Season 1998-99 - Newcastle United vs Liverpool
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Transcript
00:00The 30th of August 1998, a significant game for Magpie supporters
00:04as it heralded the start of Ruud Gullit's tenure as manager.
00:08Liverpool had begun the season with a win at Southampton and a draw with Arsenal
00:11and they had a bubbling Michael Owen in their ranks, fresh from his exploits at the World Cup.
00:17Gullit had only been at the club four days, so left it to first-team coaches
00:20Alan Irvine and Tony Kaig to select the Newcastle side.
00:24There was a first start of the season for Philippe Albert
00:26and debuts for Carl Serend and Stéphane Givache, who'd played in the World Cup final for France.
00:32Liverpool made one change to the team that had started both Premiership matches.
00:37England midfielder Jamie Redknapp returned to the side after five months out through injury.
00:42In a 4-4-2 formation, Steve McManaman and Patrick Berger supplied the whiff
00:46for the front two of Owen and Karl-Heinz Riedler.
00:50A big day for Gullit, albeit in a watching brief.
00:53Match commentary from Alan Parry.
00:57Newcastle United, in their famous black and white stripes, get the game underway.
01:02Attacking from right to left with this slightly new-look formation.
01:06Piers lining up in the heart of the defence, not as expected on the left-hand side.
01:10That job has gone to the Belgian, Philippe Albert, who's been restored to the side today.
01:19Watson in that right wing-back role.
01:22And Liverpool looking to improve on their performance in their last Premiership match
01:29against Arsenal, when they were held to a goalless draw by the champions.
01:39Berger will have a go from here.
01:42Maybe should have done, he found Riedler instead, who's turned brilliantly.
01:45Great block. That really was a superb challenge by Stuart Pearce.
01:49And a foul there by Hegger, gives a free kick to Newcastle United.
01:54But the way Stuart Pearce threw himself at the ball then, that was a goal-saving interception.
02:11Stoney, last tackle by Carragher.
02:15In for the long ball, and it's a brilliant ball too, towards Owen.
02:19Unlucky there, Owen. Good control, it wasn't an easy ball.
02:24Brushed aside by Alba, and in fact the referees decided that Alba committed a foul there,
02:30and the home fans didn't like that decision at all.
02:32Tugging of the shirt is the decision from Mr Barber.
02:37We don't quite know how he got tugging of the shirt there.
02:40Dangerous position for Newcastle to defend this free kick.
03:00Staunton takes it. Good work by Shea Given.
03:10And Heggen tried to hit that, but Lee read his intentions.
03:13However, he's now given it away to McManaman.
03:15And now Patrick Berger for Liverpool.
03:17Paul Ince in a good shooting position, he has struck that brilliantly.
03:21Owen onto the rebound. What a fine finish by Michael Owen.
03:26A brilliant effort initially by Ince, and it really produced a fine save as well from Given.
03:32But the Predator was on hand to strike.
03:35And this was a superb finish by Owen, it was no means routine that.
03:39He was a bit unlucky there, Shea Given, in the end.
03:42It was a tight angle, but somehow or other, Michael Owen managed to squeeze it in between goalkeeper and post.
03:52Michael Owen, last season's top scorer with 23 goals,
03:59has given Liverpool an early advantage at St James' Park.
04:05What a record he has now, Michael Owen, in Liverpool's first team games.
04:09That 24 in 47 games.
04:12Unbelievable statistics for a lad who you have to keep reminding yourself is only just recently turned 18.
04:18What a start for Liverpool.
04:20McManaman for them, and you have to praise the Park play by Paul Ince.
04:24The Liverpool captain unleashed an unstoppable shot there,
04:28which Given, I thought, did well just to push out.
04:31No goalkeeper in the world could have done any better with that.
04:36The goal came after 17 minutes.
04:41Fabulous start for Liverpool, who had to endure a lot of early pressure here.
04:45And Owen is away again and could make it two, and has done.
04:49The moment he got the ball, you knew.
04:53You knew what would happen.
04:55He is ice cool, this lad.
04:57And the finish, which he made look routine, was far from that.
05:02Much more experienced players might have panicked here.
05:05He remained back, aware of the danger of offside,
05:09and chose his moment perfectly to slide the ball under Shea Given
05:13and get his second goal in, well, a little over a minute, I would say.
05:18Michael Owen on target again.
05:21And a match that has been billed in some quarters as a clash of England's two World Cup strikers
05:28is very firmly going in favour of Liverpool's Owen at the moment.
05:32Alan Shearer has not even had a shot at this stage,
05:35and Newcastle United stunned by Liverpool's opening here.
05:42And so is the new boss.
05:44Oh dear, he must be thinking, the problems might be greater than I imagine.
05:49As Grass knocks one in, that could have produced an immediate reply for Alan Shearer,
05:54whose header came off the Liverpool defender to earn Newcastle United their first corner of the game.
