'Pavel is a Geordie' - and that's why he was so loved at Newcastle United

IT was the moment that came to define him in the eyes of Newcastle United fans. With the First Division trophy having been hoisted into the Tyneside air in the wake of a 7-1 demolition of Leicester City in May 1993, Pavel Srnicek joined his team-mates on a lap of honour around St James’ Park.

Pausing in front of the Gallowgate End, which had serenaded him with increased vigour throughout the season, he lifted up his goalkeeper’s shirt to reveal what appeared to be a hand-made T-shirt bearing the motif “Pavel is a Geordie”. To many, that remains the highlight of one of the most joyous days in Newcastle’s recent history.

That was Pavel to a tee, warm, humorous, irreverent and perfectly in tune with the fans who fell in love with him from the terraces.

He wasn’t the greatest player to wear a Newcastle United shirt, indeed there are plenty who would argue he would not even merit a place on a list of the club’s top three goalkeepers. But to anyone who watched Newcastle at any stage of the 1990s, he was the player it was impossible not to become emotionally attached to.

In the era of the Entertainers, Pav was by far and away the biggest character of the lot.

Signed by Jim Smith from Czech side Banik Ostrava in January 1991, little more than a year after his homeland had emerged from the shackles of communism, his arrival on Tyneside had a novelty that immediately added to his appeal.

It seems strange to imagine it now, but in those days, overseas players were exotic rarities. Newcastle supporters had embraced the arrival of Brazilian striker Mirandinha four years earlier, but it was still unusual to welcome players from far-flung nations, particularly ones that had previously been hidden behind the Iron Curtain.

GOLDEN DAYS: Pavel Srnicek (centre) was a key part of Newcastle United's successful team during the 1990s 

Srnicek’s early appearances were difficult – he conceded six goals in a single game against Tranmere Rovers under Ossie Ardiles at the start of the 1991-92 season – and had he disappeared from contention completely after he was dropped for Tommy Wright, he would have been little more than a footnote in Newcastle’s history.

Instead, he was recalled to the first team after the opening 14 games of the 1992-93 season, and would go on to spend most of the next six years keeping goal for Kevin Keegan’s team.

His popularity grew over that period, and owed much to his unorthodox style as well as his powerful rapport with the fans.

He was the original sweeper-keeper, receiving a back-pass, dancing around opposition centre-forwards and calmly rolling the ball to a full-back when his peers in the Premier League were booting the ball upfield.

He was also a superb shot-stopper, something he didn’t always get enough credit for – arguably his best ever save, from Everton’s Anders Limpar, was featured in Gordon Banks’ personal top ten of favourite stops - and while he struggled with crosses at the start of his career, he developed an all-round game that meant he was easily a match for most other goalkeepers in the English top-flight. Let’s be honest, playing behind Keegan’s back four, he had to be pretty decent.

Yet his abilities were only part of his appeal, and it was the warmth and ebullience that radiated from him that struck such a powerful chord with those who paid to watch him in action.

Srnicek played in an era that straddled the divide between football’s dark days of the 1980s and the multi-million pound glitz and glamour that currently pervades in the Premier League, yet he always gave the impression that he would willingly have played for Newcastle for nothing had the supporters wanted him to.

He developed his own greeting to them – running out from the tunnel towards the Gallowgate, placing both hands above his head and applauding the ‘Corner’ and the ‘Scoreboard’ before hurling his towel into the back of the net. “Pavel is a Geordie,” they would roar to him, and he would reply with the broadest of smiles.

He revelled in that bond, and it is sad to think that just a month or so ago, he was back on Tyneside filling out pubs and clubs for a series of talk-ins that were sold out months in advance. He would also regularly return to the North-East to take part in charity games and lead goalkeeping coaching sessions, such was his love of the region and desire to keep giving something back to those who had made him so welcome.

WARM UP: Pavel Srnicek, pictured training with Steve Harper

He will be remembered as part of the Newcastle team that came within a whisker of claiming the Premier League title, and during an interview to promote his recently-released autobiography, he revealed that his biggest regret was not being able to quite get over the line.

“We gave so much pleasure to so many people though,” he added. “Our work that year created a great atmosphere around the city.”

Srnicek, who returned for a second spell with Newcastle in 2006, was a key part of that atmosphere, just as he had been a central character in the euphoria that accompanied the promotion season towards the start of Keegan’s reign.

Having lifted the trophy on the final day of the season, the celebrations continued with an open-topped bus tour that ended at Newcastle’s City Hall. One by one, the players emerged onto the balcony to greet the thousands gathered beneath them. No one received a louder or more heart-felt reception than Srnicek, the honorary Geordie who had taken Newcastle to his heart.

His death, at the tender age of 47, is shocking. Having seen him in Newcastle a month or so ago, it is hard to imagine that he is gone. Yet he will be fondly remembered by all those who watched him. “Pavel is a Geordie”. He wouldn’t have wanted any other tribute than that.