Heroes & Villains – Newcastle United
Hero – Jackie Milburn
Newcastle United have had their fair share of heroes who have played in their number 9 shirt over the years. Hughie Gallacher, Jackie Milburn, Malcolm MacDonald, Andy Cole and Alan Shearer have all worn the famous shirt and Milburn stands out among that list of greats.
I have heard from my granddad and uncle about how Milburn was the star man of the Newcastle United team of his generation. My uncle, who was a proud Geordie would wax lyrical about ‘Wor Jackie’ at any opportunity and it would appear that it was for very good reason.
Milburn fired in 201 goals for The Magpies in 398 games and won the FA Cup three times in five seasons. His England record was also very good, netting 10 goals in only 13 games.
He was initially put out on the left wing but then moved up to play as centre forward. This proved to be a successful move as Milburn promptly scored a hat trick in his first match in the new role.
In the first of Milburn’s FA Cup wins, he netted the fastest goal in FA Cup Final history when he scored after only 45 seconds. This record has subsequently been beaten by Chelsea’s Roberto DiMatteo in 1997 and Louis Saha of Everton in 2009.
Milburn will forever be regarded as a Newcastle United legend, even by those not fortunate enough to see him play.
Villain – Michael Owen
Owen joined Newcastle from Real Madrid for £17 million and a lot was expected of him. He didn’t have the best of times in Madrid and Newcastle United fans hoped that he would be their next prolific goalscorer following the retirement of Alan Shearer.
The England striker was on £110,000 a week during his time at the club, a figure that his performances didn’t really justify. It wasn’t his wages that angered the Toon Army fans but of a revelation about Owen not wishing to play in the penultimate match of the 2008/09 season.
Newcastle were at home to Fulham on 16th May and a victory would mean that they would be favourites to avoid relegation. Owen was nowhere to be seen on the day of the match and it was later revealed that he was too worried about injurying himself as it might put off a new club from signing him in the summer.
The former England striker left at the end of the 2008/09 season, joining Manchester United on a free transfer. Owen admitted to the press last year that he regretted joining Newcastle United and you’ll be hard pressed to find a Newcastle fan who like him.
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