Newcastle have not had the best time during their pre-season this summer, but it’d be hard to be any worse than in 1996.
So far in preparation for the new campaign, Eddie Howe‘s side have lost 4-0 to Celtic, 3-2 to Arsenal and 1-0 to a K-League XI.
Howe’s Newcastle are having a rough summer periodGettyOn top of the poor results on the pitch, it’s been dismal off it too, with multiple targets missed out on and Alexander Isak set to leave.
Two of their defeats have come on the club’s tour of Asia, and for long-time fans, that could bring back some bad memories.
Before the start of the 1996/97 season, Newcastle, led by manager Kevin Keegan, had travelled to Japan.
For the final game of their tour, they took on Gamba Osaka and were beaten 3-1, with Keegan admitting his embarrassment post-match.
It wasn’t totally just regarding the result though, as their club-record signing, Alan Shearer, was involved in a farce ahead of the game.
Shearer, who was signed for a world-record fee of £15million earlier that summer, was forced to travel separately to the game.
Keegan revealed that the Newcastle team were insured for £60million and the arrival of Shearer put them over the limit.
“The decision was made for insurance purposes,” the Magpies boss said, explaining the strange circumstances.
Chief executive Freddie Fletcher added: “It was simply a case of Shearer’s fee exceeding our insurance premium.”
The striker, who would go on to become a club icon, ended up arriving at the team hotel before the rest of the squad.
Shearer had a strange pre-season after joining Newcastle for a world-record feeGetty Faustino Asprilla was also involved in an embarrassing situation at the same timeGettyAnd that could well have been down to the fact that his teammate, Faustino Asprilla, got stuck at customs at the airport.
To make the situation even more embarrassing for Newcastle, Asprilla was turned back as he didn’t have a VISA.
He was taken away by three officials at the airport and he was questioned, with the rest of the squad eventually having to leave for the hotel without him.
Asprilla was released after he was found to have had enough paperwork, but the delay cost him some cash.
The striker and some members of the Newcastle staff had to pay £150 to hire a taxi to rejoin the rest of the travelling party.
Newcastle were then soon thrown into action against Gamba Osaka, with Shearer not featuring, and things just kept getting worse.
‘I’m embarrassed’
Keegan was left publicly criticising his players after they were beaten 3-1 by the team that was third bottom of the J-League.
He ranted after the loss: “I’m embarrassed… I have to say there were very few players who came out of this match with any credit.
“I am very disappointed. It was below par. Gamba treated it as a proper match, but some of our lads thought it was going to be a canter.
“If you don’t approach these games correctly, you can be left as embarrassed as I am here tonight.
“For some of the lads, it’s a new experience. But most of them are used to it. They are all internationals.
“I am very disappointed to have to come to a press conference after a performance like that from a team that’s got Newcastle United on it.
Keegan was left embarrassed and angry after the loss in JapanGetty“I know it was hot out there. It was our third game and I know we have done a lot of travelling, but really great players can handle that.
“They don’t use these things as an excuse. They can handle difficulties, they can play, and then afterwards, they can say it was a tough tour.”
Newcastle would go on to finish second in the Premier League in the following season, reaching the UEFA Cup quarter-finals too.
Shearer would also go on to be the club’s top goalscorer and the rest is history when it comes to his career at St. James’ Park.
Now, Howe will hope to replicate that and have a successful campaign in Europe and the top-flight despite a rough summer of his own.
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