Fighters V Flighters

Pressure is on for a Title Run-in.

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GATESHEAD were always the team I looked out for in the Conference over the years. For a time, with the backing of Cameron Hall Developments and their associations with Newcastle United, they were the big dogs of the local Non-League scene.

My overriding memory was they always seemed to fly out of the traps until the second half of the season when postponements and fixture congestion would take its toll, and they’d fade away as the finish line approached.

They had the finances, it seemed, but not the necessary know how to finish the job off. The pile-up of games won’t have helped, but I always did wonder if there was more to it than simple fatigue.

It was a curse that spread across the Tyne at the time, as Newcastle famously surrendered a 12-point lead to Manchester United in 1995/96. The question is here, do you credit Manchester United for an amazing comeback or do you label Newcastle United ‘bottlers’?

Obstacles

“Bottlers” is a strong word to use but the fact is, when teams find themselves in unfamiliar territory, they choke because they simply don’t know how to handle the position they’re in. That season, Manchester United had players who had not only been there, but they were wearing the t-shirts under their strips. And that was the key.