it has, apparently, come to pass that once a year (give or take) i present, here, a statue off of a football stadium from somewhere or other in England. just England, look you see, for i have not taken a trip to any other aspect of the wider United Kingdom where i would see such. one never knows if such sights loom in my future, though.
for now, though, not just a statue in the singular, but statues. as in multiple. more than two, certainly, but not quite so many or as much as four (4). recently i was in the fine city of Newcastle, so as to bear witness to Ian Brown (and his tape) in concert. the morning after the night before saw me of sufficient state to undertake a walk to the hallowed football ground of the city, and the weather was, at the least, agreeable to do so. at first, at the least.
above one can see two of the three on display at St James Park. ostensibly these are the ones which greet one when heading to the ground from the general area of the city centre. but, yes, also, you could indeed head from one of the other directions and not see them as such at first. that i have spent so much time on this point gives every (reasonable) indication that yes, no i don't have all of that much to say, just let the pictures do their thing. and video.
make no mistake, and readers of a regular nature here shall need no caution, that these images are not intended to be the finest or greatest quality possible. i have every confidence of others taking more better quality images and showing them off. rather it is so that these are my own experiences, recorded here on this blog for what else is it what i would do.
with no particular preference of order given to them, a closer look starts above with Sir Bobby Robson. in a sport which has provided many, many fine ambassadors, full worthy of praise and respect beyond the borders of a football ground, every now and then there's one which transcends, who is admired far and wide. quite a few would rush to place Sir Bobby at the top of such a list, if it were requested.
just what puts Sir Bobby into such a category? entire books, as well as documentaries and what have you, have been dedicated to this subject. in short, for i doubt many come here for deep insights, he was a remarkably warm, well spoken and clearly kind gentleman, undertaking all he did with dignity and respect. perhaps he is held so dear as those who saw and heard him wished that they, and all within the world we created, could present such an account of themselves to the world.
yes, we here do indeed have a video of each statue. on one side taking some video of an immobile structure such as a statue (generally) is seems slightly silly, but also no. whereas once again i qualify this by saying the quality is perhaps not the greatest, i would assume this gives one an idea of what it looks like entire, or most of it, rather than just the one image.
selecting a "club legend" to put up a statue of could be as complex a decision as it is a straightforward one, i suspect. ticking of the criteria for a great of a particular side is straightforward enough. but, i would speculate, one would also need to consider that they (without going into negatives) shall remain seen as a fine ambassador for both sport and club for the years to come, and shall also be full worthy of the respect of fans from rival clubs visiting the ground.
quite a safe choice to make with Alan Shearer in those terms, even if circumstantial evidence, momentarily, indicates a pigeon or similar bird momentarily disagreed. from what i recall, and no i am not going ahead and researching this, he is the one who has scored the most goals for Newcastle United in all of recorded history of such things. and a record so high it is unlikely to be broken.
the oddity, or curious, thing about these two (2) statues greeting visitors to St James Park is that they are club, and indeed to a wide degree national, icons (heroes, perhaps), but for Newcastle United they didn't actually "win" any trophies as such. unless i am mistaken. yes, winning things is lovely, and many may dismiss this as a cliche, or excuse, but often it's how you play and represent the club rather than what you win which makes a local hero. everything of the relationship between Newcastle and Shearer was that watching him smash goal after goal was reward in itself.
on to the third statue, then, around the other side of the ground it be. which was quite a walk, and yes the weather commenced to turn some as i went to find it. but well worth it to see perhaps the most beloved and treasured of Newcastle icons, the one they with affection call Wor Jackie.
long before my time and era, of course, but one hears and learns of club legends such as Jackie Milburn the moment they take even a passing interest in the subject of club football across the UK. so treasured is this player that, infamously, a certain former prime minister found himself in a bit of silly bother concerning (false) claims that he claimed to have seen him play. for those that actually did, well, by all accounts it was quite a thing to have been able to do.
video below of this Wor Jackie statue, but for now a moment to pause and consider the future of my doing football statues here. where next? i have no idea. perhaps, having done three (3) in one go, next year shall see me not see one. but then perhaps my travels will allow for more. sadly it would seem to be the case that no value can come from going to Fulham to see the statute no longer there.
right, well, i trust (actually, rather, hope) that has given a decent glimpse of the statutes of Newcastle United for anyone interested. yes, once again, i have no doubt much more better quality images, and videos, are out there on the net, but here we are.
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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