Meeting Chris Armstrong – What would he have achieved if signing for Newcastle United? | OneFootball

Five years ago, I was invited to a party.

Our good friends had moved out of the area and were having a house warming party at their new place (Forced to move because housing costs in inner London for working class people are a disgrace).

Nice sunny afternoon in the back garden of a house on the outskirts of South East London, few beers and I get chatting to a tall mixed-race lad with goatee and dreads. Turns out he is the ex -Tottenham star Chris Armstrong. He is part of our friend’s family from Brixton.

Several hours later after lots of beers and conversations about football (Newcastle United in particular) and other fun goings on in the 1990s, Chris tells me about a lot of the players he has played with and does not hold back with his views.

Knowing I am from Newcastle he tells me he loved Paul Gascoigne and says he was the “nicest guy he had ever met in football.”

He was also gushing about St James’ Park and how much he loved it.

I got pictures of Chris with Chuks, even though Chuks had no clue who he was, then we said our farewells to get the kids home in good time (Wise move as the party got a bit rowdy later on, so I heard).

Chris Armstrong, as I tell Chuks, had played for Spurs after signing from Crystal Palace, but Newcastle under Kevin Keegan had been in talks to sign him and had made an offer for him. He was also on the verge of a full England call up at some point.

Five years on and we are at our friends’ pop up bar next to St Paul’s Cathedral. Xmas market in full swing and Chris turns up to see family. Grabs a beer, spots me and my lad and is straight over.

The conversation picks up like five years hadn’t happened. Lots of talk of how our respective families have got on but we quickly end up talking football and what games we have been to this season, how we think Newcastle United are going and what we hope/expect will happen.

Chris Armstrong if I remember right was a quality player. He is though, in my opinion a top bloke. He has a definite affinity with Newcastle from the way that he talks. I could have researched the guy to put together an article of more depth and detail but anyone can do a simple Google of him and make out what you want.

I wanted to put a personal piece together as our interactions are so positive.

Chris is a really nice guy who loves his football. No doubt I will see him again for a beer or three.

He might have got into some scrapes back in the day but who didn’t? Who am I to judge?

The question for me is, if he had signed for Newcastle United and not Spurs back then, what would he have achieved?