By Jason McKeown
Stephen Glass is pacing backwards as he prepares to take a corner for Newcastle United. He’s not looking behind him of course, only at the options in the penalty area. But just as he gets ready to go, his foot lands on something unexpectedly squishy.
It is a bantam. Not Billy, the beloved Bradford City mascot. But an actual real-life bantam. Showing highly questionable wisdom, a City supporter has smuggled a pair of bantams into St James Park, via a black plastic bag. Early in the second half of a 1999 FA Cup fourth round tie between Newcastle and City, the two bantams are let loose onto the edge of the pitch near to where the away fans are housed. And that’s when an unknowing Glass’ foot unfortunately tramples on top of one of them.
Another City fan rescues the stricken birds, bringing them back to Bradford and to the local RSPCA centre for treatment. A rightly unhappy RSPCA inspector told the Telegraph & Argus, “I hope this doesn’t become a trend [bringing real life versions of club mascots to games], we wouldn’t want to see it at the Bradford Bulls.”
Welcome to Newcastle United vs Bradford City. A fixture we don’t see too often. One where for largely for good reasons (rather than misguided mascot participation) there is rarely a dull moment. It is two football clubs known for their passionate and emotional crowds. Two sides that underachieve more often than they succeed. Two outfits who occasionally sign each other’s players (Peter Jackson, Des Hamilton, Andy O’Brien, Alex Gilliead, Haris Vuckic). Although the crossover doesn’t go much further than that. These are two clubs who largely operate in very different worlds.
And yet just under a month from now, they will meet under the floodlights of St James’ Park. And how exciting that is for those of us peering through claret and amber lens. The reward for the cup-set victories over Championship Blackburn and Stoke is a trip to a Champions League club. The holders of the League Cup for that matter. Bring. It. On.
It is a fitting reward for all connected with City. The Bantams have made such an impressive start to the season, building on the unforgettable promotion feats of 2024/25. A club that as recently as March 2024 looked an utter mess, as supporter protests took place to cast no confidence votes on those in charge. The turnaround has been remarkable. And the way City have built on the success of promotion to race out of the traps this season suggests the future is very bright.
It feels like everyone deserves this cup draw. The players and management, so impressive so far, get the opportunity to show what they can do on a big stage. The owner Stefan Rupp, CEO Ryan Sparks and others are the club merit the financial payday this game brings the club. And we supporters, who have stuck with the club through some extremely lean times, more than warrant a glamour evening out that is a world way from the modest League Two outposts that have until recently been our bread and butter.
Some 5,200 tickets should be available to City supporters. Those of us lucky enough to go will no doubt make ourselves heard in the lofty surroundings. It will be an amazing atmosphere.
It is 25 years since City’s last trip to St James’ Park. That was for a Premier League encounter which the Toon Army won by two goals to one, thanks to goals from the late Gary Speed and Kieran Dyer. City’s consolation was netted by Robert Molenaar. They were bottom of the Premier League at the time, with recently installed manager Jim Jefferies causing a pre-match stir by dropping highly rated goalkeeper Matt Clarke in favour of Gary Walsh. Clarke did not take his demotion well, handing in a transfer request. He never played for City again, which was a shame.
A few weeks before that game, City had been at St James’ Park for a League Cup game (like this upcoming meeting, it was in the third round). The drama was massive. I was living in Sunderland at the time to be at University, and for this game sat in the Gallowgate End with a Newcastle supporting friend. The first half was painful as Alan Shearer scored twice either side of a Daniel Cordone effort. 3-0 down after 29 minutes, but just as major collapse seemed imminent Ian Nolan pulled one back for City right in front of me.
The crowd around me suddenly turned nervy and edgy, which transmitted onto the players. After bold half time substitutions by the soon-to-be-sacked Chris Hutchings – taking off heavyweight names Benito Carbone and Stan Collymore for the lesser-celebrated Ashley Ward and Dean Saunders – City seized on the home timidness to amazingly come all the way back from 3-0 down to level it. Ward got the two second half City goals. And given he didn’t open his league account for the Bantams until the following March, for a few months I could proudly boost I was one of the few City fans to have actually seen Ward score a goal for us.
So Newcastle 3 Bradford City 3, with 70 minutes gone. Could we go on and win it to complete one of the greatest comebacks in our history? Well…nope. One minute later, Newcastle won a corner right in front of me and Steve Caldwell headed home what would prove to be the winner. Everyone in the Gallowgate End leapt to their feet to celebrate. Everyone, that is, but me.
