Newcastle's 'Legends' Day' flags up the new mood on Tyneside

A fanbase that had previously felt detached from those running the club, and had displayed open hostility to owner Mike Ashley and managing director Lee Charnley in particular, has been re-energised. There is a sense of belonging again, of everyone pulling in the same direction, not to mention a renewed attempt to transform St James’ Park into a cathedral of civic celebration.

On Saturday, when the Magpies host Cardiff, that renewed bond will be celebrated by the unfurling of 12 giant banners depicting the legends that have done most to shape Newcastle United since the club’s formation in the 1890s.

The ‘Legends’ Day’ is the brainchild of Gallowgate Flags, a group of season-ticket holders who have taken it upon themselves to help transform the atmosphere at St James’ and build on the positivity that has developed under Benitez.

They staged their first display at August’s home game against Huddersfield Town, unveiling a host of black-and-white flags on the Gallowgate End, and this weekend’s follow-up event is another step towards creating the kind of dramatic pre-match backdrop that is more common in continental Europe.

“It all really grew out of the Spurs game at the end of last season,” said Alex Hurst, one of a core group of 15-or-so fans who formed Gallowgate Flags and helped raise more than £8,000 via on online campaign. “The fans have been critical of the club for a long time, but it just felt like the right time to start doing something positive to try to bring things back together.

“We discussed a few ideas of what to base ourselves around, but we looked at Europe and flags were something that were really popular right across the continent.

“The Huddersfield display was great, but if anything, it was almost too good. It set the bar so high that we had to take a bit of a step back and try to put together something that was going to be even better.

“Hopefully, the plans for the weekend will be just that. It’s an attempt to celebrate the history of the club, and also an attempt to create a real sense of enjoyment about the way things are going at the moment.”

As a club, Newcastle have been extremely supportive of the initiative, with officials spending much of their Friday night and Saturday morning at St James’ ahead of the Huddersfield game to help prepare August’s display.

Benitez has been extremely keen to improve supporter engagement since taking over from Steve McClaren in March, meeting representatives from fans’ groups and fanzines at Newcastle’s training ground, attending a range of community initiatives and even demanding that the entire first-team squad attended Newcastle’s charitable foundation’s annual awards evening on Tuesday night.

His openness has encouraged a similar stance from those above him in the hierarchy, with the secrecy and suspicion that had characterised much of the Ashley era replaced by a new mood of co-operation and transparency.

Saturday’s match-day programme will be based around the Legend’s Day initiative, although Hurst concedes the choice of just 12 names from Newcastle’s illustrious past has proved hugely controversial.

“We’ve already had a load of comments on social media saying, ‘I can’t believe you didn’t pick him’ or ‘He should definitely have been one of the 12’,” he said. “That’s good though – part of the fun of being a football fan is arguing about something like this.

“We basically came up with two criteria for making our choice. The first was looking for people who had won things, because Newcastle have been one of England’s most successful clubs for much of their history. So people like Stan Seymour and Jackie Milburn had to be included.

“Then secondly, we looked at people who had put the city and the club on the map, both nationally and right across the world. So while people like Bobby Robson, Alan Shearer and Kevin Keegan might not have won anything during their time here, they changed the way people thought about Newcastle United.”

NEWCASTLE’S 12 CLUB LEGENDS:

Colin Veitch (1899-1926)

Veitch skippered Newcastle to three league titles and also lifted the club’s first FA Cup trophy. A versatile player who appeared in just about every outfield position, he played in four FA Cup finals and was also a socialist, actor, musician, playwright and soldier who fought in World War I.

Bill McCracken (1904-23)

McCracken, who played at right-back and centre-half, made 432 senior appearances in a 20-year spell with Newcastle, winning three league titles and an FA Cup. His mastery of the offside trap helped force a change in football’s regulations in 1925.

Stan Seymour (1920-29 and 1939-58)

A native of Kelloe, Seymour was a talented left winger who scored 73 goals in 242 appearances for Newcastle and helped the club win the First Division and FA Cup. However, he is perhaps best known for his lengthy stint as director as chairman, which saw him earn the moniker ‘Mr Newcastle’ and lead the Magpies to three FA Cup wins.

Hughie Gallacher (1925-30)

With an incredible scoring record of 143 goals in 174 Newcastle appearances, including 14 hat-tricks, Scottish striker Gallacher’s strike rate of over 82 per cent is the most prolific in the club’s history. He skippered the Magpies to the First Division title in the 1926-27 season.

Jackie Milburn (1943-57)

Born in Ashington, and a one-time pit apprentice, Milburn is generally recognised as Newcastle’s greatest player. He scored 239 goals in 494 appearances for the Magpies, and was the talisman for the club’s Wembley FA Cup triumphs in 1951, 1952 and 1955.

Joe Harvey (1945-55 and 1962-88)

Harvey’s playing career saw him skipper Newcastle to promotion from the second tier and FA Cup triumphs in both 1951 and 1952 from his position at half-back. He re-joined the club as manager in 1962, and famously led the Magpies to a Fairs Cup triumph in 1969 before moving behind the scenes.

Bob Moncur (1960-74)

Viewed by many as Newcastle’s greatest defender, Moncur was the last Newcastle skipper to lift a major trophy, having hoisted the Fairs Cup above his head in 1969. The following season, he led a Magpies backline that conceded just 35 league goals.

Malcolm Macdonald (1971-76)

Known to his legion of fans as ‘Supermac’, Macdonald scored a hat-trick against Liverpool on his debut and went on to score 30 goals in his first season on Tyneside. He eventually claimed 138 goals in 257 Magpies appearances and played for Newcastle in the 1974 FA Cup final.

Kevin Keegan (1982-84, 1992-97 and 2008)

As a player, Keegan was the superstar who saved Newcastle as he fired the club back into the top-flight in 1984. As a manager, he was even more successful, again winning promotion to the top tier before assembling the ‘Entertainers’ that went so close to winning the Premier League title.

Peter Beardsley (1983-87, 1993-97 and 2001-present day)

Beardsley’s first playing spell saw him captivate Newcastle fans as part of a free-flowing side that also featured Kevin Keegan and Chris Waddle. After starring elsewhere, he returned to Tyneside in the 1990s and was a key part of the ‘Entertainers’ team that dazzled an entire nation.

Sir Bobby Robson (1999-2004)

For a long time, it looked as though Robson’s career would end without him having the chance to be associated with his boyhood team. However, he finally took over as manager in 1999 and presided over five hugely enjoyable years that saw Newcastle regularly rubbing shoulders with Europe’s elite.

Alan Shearer (1996-2006)

Shearer was already a Premier League champion when he made a world-record move to Tyneside, but he will forever be associated with the Newcastle number nine shirt. He scored 148 goals in 303 games for the Magpies, and remains the Premier League’s all-time leading goalscorer.