Alun Armstrong opens up on his Newcastle United regret, 'ridiculous' Middlesbrough move and European nights at Ipswich Town
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Confidence and pride oozes out of Kevin Keegan as his attack-minded squad sit resplendent in their pristine (and as yet unclicked) Asics kits in front of the newly completed Leazes Stand.
And on the subject of kits, what about the colourful trio of goalkeeper shirts worn by Pavel Srnicek, Tommy Wright and a youthful Steve Harper that seem to hog the limelight in their largely monochrome surroundings?
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Hide AdThere is a smattering of new signings as Cypriot winger Nicky Papavasilou, the as yet unknown Greenock Morton striker Alex Mathie and the returning Peter Beardsley sit alongside terrace heroes like Andy Cole, Robert Lee and John Beresford.
There is even an all-too-rare piece of silverware as the Division One (now Championship) trophy sits in front of the United squad after they romped to the second-tier title during the previous season.
There are North East lads all over the place with the likes of Steve Watson, Lee Clark, Steve Howey and Robbie Elliott providing the foundations of the next stage of the Keegan revolution.
But for one young Geordie in the back row, this would be the closest he would come to first team life on Tyneside.
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Hide AdStood alongside the ever-versatile Watson, the shockingly bleached blonde hair of reserve team striker Alun Armstrong stands out like a sore thumb.
But try as he might, the Blaydon-born frontman was unable to stand out at Gallowgate and force himself into the first team picture under Keegan.
“When you were in the reserves, there wasn’t a them and us, Keegan always had the two groups together,” explained Armstrong.
“That’s what I thought was the best thing to do because you developed quicker when you were training alongside top players.
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Hide Ad“That’s my biggest regret – I never got to pull on the black and white shirt and play for the first team at Newcastle.
“I was Keegan’s boot boy and Andy Cole’s boot boy at the time.
“Him and Beardsley are still one of the best partnerships I have seen.
“But you knew when they were coming in, it was pushing me further and further away from getting a chance.
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Hide Ad“I didn’t want to move on because they were exciting times, but unfortunately I had to do that to get my own career going.”
Armstrong’s escape route would take him to Stockport County where his education in senior football would really begin.
Under the tutorship of Dave Jones, and working alongside battle-hardened strikers like Brett Angell, Andy Mutch and Kevin Francis, Armstrong flourished as the Hatters reached the last four of the Coca Cola Cup.
Wins over Premier League trio Blackburn Rovers, West Ham United and Southampton set up a two-legged semi-final against Middlesbrough – it was an occasion that would change Armstrong’s career path.
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Hide Ad“I learnt so much from the likes of Andy Mutch and Brett Angell.
“They weren’t top, top players, but I learnt more from them than I did from anyone in my career.
“We got to the semi-final of the League Cup; it was an unbelievable time for the club.
“They are the games where you can catch the eye as a lower-league player – and I must have done that with Robbo (Bryan Robson, Middlesbrough manager) in the semi-final.
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Hide Ad“You have to take the opportunity and I’d like to think I did that.
From playing alongside lower-league stalwarts, Armstrong was suddenly plying his trade alongside star names like Paul Merson, Paul Gascoigne and Marco Branca.
“The Boro move was a shock because I had agreed to go to Southampton with Dave Jones.
“It was ready to go – but then I had a call saying to go to Middlesbrough and I just told my agent to just get what he could.
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Hide Ad“To play for Robbo, to play alongside players like Paul Merson was ridiculous.
“Merson was the best player I’ve played with – he had the technical ability to see everything on the pitch.
“He was underrated in my opinion because he just had everything.
“I scored on my debut and I scored the goals that helped get us promoted on the last day of the season against Oxford United.”
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Hide AdHowever, a back issue and a double hernia operation stunted Armstrong’ development on Teesside and bigger names came in as the ambitious Boro board looked to re-establish themselves in the Premier League.
Colombian striker Hamilton Ricard and Cameroon international Joseph Desire-Job came in and blocked his path back into Robson’s side.
Ipswich Town provided his escape route from Middlesbrough – although it was a route that was paved with surprise for Armstrong.
