Tommy 'The Barman' - No Crisis Here!

Last updated : 19 February 2008 By Footy Mad - Editor

Tommy Wright: "If you think this is a crisis - you should have been here in 1992.

"When Kevin arrived last time we'd just lost 5-2 to Oxford, which proved to be the downfall of Ossie Ardiles.

"Kevin came in and instantly the crowd soared from around 15,000 to over 30,000 - it was an amazing time to be at the club.

"Speaking as a goalkeeper, Ossie's tactics were certainly entertaining, and we won a lot of games 4-3 and such like, but defensively we were badly exposed.

"Kevin came in and we comfortably beat Bristol City 3-0 in one of my quietest games for the club!

"But it was still a roller-coaster ride during that time. We ended up needing four points from the last two games, and as everyone knows we still went to Leicester on the final day needing something out of the game to stay up.

"In the end, the other results went our way and we won, but we weren't to know that before.

"The next season (1992/93) we won the first 11 games and that really did lay the foundations for promotion.

"In fact, we laid the foundations for the next few years because the three after that were probably the most successful of the Premier League years.

"It's maybe only now when you look back on things that you see what Kevin and the players of 1992 did for the club.

"You probably don't realise it at the time, but it shows how important it was to do well back then, first time around.

"When you think about it, the current situation is serious, but with 12 games left and the club six points clear, it's not quite a crisis, whereas back in 1992 it really was a crisis as we came so close."

*1988/93 1999/00 T.J.Wright 85/1 0
Tommy "The Barman" (he was barman in Belfast before joining Newcastle) was signed from Linfield for £300,000 and was an established Northern Ireland international. Spent a period on loan at Hull City. A goalkeeper who was well respected at Newcastle before moving on. Came back on loan during Ruud Gullit's ill-fated reign, filling in when United went through a goalkeeping crisis.