Kevin Keegan three weeks into the job – For some reason we choose to go amongst Port Vale fans | OneFootball

In 1992, Kevin Keegan was the boss and we had an away game at Port Vale.

On 8 February 1992 KK took charge of his first ever match as a Newcastle United manager, winning 3-0 at St James’ Park against Bristol City (see photo above).

Exactly three weeks later on 29 February 1992, Newcastle had this match away at Port Vale.

Staring potential relegation in the face, the massive hope sparked by that first Keegan match in charge had been diluted. Taking a 12th minute lead through David Kelly, only to lose 3-1 to Blackburn thanks to a David Speedie hat-trick. Followed by Kelly again giving United the lead at home to Barnsley, only to concede an equaliser with four minutes left on the clock.

So setting the scene,  my oldest brother was living in Stoke at the time so me and wor Ad, another older brother, decide to visit him for the Port Vale away match.

A drive towards Carlisle then down the M6 past the depression of England, which is Manchester, under dark rain clouds and then we are in the grubbiest part of the Midlands. A soulless industrial wasteland, unless you are an aficionado of the pottery of Portmerion.

Me and my brothers have a few beers in Stoke, before heading off to Burslem. Port Vale with their giant Vale Park floodlights. St James’ Park used to have some magnificent floodlights that as a kid I was in awe of, especially on one of those misty winter evenings.

In the Potteries, Burslem Port Vale are the second club, though the Port Vale lads reckon they are the top boys.

My only previous experience of Port Vale had been being in the Notts County end (The old wooden death trap pre-Bradford) at Meadow Lane and being confronted by unpleasant Vale supporters who had paid in, leaving me, Burnley Jon, Mark the Manx and Cockney Rob all utterly bemused by their antics.

So we get to Vale Park and have another beer in one of the Vale bars near the ground.

I don’t quite recall our reasoning but we decide to go in the Vale End, instead of with all the other thousands of Newcastle United away fans.

It is still terracing and you can pay in but me and my older brothers seem to decide it will be more fun in the Vale seats along the side of the pitch!

In we go and we can see the Newcastle fans to our right behind the goal absolutely rocking before kick-off. At the time, 13 games remaining in that potential relegation season.

There are lots of empty seats around us (total attendance 10,321 but at least half of that crowd supporting Newcastle, as the next Port Vale home match only 5,861 in attendance), but there is still a sizeable amount of loud-mouthed lads who fancy themselves in their sad (cheap) designer clothing, who obviously rumble who we are.

The adrenaline is pumping and the love of football, the ecstasy of the winning goal (Steve Watson) and being in a potentially volatile situation, surrounded by angry young men, is what it is all about.

Just as it had been for the Vale back at Meadow Lane. You can’t beat that feeling.

The Vale top/second/third tier boys disappear at the final whistle as we applaud the team off.

Will my daft teenage lad ever experience what me and my older brothers experienced at the football in the eighties and nineties? I doubt it.

But we will not be far off if I continue to buy tickets for me and him in “their end”, as the days of being able to call on mates to get us Newcastle away tickets now appear to be long gone.