06:00Good ball in there by Grass, who's made an excellent start.
06:03Came off Staunton, in fact.
06:14Pearce will take the corner.
06:16Whipped it into a near post, Friedel doing well, headed back,
06:20forwards, but a disappointing effort.
06:22And Friedel in exactly the right place to save that rather tame header from Philippe Albert.
06:27Should have done better there, I thought, Albert.
06:31HALF-TIME WHISTLE
06:49But really, what could Newcastle have done about either of those goals?
06:53Wonderful high school finishing by Michael Owen.
07:01Staunton for Liverpool.
07:04McManaman.
07:06That's a good ball, Patrick Berger.
07:08Danger again here.
07:10And Owen's there again!
07:12And perhaps the easiest chance of the lot, he's missed.
07:15That could have been a hat-trick inside, what, four minutes?
07:19Which would have been, well, record-breaking.
07:30There's Gary Speed, Philippe Albert.
07:36Speed.
07:39Lee.
07:41And a poor lay-off this time by Grass, he's given it straight to Patrick Berger.
07:47Cech International keeping his place in the Liverpool team,
07:50and many had expected him to lose it, now Liverpool have lost the ball,
07:53and there's surely got to be an equal or at least a goal here for Keebess.
07:58They might have to wait a bit longer for the equaliser,
08:01but at least Stefan Keebess is off the mark,
08:04and Newcastle have got one goal back in the 28th minute.
08:10Very sloppy defending there by Liverpool,
08:13Baptiste Possessed, he was on his feet claiming he was foul,
08:16as Rob Lee continued the attack,
08:18and he had, well, he was spoilt for choice, didn't he?
08:21He had either Keebess or Shearer to pick out,
08:23he picked out the new Frenchman who marks his debut with a simple goal.
08:33But Keebess, who was leading scorer in two successive seasons in the French League,
08:38is off the mark, a goal more than he managed in six appearances
08:42for his country in the World Cup finals.
08:44Liverpool straight back on the attack again,
08:46and another fine effort this time, just over the bar from Jamie Redknapp.
08:51Well, what a game we have here.
08:53It seems when these two teams meet, the goals flow.
09:07Ince.
09:09Redknapp.
09:11Well, this is the kind of match, I think,
09:13that has so many people around the world drooling about the quality of English football.
09:18There seem to be endless arguments about Italy's Serie A
09:22is against the English Premiership,
09:24but when you get this kind of drama, pace, hard tackling, excitement,
09:29and end-to-end flow, I really do think the Premiership can lay claim
09:33to have the best league in the world.
09:36There wouldn't be too many matches in Italy that could match the spectacle of this.
09:42Here's Bab, Staunton.
09:47And Bab rocks it rather gingerly back there to Brad Friedel.
09:54And Newcastle have picked up well, but given it away to Owen,
09:58and Owen vaults the first challenge, and the second!
10:01Brilliant!
10:03What a goal!
10:05What an unbelievable goal by Michael Owen!
10:09A hat-trick inside 30-odd minutes.
10:14That was absolutely unbelievable.
10:18Look at that. One, two, three defenders around him.
10:21He evaded two challenges.
10:23There was still so much work to do there,
10:25because Gibbon had come out and narrowed the angle well.
10:28Look how difficult it was.
10:30He had just a glimmer of daylight to aim at, really,
10:34and found the back of the net.
10:36Just really defies any more adjectives and superlatives.
10:42He's got three goals, he could and probably should have had four,
10:46and he's making international defenders look like beginners.
10:53Is there a better goalscorer anywhere in the world?
10:58It is a question for debate, quite seriously.
11:02Is Ronaldo any cooler than Michael Owen?
11:10He can't be 18.
11:12I need to see his birth certificate.
11:14He looks as though he's been playing for about 20 years.
11:17Here's Patrick Berger.
11:19Liverpool with their two-goal lead restored again here,
11:23and a hat-trick for Michael Owen,
11:25and now he's got a chance.
11:27Restored again here, and a hat-trick for Michael Owen,
11:31and a stunning first half at St James' Park.
11:35And here they go again, and would you believe,
11:38it's Owen in space once more.
11:40Well, you can't blame him for having a go, can you?
11:43And certainly nobody in a red shirt is,
11:45McManaman applauding him.
11:47He just loses defenders all the time.
11:49He takes up the most intelligent positions.
11:58No free-kick given.
12:00Getting back to dispossessed Karl-Heinz Riedle.
12:03Now Glas.
12:08Sarand.
12:12Malder.
12:14And Pius.
12:16Sade.
12:24Pius lifts one over the top.
12:26Shearer's down, went ahead and did well,
12:28but Kovac hadn't read the play, really.
12:32And McManaman.
12:34Redknap.
12:36Owen.
