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THE DATE: April 30, 1974.
THE PLACE: The Selsdon Park Hotel,
Croydon.
THE EVENT: Newcastle United begin the
Cup Final countdown.
THE STORY: Long before the days when the
club dietician would have sent the photographer packing,
the Newcastle players were quite happy to sample some not
very healthy looking fare in the name of publicity. The
five members of the squad - who boast more than 1,700
games for the club between them - were not to know that
four days later they would be the fall guys in one of the
most one-sided of all FA Cup Finals.
Liverpool, with a certain Kevin Keegan in
breathtaking form, were their tormentors, and there is a
generation of Toon fans for whom any fixture against them
- tomorrow's, for instance - reopens old wounds. As
manager Joe Harvey said: "May 4, 1974, will haunt me
for ever. I feel sick and embarrassed." Perhaps the
choice of pre-match base was to blame, The Selsdon Park
Hotel is, after all, just a few miles from Crystal
Palace, where Newcastle had failed to win five Finals in
seven years at the start of the century.
MALCOLM
MacDONALD (centre forward): With seven goals
on the way to Wembley and a steady stream of
headline-making quotes to keep the journalists scribbling
furiously all week, the Magpies No 9 grabbed most of the
attention in the build-up to the big match. Sadly, his
performance was one of the worst of a bad batch and his
only two shots at goal disappeared into the crowd.
"I'm just sorry we let the fans down:' was his
contrite post-match comment. His display did not,
however, diminish his popularity with the adoring Geordie
thousands or have a long-term effect on his status as a
challenger to Hughie Gallacher and Jackie Milburn as the
most revered of all the Newcastle centre forwards.
He scored 121 goals in 228 games for the club after
signing from Luton Town for a club record 180,000 pounds
in May 1971. Joined Arsenal in the summer of 1977, but
had to retire with a knee injury in 1979. Now SI, he
lives on Tyneside, where he works as a pundit for Century
Radio and has a column in the city's Saturday night
sports paper.
TOMMY GIBB
(Newcastle United)
(midfield player): Signed from Partick Thistle in August
1968, he was thought to be a player of potential who
would have to wait for a first-team opportunity, but he
quickly got into the team and stayed there.
Scored a spectacular goal on his home debut, against
Chelsea, and made a club record total of 171 successive
appearances. A member of the Fairs Cup winning team of
1969, he had to be content with a place on the bench
against Liverpool, but came on to replace Jimmy Smith.
Aged 56, he lives in West Lothian and has been employed
in the haulage business.
BOBBY MONCUR (Newcastle
United) (centre half): 'The supreme sweeper and a
most valuable asset, both to Newcastle United and
Scotland," was how manager Joe Harvey described the
man whose length of service as captain was second only to
his own. Matt Busby was also a confirmed admirer of a
defender who could read the game magnificently but still
fill the role of a powerful stopper when needed. Best
remembered at St James' for the three goals he scored in
the two legs of the Fairs Cup final triumph over Ujpest
Dosza, he described the defeat by Liverpool as the
biggest disappointment of his career. It was also his
final match for the club, a move to Sunderland coming a
month later. He made 361 appearances for Newcastle and
won 16 Scotland caps. Managed Carlisle United, Hearts.
Plymouth Argyle and Hartlepool United. Now 56, he lives
in Gateshead and works as a radio pundit and match-day
host at St James' Park.
WILLIE McFAUL (Newcastle
United) (goalkeeper): At 5ft lOin he was small for a
top-flight No 1, but more than made up for a lack of
inches with his agility and reflexes. Signed from
Linfield in November 1966 for 7,000 pounds, he took time
to succeed Gordon Marshall as first-choice, but took over
in time to playa full part in the Fairs Cup campaign,
making vital saves in the final and the semi-final win
over Rangers.
Made 387 appearances for the club, joined the coaching
staff in 1975 and twice served as caretaker manager
before taking over permanently from Jack Charlton in
1985. He was dismissed three years later and now lives in
Guam, where he coaches the national team.
He is 58 on Monday.
FRANK CLARK (Newcastle
United) (left back): No one has played more games -
487 - for the club in the postwar era than the dogged,
dependable defender who shrugged off a broken leg soon
after signing from Crook Town and, sometimes, criticism
from sections of the St James' crowd. Played at centre
half in his final three seasons, but after the
resignation of Harvey as manager in 1975 he was given a
free transfer. In th~ following years he won a
championship medal and the European Cup under Brian
Clough. Later managed Leyton Orient, Forest and
Manchester City and wrote a provocative autobiography
Kicking v. Jch Both Feet in 1999. Now 58, he is a member
of the committee of the League Managers.
Association, a scout for the FA and runs a football
consultancy.
RICHARD WHITEHEAD THANKS: Paul Joannou
Return to Richard
Whitehead
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