Evening Chronicle: HE'S seen Newcastle play in 17 countries and even had a gun pointed at him for his troubles - but Toon Army stalwart Kevin Fletcher can't wait to dust his passport down again.
Kevin, 56, has written a book detailing the club’s history in Europe and he’s now looking forward to adding a new chapter.
Kevin saw the club’s first win in a European competition, was there to see the Fairs Cup victory in 1969 and was unfortunate enough to have a taxi driver point a gun at him in a dispute over a fare in Belgrade.
He released Magpies in Europe after seeing the club play 92 fixtures in European competitions at home and abroad.
Kevin, from Sacriston, County Durham, can’t wait to find out United’s opponents in the Europa League play-off and insists he isn’t disappointed to miss out on the Champions League.
“I’d fancy Iceland or somewhere like that,” he said.
“Those places are where the fun is, the different countries.
“I’ve been to Hungary and Bulgaria. The beer’s cheap and the fans are friendly.
“Geordies like to enjoy themselves, they don’t cause trouble when they go away, but in Italy the police followed us around and we couldn’t drink beer. I’d like to avoid Italy – I’d rather go to Spain.”
Kevin’s European memories date back to the success over Hungarian team Újpesti Dózsa at St James’ Park in the Fairs Cup.
“Getting to the final in 1969 was marvellous,” Kevin said.
“There were buses from everywhere taking fans to the game, it was a marvellous time in my life.
“We’ve seen different extremes in Europe, we’ve been to places like Kiev where people had little money and Belgrade where it was like a war zone but then also places like Monte Carlo where all the Geordies were just mixing in with the locals.
“We had some dodgy moments and strange situations as well. I remember going to Belgrade and there was an earthquake as soon as we arrived.
“The hotel was surrounded by police and we’d been warned not to go out but we managed to get out a back way and a group of students showed us round some bars.
“We were warned before going back to the hotel to agree a price for the taxi and the driver tried to charge us 10 times the amount.
“I said I wasn’t paying that and he reached into his glovebox and pointed a gun at us. That soon sobered me up.”
"MAGPIES IN EUROPE", priced £9.99, is available from the Back Page in St Andrew’s Street, Newcastle, or send a cheque for £9.99 (payable to J.Dixon) to Magpies In Europe, 5 Dunelm, Sacriston, Durham DH7 6NU for a post-free copy. (*Don't forget to include your name and address).
It is also available from online book stores: