Newcastle United signings getting me excited | OneFootball

I’m going to start in the 1980s and recall the Newcastle United signings that made me the most excited.

The early 80s was an era of social unrest and Britain had a Prime Minister and Government that were unloved by the general working class public.

All a lot of folk had to look forward to was the match on a Saturday, or the latest release by The Jam.

So just imagine how the Tyneside public reacted when they heard that Second Division Newcastle United had signed England captain Kevin Keegan in 1982.

The whole place went crazy in the build up to his debut at St James’ Park and King Kev never let us down, bagging the only goal in the game on his debut to kick things off.

He famously went on to say that “the crowd had sucked the ball into the net.”

In 1986, Newcastle were rooted to the bottom of the old First Division when Willie McFaul broke the club’s transfer record to secure the services of West Ham United’s Paul Goddard for £440,000.

This was a brave move by all, but Goddard became a Toon hero in the space of months, as he went on a scoring spree to ensure our survival in some style.

Brazil’s international centre forward Mirandinha became the first Brazilian to play in England when he signed for Newcastle for £575,000 in 1987.

There were sombreros worn in the Gallowgate when ‘Mira’ made his home debut. I got to the game literally 10 minutes before kick-off after spewing a very well paid job in Woking on the Saturday morning.

The next arrival that got me excited was when the prolific Micky Quinn decided to swap Pompey for the Toon.

Quinny became an instant hero to me and many others by bagging four goals against Leeds United on his debut at St James’ Park in 1989.

When David Kelly arrived from Leicester City in 1992, Newcastle were staring relegation to the Third Division for the first time in our centenary year.

I thought it was a good signing at the time but I just didn’t know how good it would eventually turn out to be.

‘Ned’ Kelly stole the hearts of every Geordie when he scored the most important goal in Newcastle United’s history against Portsmouth on 25th April 1992.

Next up is a man who I no longer have any time for.

The then club record £1.8m move for Andy Cole from Bristol City was a masterstroke by Kevin Keegan.

I was also elated when Peter Beardsley returned to Newcastle United in 1993. He was still a great player and it would have been a great career epitaph if Pedro had of captained us to the Premier League title in 1996.

I was also over the moon when we signed England international centre forward Les Ferdinand from QPR in 1995. I had admired Sir Les for years and he instantly embraced our coveted Newcastle United shirt and became a Toon idol.

I was working on one of the worst jobs I ever had down at Swan Hunters when the news that we had signed Alan Shearer in a world record deal hit the airwaves. I immediately balled up along with hundreds of others.

I’ve got no love for the little waster Michael Owen who let everybody down because he didn’t want to be here in the first place.

The only signing that has ever gave me the same buzz as I got when we captured Big Al, was when Eddie Howe smashed our transfer record and paid £63m for the Rolls Royce that is Alexander Isak.

Roll on the summer and the next big money Newcastle United signings.