GUEST BLOG - Ben Trenerry

Ben Trenerry
May 22, 2022
6 min read

Coming from Consett it could have gone either way. Fortunately, enough of the family were black and white, rather than the other lot, and so that’s what I became. A lucky escape. My cousin’s hand-me-down strips helped. They were always about three sizes too big but I wore them proudly. Anyone remember the 80’s silver away kit? The one with the black and white band across the chest was my favourite. I know they’ve done it again but those original silver away kits were the best we’ve had.

My first game at St. James’ Park was an FA cup match against Preston North End. I remember it well because we were sitting in seats right in front of the corporate box and Jack Charlton was sat right behind me and my Dad. I knew who he was because I was an avid watcher of Jossy’s Giants (showing my age there). The titular Jossy’s (played by the wonderful Jim Barclay) obsession with Newcastle was another thing that drew me in and made me realise what a special club NUFC and a special place Newcastle was, and is. I don't think they did it deliberately, but my parents made me proud of where I was from. If it wasn't the Toon, it was Dire Straits, Sting and Prefab Sprout. Music was always in my life and it has never been far away.

I remember a televised match early on, a 4-0 win against West Ham. A childhood friend was in the crowd and the camera cut to and lingered on him as he gnawed on his finger nails near the end of the match. That he was doing this at the end of a match which we were winning 4-0 makes me think that I am getting my memories mixed up but I’ll stick to my story.

Players that caught my young eye early on were not only the usual likes of David McCreery and Jon Anderson but Michael O’Neill and Darren Jackson - I followed their careers closely after they left the parish.

Peter Beardsley was my favourite player though. A Newcastle player at the World Cup (Mexico ‘86) was mind blowing. Brian Robson and Bobby Robson were both Geordies from Chester-le-Street, just down the road - for a kid just learning about the wider world, that was pretty cool. We were on holiday in Malta during those first-round matches in 1986 and I remember my Dad coming back to our hotel room after watching the game where Ray Wilkins got sent off. I don’t think I’d heard him swear before (I have since though, especially when Dabizas was playing years later). I was devastated when Pedro went to Liverpool soon after, gutted. Get used to that disappointment, my son.

Moving on a few years I remember, the day Keegan was unveiled as manager, the immediate injection of pride and hope. The next few years seemed to be a succession of highs. Actually the past month has almost resembled that, win after win - you almost took it for granted. Almost. What I remember most about the Keegan years - Killer Kilcline (that hair and ‘tache combo), Barry Venison (Consett lad), Paul Bracewell (what a player). Fast-forward to today and we have Dan Burn, Kieran Trippier and Bruno G. Rewind back to the Keegan years, the return of Pedro and his link up with Andy Cole was an absolute highlight. Philippe Albert (Philip Al-bat), Ginola, Tino - incredible times.

The summer we signed Big Al was my own personal summer of love so everything was beautiful and dreamlike. The Three Lions had performed exceedingly well in Euro ‘96 and on the radio one morning came the news out of the blue that we’d signed the tournament’s leading scorer - the best striker in the world, and for the highest transfer fee. I didn’t realise at the time but it wouldn’t really get any better, in so many ways.

King Kev went and King Kenny was the obvious choice, however it was never the same. Pragmatism took over at the Toon at exactly the same time I graduated and got my first proper job. Real life comes crashing in. Tomorrow's stars were being replaced by yesterday's stars - Kenny’s own Dad’s army: Barnes, Rush and Pearce. I didn’t mind Pearce, you had to love Psycho, even if he was past his best.

Moving on a few years and Sir Bobby came in, the drift was stopped and hope was restored. I wasn’t at the game but I listened to the Sheffield Wednesday 8-0 thrashing on the radio. I remember that day as clearly as yesterday.

I discovered nufc.com early on, probably '98-99? Some of their headlines still stick in my mind: "Stuff your Belgian*, We Got Bellamy". (*Emile Mpenza - a bullet dodged).

The Christian Bassedas signing felt big at the time. There was a lot of optimism around him, I reminded my friends of this when we signed Bruno Guimarães. Happy to be wrong! Remember Daniel Cordone and his weird permanent ear rings that he had to tape over. What happened to him? He started well but faded fast. Is it me or does that happen a lot to the Toon (hey Miggy, hey Oba, hey Jon Dahl T)?

Around this time I remember one evening pulling into the petrol station on the Gateshead side of the Redheugh Bridge in my knackered old Polo. Kieron Dyer pulled up next to me in his brand new gleaming red Ferrari which he told me he’d literally just picked up. I offered to swap which he laughed at. I read the next day that he’d promptly driven it down the Quayside and wrapped it around a tree. He should have taken my offer.

I had a soft spot for Clarence Acuna - he liked a tackle if I recall but he seemed to disappear the same as Frank Dumas and Alain Goma. Let's not talk about Marcelino, shall we? Players seemed to come and go around quickly during this time and of course in the end, so did Sir Bobby. God love him. Someone to feel proud about.

Fast forward to the day Mike Ashley came onto the scene. I'd just met my soon to be wife and my Mag-supporting, season-ticket holding father-in-law. He felt like we could be on our way back. A mate down the pub saying he’d heard we were going to sign Drogba, - presumably his 5ft5 cousin from the French 3rd division, such was Ashley’s approach, which we would come to learn. I wouldn’t say Ashley was a let down; everything about it felt wrong at the time. Despite his earlier actions to the contrary, he'd clearly bought the club to sell shirts. That summer we signed the likes of Viduka, David Rozenhal, Geremi etc. all bang average. Of course it fell apart. Big Sam was never going to work up here. The memories of The Entertainers were still too fresh in our minds.

There were some highlights in the Ashley years. Cabaye, Demba Ba - despite my initial reservations - was excellent. Cisse a phenomenon for about 5 minutes and then mentally elsewhere thereafter. The Arsenal comeback - Tiote (bless your soul, mate); only Newcastle.

Fast forward again and the new ownership brings renewed hope. They’ll want to do things in a professional manner and won’t want to be wasteful. The club needs updating, from top to bottom - the academy, the facilities, the community engagement. Man City will be the model with all that, it will take time but as long as the first team is putting in a shift, the fans won’t mind.

There will always be question marks around the ownership. Personally I’m just thankful it’s not Chinese money having worked for years as a volunteer on projects designed to raise awareness of Human Rights abuses in China, in particular the Falun Gong and the organ harvesting.

I hope the new owners are patient. I hope the fans are patient. I like Eddie Howe. He’s clearly a grafter, a virtue we admire up here, and more than capable a - good luck to him. The future looks brighter than ever. I hope they go for up and coming unknowns in the summer, players with no baggage (a young striker, a young centre half, a right winger and a goalkeeper - maybe on a loan?). Possibly augmented with a few experienced out of contract pros (Eriksen, Fernandinho??). One thought is that if we continue our current run of form into next season, the league table could look very interesting in 12 months' time. Howay the lads.