12:37Oh, brilliant football again.
12:39McManaman.
12:40Owen and Riedle in the box.
12:42Newcastle in danger here.
12:44And Riedle's header flies just over,
12:46but the flow, the movement, the skill in that Liverpool attack,
12:50well, that will have football people drooling.
12:57Looking for one over the top for Giebsch.
12:59Hegem, the defender.
13:05And Liverpool even survive that.
13:07Redknap turns it forward to the ever-willing Owen to chase.
13:12Brave defending by Albert.
13:15And good to see the handshake there.
13:17Owen certainly didn't intend to catch him like that.
13:20Here's Lee.
13:22And Newcastle being forced back all the time.
13:29Lee.
13:35Good ball, Shearer.
13:37The lay-off to Speed.
13:39And that's a poor effort by Gary Speed.
13:43And that's a poor effort by Gary Speed.
13:46And that's a poor effort by Gary Speed.
13:48And Lee better finishing the mat to get back into this game.
13:53As we move now towards the final minute
13:56of a sensational first half.
14:13Good lay-off by Lee.
14:15Good lay-off by Lee.
14:17Xabe, the fourth official has just indicated
14:19we only have two minutes of stoppage time added.
14:35Peele sweating the header there,
14:36but Berger onto the loose ball.
14:38And he's done brilliantly here, Berger.
14:40Good effort, great goal.
14:43Oh, what a finish by Patrick Berger.
14:46And what a finish to the half by Liverpool.
14:514-1.
14:54Newcastle caught Knapping,
14:55but the way Berger charged through the challenge
14:58and found the corner of the net,
15:00again, quite exceptional finishing here by Liverpool.
15:05Who've had a first half that will send shudders down the spine
15:08of every other team in the Premiership.
15:12In this form, Liverpool looking absolutely irresistible.
15:17There's so much competition for places at Liverpool
15:19from real quality players,
15:21that the likes of Berger,
15:24who were on the fringe of things last season,
15:26know they've got to really produce their best
15:28to stay in the side.
15:29And that is somehow or other producing
15:32a Liverpool team already in the early weeks of this season
15:36that you know is going to take some stopping.
15:39And these lads know that, pull it or not,
15:42Newcastle have got some problems ahead of them.
15:524-1.
15:53Is there a way back for Newcastle from this?
16:00Well, we expected fireworks, we expected a classic match,
16:03we certainly didn't expect a first half like this.
16:09Pierce knocks one long.
16:11Another hopeful punt forward, that.
16:14And the Liverpool fans again in that corner
16:16will applaud anything at the moment, even a goal kick.
16:22And Newcastle will just want to hear the half-time whistle.
16:26A combination of Alan Irvine and Tommy Craig,
16:29the two coaches left here, and Ruud Gullit possibly,
16:32I'm not quite sure whether he is going to appear
16:35in the dressing room at half-time.
16:36He might have to here, he might have to appear
16:38on the field in the second half to save his new team here.
16:42And there's the half-time whistle,
16:44what a half we've seen here at St James' Park.
16:47Newcastle 1-1, Liverpool 4.
16:55Sloppy clearance there by Hagan,
16:57made Staunton sprint just to keep it in play.
17:02Long ball over the top, sees Shea Given coming a long way from goal,
17:06and Michael Owen again aware of a potential error.
17:13Here's Gary Speed.
17:17Rob Lee.
17:21For the moment, Newcastle playing their better football
17:23across the field and in front of Liverpool's defenders
17:26rather than getting around or in behind them.
17:30And that's not going to be good enough to get them back into this match.
17:37Backward header by Bab, it'll be a corner if it goes.
17:40And Brad Friedle, big as he is, couldn't prevent that corner.
17:48And the header produces a marvellous save.
17:51Gary Speed on the penalty spot, powered that one in.
17:55I really thought he was going to sneak in,
17:57and Brad Friedle reacted brilliantly.
18:07Barton's corner.
18:10Shearer up highest again, but this time just over.
18:16Well, this is as honest as the day is long, Alan Shearer.
18:19He'll keep going here, even though this is a depressing position
18:23for him and his teammates.
18:37Pearce launches one in, Friedle against Shearer,
18:41and Shearer did enough to knock the big American out of his stride
18:45and earn his team a corner.
18:47Typically brave, committed play there by Alan Shearer.
18:55Because Friedle is built like Desperate Dan, he really is a huge man.
18:59Now a chance!
19:01Friedle did well then, he went down at the feet of Watson,
19:04and that was enough to make sure that he couldn't get a clean shot on it,
19:08and that prevented what would have been a serious situation there for Liverpool.
19:13Ball dropping straight to Watson, and as he stretched here,
19:18Friedle just did enough, as indeed did Jamie Carragher,
19:23to stop the shot going on target.
19:35Certainly got enough players to change around here if he wants to.
