4/11/1992 v Birmingham (a) 3-2 Division one
An amazing game at St.Andrews. United took the lead three times to be 3-2 ahead
at the interval. Injured keeper Tommy Wright was replaced by Kevin Brock who
almost immediately felt the full force of a David Speedie boot on his head.
In a world of his own, Brock spent the rest of the half sniffing Derek Wright's
smelling salts or socks but United incredibly held on.
Later that evening Stan Seymour Jr. died of a heart attack in a local hotel.
"This was a massive win for us. We'd lost three in a week after our great start
to the season and we were desperate to get winning again. We were all delighted
and went to congratulate Kevin Brock after the final whistle. I remember Keegan
was especially pleased with the way we had battled and kept possession.
"In the coach on the way home it had gone a bit quiet and suddenly Brock shouts
out, 'I thought we had a game tonight.' I think most of the lads thought he
was joking but he wasn't. 'So, how did we get on then?' he asked. We told him
that he was the hero and he said, 'I thought I'd had a good game the way everyone
kept patting my back.' I think it was only a few days later he realised he'd
actually played in goal and he really struggled for a few days with severe head
pains.
"Keegan's mood soon changed when he heard about Stan Seymour. He'd been really
close with him because of his time as Chairman when Keegan was a player and
he was obviously very upset. We played Swindon in a televised game on the Sunday
and we all wore black arm bands. Kevin's team talk was all about how we should
play for Seymour and about what he had done for the club."
At this point we break off to tell our own tale about Stan Jr. :
When Keegan joined as player in August 1982 there was a massive rush for season
tickets. Queues formed all around the ground the morning after and Stan drove
to St.James' obviously swelling with pride. As he parked his Volvo, Stan got
out of the car to massive applause and in what was his finest hour Stan raised
his arms aloft to salute the crowd. Unfortunately the portly Chairman had forgotten
that he had loosened his trousers to aid his driving posture and Stan stood,
trousers round his ankles, displaying a magnificent pair of Y-fronts to the
massed ranks. Typical Newcastle....
"I remember that game for something else. Birmingham's right-back was Paul
Holmes who lived in my street when we were kids. His Dad had also played with
mine at Chesterfield so that was quite a moment for the pair of us to be on
the same pitch. As it turned out it was one of those games where we ended up
kicking lumps out of eachother as things got a bit physical. It was no surprise
we ended that game with one keeper injured and the other out on his feet."
All quotes are taken from John Beresford's interviews for NUFC.com
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