Newcastle United 1000 Premier League Goals (DVD) – Review

For anyone interested in this recent DVD release or perhaps waiting for it on order, or just want something to read – I thought I'd share a review and encourage your own thoughts...



TITLE: Newcastle United 1000 Premier League Goals (DVD)
AUTHOR: ilcmedia.com, NUFC
RUNNING TIME: 311 mins, 2 discs
PRICE: £11.99


Reaching a historic milestone enjoyed by just five teams prior, Newcastle United FC release this bumper DVD set featuring clips of the club’s first 1000 goals scored in the Premier League.

There’s an old adage in football that it only takes a second to score, well here we have a new DVD that proves it takes roughly 311 minutes to hit 1000 goals. In reality of course it took Newcastle United a tumultuous 15 years, culminating with Demba Ba’s 49th minute leveller at Everton in September. Marking the event the club has teamed up with current licensee ilcmedia to produce this glossy 2-disc package, essentially sandwiching goal flash highlights back to back.

For supporters who are perhaps of sufficient age to recall all these goals live, the experience of watching this DVD can be oddly cathartic. Firstly it does a neat job of chronicling the various permutations of the team, which gradually serves up new stars who would go on to write their names into Geordie folklore. The staggering potency of Andy Cole blurs into the genius of Beardsley, the opportunism of Rob Lee, the flair of Ginola, the powerhouse that was Les Ferdinand, Asprilla, Shearer, Robert, Speed, Solano etc, etc. So many great names and more often than not, goals of sublime skill many supporters have signposted their lives by.

It is however in these earliest efforts and the optimism of the initial Keegan era that serves up the most magic. For many these were the Premier League’s golden years anyway, but for Newcastle United it reminds everyone what could have been. In a really positive way. You just can’t fathom how a team that scored so emphatically and readily could be halted from winning the title in the way they were. This is of course entirely due to us conveniently ignoring the barren patches or indeed the goals conceded through the years, with which being Newcastle would have demanded its own 4-disc pack. It would have been helpful then to have placed the seemingly endless avalanche of goals into context by formally reminding us of the final result in every featured match. As it is we thankfully get the scorer name, opposing team, match date, current strike tally, and some periodic inserts offering landmark stats, but there’s definitely room for the extra information you may crave.

That said however, what we end up with is a brilliant sporting document for nostalgic fans and newbies alike. Watching the kit designs change, spotting the scaffolding during the expansion of St. James’ Park and even appreciating how football coverage itself has evolved. It’s worth noting that because this DVD has been culled from the various live broadcasts over each season, there’s a tangible discrepancy in terms of image quality, aspect and sound. However this only heaps on the rose-tint and having the original commentary track heightens the archive feel. Sure the years, faces and voices might change but its quite nice at its core to simply celebrate the artistry of goal scoring – something that remains timeless.

More negatively, the product itself suffers from similar hang-ups to many of these sporting souvenir presentations and indeed those sister titles in the Newcastle United collection. If it matters to you you’ll wonder why the classy cover design and artwork isn’t mirrored in the menus and captioning on the discs. These minor quibbles aren’t enough to distract, but perhaps a wider point for ilcmedia to up their game a little when it comes to package consistency.

Overall though this is a must have for diehard fans and Premier League enthusiasts of all ages, especially given the very affordable price. If you do manage to snap it up for £12 it works out as 1.2 pence per goal, which is crazy when you consider you’re effectively getting the best bits from virtually every other Newcastle United DVD available!

Watch the official trailer at www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qJCp-4x0Rc
DVD review copy purchased via www.dukevideo.com

FAVOURITE BIT
Just soooo many goaaals… but for sheer passion, beauty and madness its tough to beat Cheick Tiote’s improbable leveller versus Arsenal, February 5th 2011

LEAST FAVOURITE BIT
It seems like a twisted poetic omen that the first Premier League goal Newcastle would register was in fact a Coventry City own goal, August 18th 1993

VERDICT
If you buy only one Newcastle United DVD for the contemporary era, then this will remain the ultimate purchase for the foreseeable future

RATING (out of 5)
****

 

Hmmm, already been done on the 12th Nov. 12:56 PM.

1.000 Of The Finest.