19:39And I suspect they'll have to shed a few off the payroll.
19:43Pearce swings one in, Speed dabs at it, Shearer dabs at it as well,
19:47and neither of them could convert it into a goal.
19:51A smile of quiet resignation almost there, I think,
19:55on the face of Alan Shearer,
19:57accepting that it's not going to be his day or his team's day.
20:01That was a bad tackle on Shearer by Ince.
20:04He's got to be in trouble here, Ince.
20:06It's got to be a card of some description,
20:08only he knows what colour it's going to be.
20:10I suspect yellow.
20:13It was a bad challenge.
20:18Well, it's not a tackle from behind.
20:20I don't know what else you could call it.
20:22And were we not told that the tackle from behind would be outlawed,
20:26and that it was a goal,
20:28and were we not told that the tackle from behind would be outlawed,
20:31and were we not told that it would lead to red cards?
20:39Oh, tremendous header!
20:41And a lot of the crowd at the other end of the stadium
20:44thought that that was as it actually scored then,
20:46as the ball seemed to ricochet off the back netting.
20:50It was a very good effort by the Greek.
20:54Just hit the top of the net.
20:58Neck muscles really at full stretch there,
21:01and he powered that one in.
21:05I don't think it would have made a great deal of difference
21:07to the eventual outcome with only two minutes to go,
21:09but he'd have enjoyed it anyway.
21:17So often happens in a match where you get a high-scoring first half
21:20that you get little or no addition to the score in the second,
21:24and that seems to have been the case again today.
21:29Stake by Dabizas.
21:31Gives Liverpool the throw.
21:33And there's going to be another change here.
21:36Steve McManaman, who, as I mentioned earlier,
21:39has not really looked at his best today.
21:41There's one or two of the home fans beside there going home.
21:44Steve McManaman is coming off.
21:46He's been replaced by one of Liverpool's youngsters
21:49from youth policy, David Thompson,
21:51a young midfield player, England No. 21 international,
21:54who made his debut a couple of years ago.
21:58It's not just big-money purchases.
22:00There's still plenty of excellent young English football talent
22:05available to the major clubs as well.
22:09There's a key man in a very successful Liverpool youth team
22:12of a couple of years ago, along with the likes of Carragher.
22:19Owen was too young for that team.
22:21Incredible, isn't it?
22:28Well, it's been a quiet second half,
22:30but only in comparison to the first,
22:33which was quite exceptional.
22:37And the memory of which I'm sure a lot of the supporters
22:40lucky enough to be in the stadium today
22:42will keep with them for a while.
22:44Bad memories perhaps for Newcastle,
22:46great memories for the Liverpool fans here.
22:49And the millions watching at home on TV.
22:52Liverpool are coasting towards three points now,
22:55and that will take their haul for the season to seven
22:59after a victory at Southampton and a home draw against Arsenal.
23:02Pierce with the Newcastle free-kick,
23:04headed clear by Riela.
23:07Owen who hooked it away.
23:09McAteer hasn't managed to get a touch yet
23:11since coming on as a substitute.
23:13And finds himself chasing shadows again
23:15as Glass turns one forward.
23:17A good-looking ball there.
23:19But no problem for the giant Brad Friedel.
23:31And he's very much taken over now from David James
23:34as Liverpool's number one, number one.
23:37And he looks the part.
23:43Thompson volleys it back to Owen.
23:46Thompson volleys it back to Owen.
23:48Oh, you thought for a moment there he was going to be in again,
23:51but that was defended rather better
23:53than some of his colleagues did in the first half.
23:57And it's Chave.
24:00Did well. Glass.
24:02Good run again by Steven Glass.
24:05And still going.
24:07Excellent play, and then a wild effort by Divas at the end of it.
24:12Now at the risk of being repetitive here,
24:15I think there's two players who can take pride
24:18in their performance for Newcastle today.
24:20Stuart Pearce in defence,
24:22and young Steven Glass who's made an excellent contribution.
24:25And I would imagine Ruud Hullet will be very impressed with him.
24:36Now, apply ice is the usual physiotherapist's advice
24:40when you've got a problem,
24:42and Steve McManaman has done just that.
24:46The final score at St James' Park,
24:48Newcastle United 1, Liverpool 4.
24:52A disappointing start,
24:54and Ruud Hullet's first season in charge of Newcastle
24:56proved to be a difficult one.
24:58The team struggled to find any cohesion.
25:00In fact, 34 different players started for the club
25:04during the campaign.
25:05They finished in 13th place on 46 points.
25:09Later in the season,
25:10Liverpool abandoned their policy of joint managers,
25:13with Gerard Houllier put in sole charge.
25:15But the partnership of Robbie Fowler and Michael Owen up front
25:18still failed to gel on a regular basis,
25:21and the Reds finished in 7th place.