Pink from a seller racing up to the ground and they had seen the match. I have a copy of the last Pink signed by all of us as a souvenir.

However, local radio and the advent of instant reports on the internet changed the face of how fans got their information.

With football generally in your lifetime which decade do you think has been the best and which the worst?

Wow, what a difficult question.

Off the top of my head I loved the Swinging Sixties, not least because Newcastle and England both won global competitions and football was chock full of great players and great characters like George Best, our own Bobby Charlton, a young Pele (the best of the lot), Denis Law, Jimmy Greaves and the immaculate Bobby Moore.

I wasn’t so keen on the Eghties. Gates were falling. Hideous steel fencing was installed at the front of terracing and between sections for home and away supporters at every ground, topped by barbed wire at clubs with a bad record.

We had the awful Hillsborough Disaster of 1989 when Liverpool played Nottingham Forest in an FA Cup semi-final. Two old Wallsend Boys Club players (Peter Beardsley and Brian Laws) were on opposite sides on a dark day when so many innocent fans lost their lives.