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 Sunday
14 August 2005 By Aphrodite & Paul Mosley
In our very first game in the Premier League back in 1993, Newcastle hosted Tottenham Hotspur at St. James' Park. Ossie Ardilles was'‘welcomed' back to the Toon, in his new role as Tottenham manager. Newcastle lost 1-0, in front of a crowd of 34,565, with Teddy Sheringham scoring the winner in the 36th minute. Luckily for the Toon, the season was happier than the first day defeat suggests, eventually finishing third, climaxing in a 2-0 win over Arsenal. The 1994-95 season opener proved to be easier for Newcastle, with a win against the newly promoted Leicester City at Filbert Street. Goal scorers were Andy Cole, Peter Beardsley and a chicken-dancing Robbie Elliot. Surprisingly then, it was Srnicek who was sent off for fowl, er, foul play. Julian Joachim, who is now at Boston United, scored a consolation goal in stoppage time. The Newcastle side finished in sixth that season, and maybe unsurprisingly, Leicester were relegated. Coventry City were the opponents in the 95-96 season, as the Toon showcased their new signings, Shaka Hislop, Warren Barton, David Ginola and Les Ferdinand at St. James'. Newcastle were clear winners, beating Coventry 3-0. The goals were from Rob Lee, a Peter Beardsley penalty and a late goal from débutante Les Ferdinand. These goals sent us to the top of the table, where we stayed until March, eventually losing out to Man Utd in the title race, while Coventry stayed up on goal difference. Goodison Park was the venue for the 96-97 opener against Everton. Sadly, the performance wasn't particularly good, as Newcastle lost 2-0 to an Everton side who finished 2 points off relegation. Alan Shearer starred in his first game, which was marred by a shocking penalty decision from Mike Reed (the referee, not the DJ), which was converted by David Unsworth. Future Toon player Gary Speed scored the second, on a depressing day, although Newcastle later finished in an excellent second place. The Owls were the visitors to St James' for the next opener in 96-97, as a Newcastle team minus King Al played Sheff Wed. Jon Dahl Tomasson played up front, but failed to score. Tino Asprilla put Newcastle one-up inside 90 seconds, before a Benito Carbone equaliser only a few minutes later. Asprilla later gave Newcastle the winner, in a season in which Newcastle slumped to 13th, finishing level on points with the Yorkshire side in 16th place. Charlton were the visitors to St James' in a dour match which finished goalless in 98-99. One of the few notable events was Charlton player Richard Rufus being sent off for a forearm smash on Nikos Dabizas, in a disappointing season lacking in the 'sexy football' promised by Ruud Gullit, who took over 2 weeks after this match. Charlton, who had in the previous season beaten Sunderland in the playoff final went straight back down, as Newcastle again finished in 13th. Newcastle's third home opener in a row, saw Aston Villa the visitors. Julian Joachim (again) scored the winner to give us a poor start to the 99-2000 season. Newcastle’s arch nemesis, Uriah Rennie, sent off Alan Shearer, for reasons which only he knows, ensuring himself a warm welcome whenever he has refereed the Toon since. The result was the start of a massive plunge towards the foot of the table, leading us into the relegation zone, before Sir Bobby ensured we finished in 11th place (yet again). A tough task for the Toon came in their opening game in the 2000-01 season. Manchester United hosted Newcastle, with the Champions proving too tough as the Toon lost 2-0. In one of those great ironies that football throws up, former Magpie Andy Cole and future Magpie Ronnie Johnsen scored the goals. We eventually finished 11th, and Manchester United won their 7th Premier League title in 9 seasons. The game went down in history as the then largest Premier League attendance of all time, with a massive 67,477 fans watching from the stands. Chelsea away was the destination for the first game in the 2001-02 season. In the first ever game to be shown on pay-per-view television, Newcastle achieved a credible 1-1 draw. A Shay Given blunder gifted Bolo Zenden the first goal, but Clarence Acuña equalised near the end to give Newcastle a draw. Newcastle finished fourth in a Champions League spot, whilst Chelsea ended in sixth. How things change... West Ham came to St. James' in 2002-03 and got well and truly hammered (no pun intended) 4-0. A Lua Lua double and goals from King Al and Solano put Newcastle at the top of the Premier League, in a season when we finished third qualifying for the Champions League (barring any penalty shoot-out disasters to unfancied Yugoslav opposition). Despite some intervention from Trevor Brooking, West Ham were relegated. Season 2003-04 Newcastle travelled to Elland Road, along with ex-Leeds players Lee Bowyer, who was roundly booed, and Jonathan Woodgate, who wasn't. An Alan Shearer penalty gave us the lead, but Viduka equalised soon after. An Oliver Bernard mistake saw Alan Smith score for Leeds, but Shearer salvaged a point near the end. Newcastle ended the season in fifth place, but Leeds spent the next season in the Championship after being relegated under the leadership of Peter ‘Monkeys Heed’ Reid. It was time to dust off the gas masks and boiler suits as Newcastle faced the trek down the A19 to face Middlesbrough in season 2004-05. All eyes were on the Riverside, except for the Toon players who caught conjunctivitis and had to miss out. Craig Bellamy scored first for Newcastle, before Stewart Downing equalised. Steve Bennett gave Newcastle a penalty which King Al converted, but the officials must have caught some sort of eye infection as they missed Jimmy ‘Fat Eddie Murphy’ Hasslebaink putting the ball in with his hand. Graham Souness came to the Toon soon after and led Newcastle to a disappointing 14 place, whilst Boro ended up in Europe after finishing 7th. Well, Newcastle play Arsenal today as the tradition of opening day drama will hopefully continue. According to statistics, a 2-2 draw with an Alan Shearer penalty should be on the cards. We can only hope... Statistical Breakdown Played 12 Won 4 Drawn 4 Lost 4 F 17 A 13 Home P 6 W 3 D 1 L 2 F 9 A 3 Away P 6 W 1 D 3 L 2 F 8 A 10 © Aphrodite & Paul Mosley |
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NUFC History Archives: Opening Day Stats