Toon Fan Knows How Badly Scousers Are Feeling!

Tony was first on the phone when Newcastle were drawn against FC Zurich in the UEFA Cup back in 1999, booking a flight and hotel in the Swiss city, before the prices shot up.

As it happens, two days later UEFA changed the fixture because Grasshoppers were playing in Zurich the same night.

So Newcastle were switched to play in Switzerland first ... with the game at St James' Park to be played as the second leg.

Tony could not change is flight, or cancel the hotel ... and he ended up flying to Switzerland to watch Newcastle on the big screen in a pub ... while the Magpies were playing at SJP!

We visited Zurich for the first leg and told the locals in a pub Tony would be arriving two weeks later. He was made a celebrity and didn't pay for a beer the entire three days he was there ... and he can sup a lot of beer (well ... cider actually).

Atletico Madrid are awaiting confirmation the stadium ban imposed by UEFA has been postponed which would see Liverpool play at the Vicente Calderon next Wednesday.

The punishment was handed out after trouble flared during the Champions League match between Atletico and Marseille at the Vicente Calderon on October 1.

The sanction was immediately condemned by Atletico, who have announced they plan to appeal.

Liverpool officials and manager Rafael Benitez also expressed concern their fans were facing a late change to their travel arrangements.

Reports in Spain, however, indicated UEFA have had a change of heart and will instead allow the match to be staged at the Calderon.

For those Toon fans who want a bit of European nostalgia ... here are the reports of those two fixtures against FC Zurich back in October 1999:-

FC ZURICH 1 NEWCASTLE UTD 2

Newcastle withstood a late revival from UEFA Cup rivals Zurich to take a narrow lead back to Tyneside.

England skipper Alan Shearer collected the 50th cup goal of his career on the hour to extend his side's lead after Silvio Maric had put the visitors ahead with his first goal for the club.

But just when they thought the game was all over, Zurich launched a superb fightback which, with a slice of good fortune, could have given them a share of the spoils.

The Swiss side pulled one back through defender Pascal Castillo on 68 minutes and then laid siege to Steve Harper's goal.

It took the woodwork to keep out Shaun Bartlett's piledriver four minutes from time and preserve United's slim advantage.

Newcastle were drastically below par before the break, but they improved markedly in the second half and were good value for their lead before the backlash started.

But they left the Letzigrun Stadium knowing that the tie is far from over and that they will have to be better at St James' Park in a fortnight's time.

Newcastle made just two changes, and both were widely expected with Maric replacing Kevin Gallacher, who will not qualify to play in the competition until after the next round should United make it, and Harper coming in for Shay Given.

Zurich had to do without skipper Urs Fischer, who could be out for up to two months with a knee injury, and midfielder David Pango, who has a broken leg.

The Magpies went into the game off the back of successive demoralising defeats by Birmingham City and Coventry, and looking for a good result both to enhance their chances of progressing into the third round and building confidence for Monday night's vital Premiership clash with Derby.

But if their travelling fans had hoped for a barnstorming start, they were to be disappointed as their side came out of the traps at a pace which would have appalled the world class athletes who have set so many records on the running track which surrounds the pitch.

They gave the ball away at depressingly regular intervals as their much-vaunted midfield struggled to make any headway at all against a lively but ordinary Zurich side.

Indeed, they could have found themselves three down within 17 minutes gone as midfielder Frederic Chassot made the most of the acres of space he was gifted down the left.

It was he who shot across the face of goal as early as the third minute after Nikos Dabizas had been hustled by Bartlett and Mario Frick, and he was again involved in the move which allowed Mikheil Kavelashvili to crash a volley into Aaron Hughes nine minutes later.

A dipping Nolberto Solano free-kick gave the vociferous United fans something genuine to cheer, but the ball dropped just wide of Marco Pascolo's right post, but it was the Swiss side who should have taken the lead with 17 minutes gone.

Bartlett collected Chassot's overhit cross wide on the right, and when he drove it in to the near post, Kavelashvili just failed to connect and Cesar Sant'Anna was guilty of a bad miss with the goal yawning.

Newcastle's rally could not come quickly enough, and as they finally started to make some headway, the chances began to flow.

Gary Speed was inches away from reaching Dabizas' header back across goal, and the largely ineffective Maric was muscled off the ball as Speed forced it across goal.

Pascolo had to make his first save on 27 minutes when Solano drove in a low effort which he could not hold, but again Maric was unable to collect the loose ball.

The Newcastle defence held firm late in the half as first Frick and then Aleksander Djordjevic threatened, but it was Rob Lee who had the last real chance of the half, smashing a 20-yard effort a couple of feet over the bar.

Robson's half-time team-talk will have been blunt and to the point, and it paid dividends within six minutes of the restart as his side took the lead.

Maric gave the ball away with a needless back-heel, but as defender Saidou Kebe attempted to clear his lines, he gifted possession back to the Croatian.

