This week I have returned to the day job; furloughed no longer, and ready(ish) to get back to the grind. Therefore, for the fifth and final installment of the "Big 5" series, it's time to reflect on some of the fantastic experiences that I have been so fortunate to undertake for NFTV during lockdown.
1. Craig Moore
They say "You never forget your first!" and indeed I wont, as Craig Moore was the first ever interview I undertook for NFTV. Thankfully I'm an early riser thanks to my toddler, as our interview over zoom was arranged for 8am UK time, due to Craig being back in his native Austrailia. Indeed the confirmation I got from Craig that he was more than happy to be interviewed, came at 4:30am a few days previous!
The positive I took from the interview being relatively early, was that I never had a real chance to get nervous. I had done my prep for the meeting the day before, so was reasonably confident I wouldn't be embarrassing myself too much at least. In came Craig into the zoom meeting at 8am on the dot, with a beautiful rural Western-Australia backdrop, due to him just coming in from a walk. Following that, as I discovered in subsequent interviews, once you start talking football, you could easily just as well be chatting to a mate in the pub.
It was evident that Craig still has a passion for the game, whether it be analysing players, or dabbling into the business side of the game. We chatted about his time at Newcastle, two years marred by frustration of injuries. He looks back on his time fondly in the North-East, and was the first to admit "the Newcastle fans probably didn't see the best of me."
After just over twenty minutes, we wrapped up. Part of my research on Craig, I discovered we shared the same second passion in life after football; Horse Racing. After I stopped recording I asked Craig about this, then shared another fifteen minutes or so talking about our second sport.
For my interview (something which Craig did not know) he was perfect, he had all the time in the world for me, and urge you to follow his blogs and videos for UniBet Australia.
2. Keith Gillespie
Keith Gillespie was one of my favourite players from the entertainers. I loved his blistering pace which put countless left-backs to the sword. I've said this before, and will always bang the drum about this; despite Tino Asprilla grabbing the headlines (and rightly so for a marvelous hat trick) Keith Gillespie's performance that night was one of the greatest displays you will see from a winger in the black and white. This was something I didn't shy away from professing to Keith.
I actually spoke to Keith for forty-five minutes, who admitted he was getting bored during this lockdown, and seemed to be more than happy chatting away all evening. We spoke about everything during his time at Newcastle, apart from the famous incident with Alan Shearer on a night out! He even dropped the revelation that the club had tried to sell him to Middlesbrough behind Kenny Dalglish's back, only for Keith to fail a medical.
However I may as well come clean before you see it on the outtakes at the end of the month. All did not go swimmingly in this interview as I made a catastrophic error. Allow me to set the scene. This was my third interview following on from Craig Moore and Warren Barton, both I felt had gone amazingly well. I was getting confident at this! My research and prep were water tight, Keith and I were chatting away, I'd professed my love to him about his Barcelona performance and we were getting along great. We were coming to the end of the interview and Keith mentioned the FA Cup. What I said next will haunt me forever, and takes pride of place within my inner shame-well.
"You, obviously played in an FA Cup final." I sheepishly remarked. As soon as those words left my mouth, my stomach sank. I knew full well Keith failed a fitness test and missed the final, replaced on the right-wing by Warren Barton, who ironically, I interviewed the week previous! Keith then told me how missing the FA Cup final was the lowest point of his career. This did not make me feel better! A genuine error? A slip of the tongue not befitting of the Newcastle Fans TV quiz champion! After we wrapped up the interview, I humbly apologised to Keith, telling him I don't know why I said what I said, especially as I knew full well he didn't play. Thankfully he took it well and with humour (or at least I hope he did) and I told him that rest assured the rest of the NFTV crew will be ribbing me about this, which has duly happened since.
3. Matt Ritchie
This wasn't really an interview because if it was, I messed it up badly! But the Matt Ritchie surprise that Lee organised for me is something that I will cherish forever. I was told I would be guesting on a recording of the True Faith podcast along with Lee. I was given the zoom meeting code and password as normal, I did not suspect a thing. I logged in expecting to see Alex Hurst of True Faith and the NUST (a story which I've since told Alex) but I was actually faced with Newcastle United's number eleven himself, Matt Ritchie!
"Hello, is that Sam?" Matt said. You can see for yourself, if you haven't already my look of surprise. A ten minute conversation, where my shock and surprise led me to make a fool of myself on numerous occasions, was edited down to two minutes (thankfully) by BT Sport.
We spoke about everything; work, family, away days, and of course, a well known hashtag and kicking corner flags into the St James Park faithful. It was a great experience, as his raw energy and tenacity makes him one of my favourite current Newcastle players, who hopefully we can start to see the best of again further up the field.
4. Warren Barton
This was recorded the same day as the Craig Moore interview. At 8am I was sat in my home in rural Staffordshire talking to Craig in Australia, then at 6pm the same day, I was talking to Warren in San Diego USA. This was a really enjoyable half hour. The passion and support Warren Barton still shows for Newcastle United is an absolute joy to witness. He has that personality about him that just clicks with nigh-on everyone he meets. Warren gave everything in this interview, from stories of offering his scouting services to then Director of Football, Dennis Wise for free, to tipping a Manager/Director of Football duo of Mauricio Pochettino and Les Ferdinand for a fresh start post-takeover.
Quite simply, when Warren Barton talks, you listen. I like to think it was also no coincidence that after our interview aired, he was appearing on various other media outlets including TalkSport and Sky Sports (probably was coincidence). The interview is above for all to see, and it's one I am incredibly proud of. I hope that we have the opportunity to get him back on soon, as he is great value and if there is ever an example of a player coming from down south, who "gets it" he is the shining beacon, and the example to follow.
5. Henry Winter
I'll level with you, out of all the interviews I've done over the past couple of months, this one made me genuinely nervous. You shouldn't need me to tell you that Henry Winter is the best football journalist in the world. How Lee got him on the channel still baffles me to this day. I was so nervous that when Henry appeared on my computer screen with a wave, I forgot to introduce myself and we just cracked straight on into the interview (apologies again Henry, if you're reading this!). I felt so out of my depth, as what this guy doesn't know about football, simply isn't worth knowing.
The half hour in which we spoke flew by, where I eventually settled down as the conversation on Newcastle United flowed. What you get with Henry is the perfect balance between emotion and reality. He concurred that Newcastle will be well rid of Mike Ashley, realises that there are likely to be protests from various human rights groups should the Saudi's take control, but insisted that Newcastle fans should not be made out to be moral arbiters.
One of my favourite pieces of the interview was where Henry swooned over the area of Newcastle, recounting his previous experiences in the city. In particular, the evening of Alan Shearer's testimonial, where he recounted Les Ferdinand on the DJ-decks and not remembering how, or indeed what time he got back to his accommodation that night. Henry's success and popularity is down to numerous qualities, too many for me to go into without sounding mildly obsessed! However the reason why he is popular with our fan-base is relatively straight-forward. He is another one, not from the North-East, who "gets it." His understanding of Newcastle fan's expectations, and not spouting the lazy stereotype of us expecting to win the league every year, as we are often portrayed to be in other media outlets.
Our conversation ended following the recording, with my microphone becoming dislodged, thus my sound completely going, something which you can also look forward to seeing on the outtakes at the end of the month!
Finally it is vital I thank Mr. Lee Lawler for editing all the interviews, surprising me with Matt Ritchie, and giving me the opportunity to interview Henry Winter. Winter is one of Lee's idols, but who knows, maybe i'll return the favour one day in the future?