Justin Lockwood on Sir Bobby Robson's parking outrage and THAT Cheick Tiote commentary

While the Bundesliga kicks off over in Germany, the English Premier League can only watch on and hope for a return to action in the summer months.

So, with nothing live on these shores this weekend, we're rolling back the years in a special three-part series telling tales from Newcastle United’s past from behind the microphone.

And the voices telling those stories, albeit this time in print, which no doubt prove to be familiar to Newcastle United fans.

First up yesterday we had Radio Newcastle and Metro Radio commentator, Mick Lowes, who was the voice of Newcastle United on the radio for the best part of 25 years.

And today it’s the turn of Lockwood.

Match going fans will know Lockwood as the host of the half time entertainment. However, he was actually the voice of many of Newcastle’s most memorable moments in recent memory during stints as commentator for both Metro and Real Radio. Justin looks back over memories of the Champions League, Sir Bobby and “that” Cheick Tiote goal.

Lockwood arrived in the North East from Sheffield in 2001 and was soon afforded the chance to take over as Metro Radio’s Newcastle commentator. Having worked in local radio back home, he was no stranger to the world of football broadcasting but was taken aback by the passion for football in the city.

He said: “I had absolutely no idea how passionate North East fans were about their football. Coming from Sheffield, it’s so fragmented when it comes to football because you’ve just got so many teams all over the place, you don’t really have that one city, one club type mentality. I didn’t really understand it right away but it quickly dawned on me that if I was going to do this, I had to be on the very top of my game and know your stuff.”

There was a great irony that Lockwood would make his debut for Metro Radio at Oakwell, a ground where he had grown up watching his beloved Barnsley.

“It was unusual one for me, but it just transpired that would be my first game. I remember traveling down for the game and being ridiculously nervous. I got probably two- or three-days’ notice before the game and I had such a dry mouth,” said Lockwood.

“I settled into it after a while but the added complication of playing my childhood team didn’t help. I didn’t get off to the greatest of starts but being really honest, those first few months were quite tough trying to find my feet in a city that knows its football so well. I’m glad I stuck it out as I enjoyed every second of it.”

Lockwood’s arrival at the station coincided with a return to the upper echelons for Newcastle. That also meant a return to the Champions League and some unforgettable trips, from a monsoon in Barcelona to bullet holes in the wall of the hotel in Sarajevo.

“I have to pinch myself even now thinking back about it,” he said.

“From a commentary perspective, they are the biggest games I would ever do so as soon as I got there it was all work.

“Barcelona was incredible because of the Nou Camp, the San Siro looked amazing all lit up at night but Feyenoord was by far and away the best trip.

“We’d been written off after losing the first three games. We won the next two and I just had a feeling. We used the “Toca’s Miracle” theme on the promo as we needed a miracle really.

“I think we were in about every position in the group that night, we needed the Juventus and Dynamo Kiev game to go our way too and once we gave away the two goal lead I thought we were done. But then for it to finish like that with (Craig) Bellamy was just incredible. I think that was the first time I’ve seen the Newcastle press collectively lose their decorum! Everybody was up out of their seats and I don’t think many went to bed that night.”

Spearheading Newcastle’s new found success was of course Sir Bobby Robson. Lockwood inadvertently found himself on the wrong side of the former England manager but it wasn’t long before he was back in his good books.

“I was always in awe of him. He was very, very good to me – very fair,” he said.

“Probably about six months into being in the job, the breakfast show team were doing a sort of skit where an impressionist is pretending to be Mick McCarthy (then Sunderland manager) ringing Bobby Robson to get some advice.

“The joke was that ‘Bobby’ would always get him mixed up with another McCarthy and this went on for a few weeks. Unfortunately, the real Sir Bobby had got wind of it and I was the only face of Metro he would ever come into contact with. I was still new so I was desperately trying to stay in favour. I had been warned he was upset about it but he did our interview for the week as normal.

“At the end he cleared the room but said ‘Justin, you can stay’. The door closed and he went to town on me about it, I just had to take it because he was right. He left the room in a bit of a huff and I was absolutely devastated.

“I stewed on it all week until the next press conference and I went in really early to speak to him and I was babbling away trying to get excuses and apologies out and he just stopped me in my tracks to say he doesn’t hold grudges and it was finished with.

“That’s the kind of person he was, he dealt with it, he told you what he thought but he never let it stew or colour his judgment on you. He even came on the breakfast show a few months later to give them some stick back on air!”

A few years later, Lockwood found himself in the unlikely position of driving Sir Bobby to meet Brazilian legend Pele at Northumbria University.

“Sir Bobby’s secretary rang me to say she’d heard me talking about the Pele exhibition and Sir Bobby was supposed to go. He wasn’t sure how to get there so it was agreed I would go and pick him up,” recalls Lockwood.

“It wasn’t far from St. James’s where I picked him up but we got stuck behind a guy trying to park his car in front of us. Bobby hated being late and was getting agitated as this guy reversed in and out of the space for what felt like about 20 minutes. Eventually, he got parked and as we drove past Bobby rolled the window down. He held up an index finger and said, ‘one out of ten son, one out of ten!’ The guy’s face was a picture.”

Lockwood has remained in contact with his two co-commentators, Mick Martin and Bob Moncur. Both have left a lasting impression but for very different reasons.

“They each had such different personalities. Mick was such good fun to be around and he’d absolutely have my life on air if I ever made a mistake on air. We played Bolton and Jussi Jaaskelainen, the goalkeeper, had been sent off. The replacement goalkeeper made a save and I must have said ‘great save by Jaaskelainen’ and Mick fired straight back with ‘well he must have long arms, he was sent off 25 minutes ago!’ – It used to drive me mad!

“The respect I had for Bob was just incredible. I’ve always been in awe of how strong he is, strong willed. He’s a bit of an inspiration for anybody because nothing stops him. I went to see him in hospital after he’d had an operation. He showed me the scar and honestly, it looked like he had been attacked by jaws. But there he was sat up having fun and a laugh. The man is made of iron! He was a bit of a father figure to me, I could always ask his advice and he’d always have my back.”

Despite the European tour of the Metro days, Lockwood had moved to Real Radio by 2007 and it was here where his most infamous line of commentary was uttered during the incredible 4-4 draw with Arsenal in 2011.

“Once (Abou) Diaby got sent off, I just remember thinking that they looked a bit wobbly. When it went 4-2, I thought it was on. We got the softest of penalties on Williamson for 4-3. You sometimes have a think about what you’d say if a certain player scored and the whole ‘boom, boom Cheick, Cheick’ thing would come in handy one day but I never thought it would be in those circumstances! Full on euphoria came to the surface and it was just mad.

“About eight years later my dad was on a coach trip and he was near the front. The coach drivers mobile phone rang and my Dad took a minute to recognise it but the ringtone was my commentary from that Tiote goal! They got chatting and the driver explained that it wasn’t that he particularly liked it, it was just the only thing loud enough to hear when the bus was on…”