“We were down at West Ham United and the Boro kitman asked why I was there,” said Armstrong.
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Hide Ad“He told me he didn’t even have my kit and Robson told me after the game that the club had accepted an offer from Ipswich.
“I knew most of their players, they were fifth in the Premier League, so I thought it would be a decent move.
“Then I looked at where Ipswich was, and it was miles away from home!
“It took me nearly seven hours to get there with my Dad and that put me off at first.
“But then I met George Burley and Mogga (Tony Mowbray).
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Hide Ad“There is something about that place, it’s a family club, you know you’re going to be looked after when you get there.”
If his release from Newcastle was the nadir of Armstrong’s playing days, a UEFA Cup tie against Serie A giants Inter Milan was to be its zenith.
The Geordie’s playing days had taken him to rebuilding his career in English football’s third tier, but now he was making headlines against some of the biggest names in the world game.
“We finished fifth and it could have been a Champions League place,” said Armstrong.
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Hide Ad“Liverpool got fourth on the last day of the season and you couldn’t really compare our squad to theirs.”
After negotiating their way beyond Torpedo Moscow and Helsingborgs, George Burley’s men hosted Inter at a packed-out Portman Road.
The Nerazzurri line-up contained the likes of Javier Zanetti, Clarence Seedorf and Ivan Cordoba – but it was Armstrong that hit the headlines as he headed the only goal of the game inside the last quarter of an hour.
The defining moment of his career had arrived – not that he can remember much about it.
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Hide Ad“I was ill before the game, but Ipswich couldn’t work out what it was.
“I was on the bench, it was surreal watching their players at Portman Road.
“The manager put me on and said to get on the end of some crosses because nobody was doing that for us.
“Jamie Clapham put the cross in, but I can’t remember too much after that.
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Hide Ad“I caught it well with my head and it went in, it’s a moment that is stuck with me for life now.”
Despite their heroics at home, reality hit, and it hit hard in the San Siro.
With Serie A legend Christian Vieri bolstering the starting line-up, and Brazilian superstar Ronaldo warming the bench, Inter blew away the Tractor Boys.
Vieri had plundered his way to a devastating hat-trick and Mohamed Kallon grabbed the other goal as the hosts ended Ipswich’s hopes of completing a memorable triumph.
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Hide AdThere was to be a last hurrah for Armstrong as he slotted home a late consolation from the penalty spot.
The experience of playing and scoring in the iconic San Siro still remains with him to this day.
“There were 9,000 Ipswich fans there and the atmosphere was strange.
“We trained there the night before and the enormity of the place was overwhelming.
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Hide Ad“You dream of playing in places like that – although it didn’t feel like a dream when we saw their team-sheet.
“We couldn’t get near Vieri, Titus Bramble couldn’t touch him, we were beaten by better players.
“Thankfully Vieri went off before he could cause more damage, but then you see Ronaldo coming on.
“There was a little bit of a difference in the two sides, but it was quite an experience.”
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Hide AdDespite his exploits at home and in Europe, Armstrong exited Portman Road in September 2004 to move back to the North East for the first of two playing spells at Darlington.
He also spent time with Rushden and Diamonds and Doncaster Rovers before bringing down the curtain on his playing career with Newcastle Blue Star – where he was shown a red card against Gateshead on his final appearance in senior football.
His managerial career got underway with a bang at Blyth Spartans as he helped the famous FA Cup giant-killers to the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League title in 2017, before establishing the Croft Park club in the National League North over the following two seasons.
Last summer’s switch to Darlington means that Armstrong is currently preparing for his second season with a club he admits is close to his heart.
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Hide Ad“I loved my time at Spartans, it was a great introduction into management, and what we achieved there was special.
“But it’s funny how I have just always been affiliated with Darlington, it just feels right there.
“I am pleased to be back at the club, and we are building such a good squad
“We have a plan in place, it’s exciting to see what is ahead of us.”
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Hide AdFrom polishing Keegan and Cole’s boots to adding some shine to Darlington’s future, via meetings with Gascoigne, Ronaldo and Vieri – it’s been an eventful journey for the young Newcastle United hopeful from Blaydon.