The striker took the ball on his chest and raced in on goal to beat Pascolo and claim his first goal for the club.

It was 2-0 nine minutes later, when Pascolo pushed Hughes' shot on to the bar and Shearer smashed home the rebound.

But that was the signal for Zurich to throw caution to the wind, and they got back into it with 68 minutes gone as Castillo cut in from the right and fired past Harper.

The United keeper was fortunate to escape his second red card within 10 days when he brought Bartlett down on the edge of the penalty area with 15 minutes remaining, but the referee cautioned him and awarded a free-kick which came to nothing.

But United were rocking at the back, and the keeper redeemed himself with a fine double save from substitute Gauthier Akale and Bartlett minutes later.

The Swiss side came within inches of an equaliser on 78 minutes when Sant'Anna crossed to the near post and Bartlett sent a clever flick inches wide.

And they were just as unfortunate four minutes from time when Bartlett was his shot beat Harper but come back off the bar.

Newcastle survived an early scare before rallying to dump FC Zurich out of the UEFA Cup.

Gocha Jamarauli threw the tie back into the melting pot with the 17th-minute opener, and the home side struggled to build up a head of steam after seeing their encouraging opening go to waste.

But Silvio Maric's equaliser 12 minutes before the break got the ball rolling, and two goals within three minutes from Duncan Ferguson - his first since his debut double on November 28 last year - and Gary Speed secured the victory.

And in truth if it had not been for the efforts of Zurich keeper Marco Pascolo, who denied Nikos Dabizas three times in quick succession, the scoreline would have been much more impressive.

However, that would have been slightly flattering to Bobby Robson's side, who have played better in recent weeks than they did tonight.

The win stretched Newcastle's unbeaten home run to four games and ensured at least one more European night on Tyneside.

Ferguson was handed his first start since September 16, after recovering from a hamstring injury, slotting in alongside Alan Shearer in attack.

Silvio Maric, who scored his first goal for the club in Switzerland a fortnight ago, was also included, and Warren Barton returned from his domestic suspension for Italian Alessandro Pistone.

Keeper Steve Harper took over from John Karelse, who kept his first clean sheet for the club in the 0-0 draw at Arsenal on Saturday.

Zurich boss Raimondo Ponte also rang the changes with Frederick Chassot, possibly his side's most impressive player in the first leg on the bench along with Mario Frick and Pascal Castillo, with Mauro Giannini, Jamarauli and Yvan Quentin coming in.

Ferguson's keenness to get back into the thick of the action was apparent in the early stages as he showed for every ball and made the visitors' defence only too aware of his presence.

It was he who allowed Maric to set up a shooting opportunity for Nolberto Solano with just three minutes gone with a neat flick, and he turned up in the penalty area two minutes later to get on the end of Barton's cross, but could not climb high enough to direct it on goal.

But it was Maric who produced the best early effort, picking up Didier Domi's throw in and ghosting past his man before firing inches wide of Pascolo's left post.

Zurich had to make do with inaccurate early efforts from skipper Shaun Bartlett and Jamarauli, but the latter stamped himself on the game after 17 minutes when he squared the tie.

The striker turned up wide on the left to drive in a low cross towards Bartlett, but although the South African failed to get a touch, the ball somehow slipped into the far corner with Harper and his defenders flat-footed.

Dabizas could have equalised within two minutes but blazed his close-range effort over the bar and Solano did the same on 25 minutes after shaking off full-back Quentin.

But the home side restored their aggregate league 12 minutes before the break after they were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the Zurich penalty area.

Shearer's shot was tipped on to the bar by Pascolo but Maric followed up to head into the empty net and collect his second goal of the tie.

With their confidence restored, United set about the task of collecting a second goal, but with their 4-3-3 formation, the Swiss side always looked capable of causing problems.

It took a well-timed 42nd-minute tackle from Dabizas to keep out Bartlett as Newcastle almost contrived to throw away their overall lead once again.

Ponte replaced Bartlett and Saidou Kebe with Chassot and Frick, and it was Chassot who had an early chance as he sent a dipping shot towards Harper's goal.

Newcastle were unable to establish any real pattern in the opening minutes, but Speed should have done better when he was gifted a free header in front of goal with 56 minutes gone.

United finally took the lead two minutes later after Speed set Solano away, and although his shot was half-saved by Pascolo, Ferguson followed up to prod the ball home.

It was all over within three minutes when Speed rose unopposed to meet Solano's corner.

The double blow inevitably knocked the stuffing out of the Swiss side, and what followed was something of a procession.

Pascolo's last-minute intervention just prevented Solano's 67th-minute free-kick from reaching Dabizas at the far post as the home side threatened to run away with it, and the Greek international saw a fine header tipped over 12 minutes from time.

The keeper kept out the defender for a third time a minute later as he got his fingers to yet another goal-bound header.

Shearer went just wide with a header three minutes from time and drove a free-kick just wide in injury time, but the black and white supporters were already well into their celebrations.