Newcastle 4-2 Chelsea: Andy Cole fires United to the top on this day 21 years ago; Kevin Keegan's Magpies secured five wins from five games on this day in 1994 to top the Premier League.

Byline: David Morton

Is it really 21 years ago today since Andy Cole's seventh-minute, left-foot screamer helped inspire Newcastle United to a fine 4-2 win over Chelsea at St James' Park?

Time flies, and all that...

For those of us who were lucky enough to follow United in the mid-90s, this was a golden period, and the only tragedy was that the Toon didn't lift the trophy their brilliance deserved.

Kevin Keegan's teams played with a power, panache and belief rarely seen at Gallowgate.

This win over Chelsea on Saturday, September 10, 1994 was the Magpies' fifth in a row since the start of the season, and saw them sitting proudly at the top of the Premier League with 15 points.

Indeed, of their first eleven fixtures, nine were wins and two were draws. These were heady days.

A mere three years earlier, in the same week, United had lost 3-2 at Tranmere as they toiled in the oblivion of the second division.

But the much-documented Keegan-Hall revolution had changed everything.

As the 1994-95 campaign got under way, Swiss full-back Marc Hottiger and the magnificent Belgian centre-half Philippe Albert were new arrivals at Gallowgate, fresh from the World Cup finals in America.

And the ambition wasn't just confined to the pitch.

St James' Park was in the midst of a transformation from a hotch-potch of a ground to a football cathedral (even if much of the action there since hasn't matched the grandeur of the surroundings).

As for this game, United's line-up makes impressive reading: Hooper, Hottiger, Beresford, Peacock...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT