Toon Boss Who Never Cut It With The Players

Last updated : 26 March 2010 By Footy Mad - Editor

The former Dutch skipper was a figure of raging controversy who fell out with Alan Shearer long before that derby fixture at St James' Park.

He wanted to do things HIS way ... and was never bothered WHO he upset.

Steve Harper: "The Cup final was an amazing moment for me though, being a young keeper, I was nervous.

"I had only made eight starts for Newcastle and had not played in a solitary round on the way to Wembley.

"However, Ruud did not fancy Shay Given too much and I had been promoted into the team in the Premier League games immediately prior to the final.

"We started well, but then Roy Keane went off injured and that was the worst thing possible for us.

"Everything we had worked on in training went out of the window.

"Teddy Sheringham came on, played a one two, and scored. After that we were in trouble.

"Shay was suffering from a knee injury and I played in the first two league games.

"The first was the famous match when Uriah Rennie sent off Alan Shearer against Aston Villa up here.

"We lost both times, but I felt I had not done anything wrong.

"John Karelse had joined us as cover and I remember on the Friday at Chester-le-Street when we went out training I ran into the first-team goal.

"We always played 11 v 11 with the first team for the next day working on set pieces and the like.

"However, as I ran over to the goal Gullit shouted: ‘No Steve, the other end. John, you go with the first team’ and that was it. That is how I discovered I was out. John was a good lad, but he could not cut it at the top."

"Gullit’s biggest mistake was when he left out both Shearer and Duncan Ferguson in the derby game.

"Shay and I were injured and Lionel Perez thought he would play against his old club.

"However, when he found out Ruud was going with Tommy Wright in goal Perez kicked off.

"He stormed out and went missing so Gullit insisted I sat on the bench as cover goalkeeper, even though I had damaged both my elbows.

"It was the most amazing subs bench – Alan Shearer, Big Dunc, Aaron Hughes and me along with a young kid called Stewart Green.

"The game was played in a monsoon and when Tommy Wright collided with a post trying to keep out a Niall Quinn shot I thought I was on. I could not even dive, it would have been ridiculous, but thankfully I was not needed."