Graham's Blog

What a player he was, and what stories Peter Beardsley has to tell us.

We spent two hours in his company in Newcastle, where he works as reserve team coach. He played for that club in two spells, once alongside Kevin Keegan and once under his charge. Two great teams, and Newcastle fans will love these stories. But there’s something here for fans of almost all the clubs he played for – and any lover of football who recalls, or has since seen, Peter at his defence-breaking best.

How a game against George Best led to that one-game Manchester United career; why Tino Asprilla was most certainly not the reason Newcastle blew the title in 1996; how he ended up cooking for Keegan in a flat above Harrod’s…. there’s much, much more in this extra-long interview.

I loved hearing Peter’s stories – let me know what you think.

And if you liked some of our listener’s questions and you’re not on the mailing list yet … what are you waiting for?

David Provan is the best co-commentator in football.

He’s been promoted within the Sky team time and again despite having no real name in England from his playing days – it’s all been done behind quick, insightful calls and a fierce commitment to this second career in media. Plenty here on life in the Premier League gantry – but also on his first career, as a talented and winning winger for Celtic and Scotland, and the illness that cut it short. All of you will recognise the voice, but only some will have known the player. It’s all here.

How does an elite middle distance runner become an elite footballer? How does a guy who can’t trap a ball become European Midfielder of the Year – twice? How does that player adapt his penalty technique to become – very nearly – perfect? Gaizka Mendieta says this: “My talent was learning. I wanted to learn.”
It’s the bedrock of his story but this also includes The Doors and Lou Reed, maybe the best under-21 tournament ever, maybe the best goal ever, maybe the best cup run ever – and loads more. I hope you like it.

I wanted to make sure you could watch this goal Gaizka scored in the Copa del Rey final of 1999. It is, I think, the best I have been present for.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPoGnRObrNU

And in the podcast I link it to the name of Frank Worthington, who some of you may recall and some of you may not. This is the goal I was thinking about. You can make the call of which you like better on the podcast Twitter feed.

In this latest edition of The Big Interview, Alan Pardew was brilliant on some very big moments in his career, the kind that can go either way and result in very different outcomes.

Like, what if Steven Gerrard hadn’t hit one of the all-time FA Cup final goals against Pardew’s West Ham in 2006 (there’s also great insight into how that goal happened)?

Or how does the Newcastle United story pan out if Hatem Ben Arfa scores for 2-0 against Benfica in the Europa League quarter-final?

There’s also loads here about his origins in non-league, man-marking Gazza, the future for Crystal Palace and much more.

Alan was a generous host at the Palace training ground, and gave us an open and insightful interview. I hope you like it.