Best Debut Performance.

Talking about great atmospheres, the best one I can remember as a kid wasn't even watching Newcastle. Technically, a lot of these players were making their St James' Park debuts too. 42,000 to watch Blyth Spartans. It was the only game I ever watched from the old Leazes Kop and it was so crammed in there my dad spent the whole game lifting me so I could see.

 

There's always one pedantic person. Probably not their debuts as Blyth had been the winners of the Northumberland Senior Cup a few times in the years preceding this game the final of which was usually, I think, held at St James' Park.

 

I have no excuses for not knowing that. I was sat in the directors box for the 1978 final at St James. My dad got tickets for me and my mum cos he was one of the linesmen. That was Blyth Spartans too, though it was 3 months after the cup run (I think I have the year right - they were playing North Shields). It was the first final they had been in at St James Park since 1975 though, so someone must have been making their St James debut

 

I was that excited that night that I couldn't sleep and had to take the next day off work because I was shattered Other than trouncing Man U 5 - 0 the Barca game was one of the best ive seen. Tino was immense.