Still, some entertainment.
At least City scored on the night. In the two previous trips to St James’ Park, the Bantams drew blanks. That included an April 2000 2-0 loss towards the end of our first season in the Premier League.
Speed was again on the scoresheet against us, heading home unmarked after only six minutes. We gave them a decent game and had an equaliser harshly disallowed. With a minute to go, Shearer blasted home to settle it. I was at this match, in the City end this time. Fair to say it wasn’t the best moment of that memorable season (although the 2-0 Valley Parade victory over the Mags earlier that campaign was a standout moment).
And that brings us to the time before that, and the 3-0 FA Cup loss where there were actual live animals on the pitch. Newcastle were not pecked by the chickens that day. They literally trod on the bantams.
At the time City were pushing for top flight promotion and Newcastle were stagnating in Premier League midtable. Robbie Blake and Lee Mills missed presentable opportunities. At 0-0 and even after going 1-0 down, the visitors were on top. Newcastle only had three chances all game, but they scored from each of them. Dietmar Hamann, Shearer and Temuri Ketsbaia did the damage. St James’ Park had a lower capacity then and tickets were harder to get. I and some 6,000 others had to settle for watching a live beam-back of the game at Valley Parade. At least it was a short journey home.
Go further back in history, and there are other memorable Magpie-Bantams encounters. Not least the 1911 FA Cup Final where City defeated Newcastle 1-0 in an Old Trafford replay to achieve their one and only major honour. You might say they’ve never recovered as a club. Erm.
This September, the current crop get their own chance to make history. And the great thing about this cup tie is City will go in with no expectation. It’s only a cup and all that. The Premier League side will surely win easily. And as long as the scoreline isn’t too one-sided, anything else is a bonus.
It gives us all something to look forward to (not that we are short of reasons to be excited right now). The Newcastle game will be a moment to savour. An evening to shout yourself hoarse. And with City’s proud capacity for causing upsets, who knows what might happen?
It will be a night to remember. But please, leave your live chickens at home.
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I remember going to Odsal to see city play Newcastle in round 2 after the fire in 1986 in the same competition. It was a 2 legged affair back then which city won 2-0. Mark Ellis scored a brilliant individual goal and ran the Magpies defence ragged.
The format of the competition was a 2 legged affair back then. The Geordies triumphed 1-0 but ultimately city won 2-1 on aggregate. Peter Jackson was the star performer on the night for city which impressed Newcastle to part with 250k to sign Jacko. City went on to lose to Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest 5-0 in Round 4 at Odsal with Franz Carr having an outstanding game on the wing for Forest. A great reward for the team and fans to make the trip up the A1 and test out a premier league side once again in the cup.
I went to all 4 games v Newcastle in the league cup in the 80s. In 84/85 we lost first leg 3-1 at St James Park, then we lost the second leg 1-0 at VP think Waddle got the winner with a clever lobbed goal over our keeper, seem to remember away fans been given the Bradford End that night?
Then two years later the game at Odsal when I think I witnessed one of the finest City performances I’d ever seen up to that point, we anhilated them and should have won by more than 2 nowt. I always remember this game was the first one after the Leeds crowd trouble match and the “Hoolivan” slowly driving round the running track around the pitch filming the fans.
The second leg up there was a tense affair and we lost 1-0 on the night but scraped through to the next round. The away fans were housed on terracing right down at pitch level behind the goal a far cry from where visitors sit now up in the gods
Great memories from my youth
We played at Newcastle as VP was undergoing a second revamp, the building of the enlarged 2 tier kop. They decided to relay the game to a large screen placed on the lower tier of the kop.
If i remember correctly the feed was intermittent and the large screen was not that big.
Thanks, Jason, for yet another excellent article. Just one minor quibble about no mention of the infamous time a generation earlier when Newcastle United came to VP in the FA Cup. In my teens getting to the third round was quite an achievement, and , with the League Cup only just starting the year before with little publicity, felt realistically the only chance of seeing an old First Division team at home, especially since relegation to the old Fourth Division in 1961.
So, in the third round in January 1963, it was exciting to secure a home draw with the famous Newcastle United (three-time FA Cup winners in the 50s, and of course the team we had beaten back in 1911 to win the Cup), but we hadn’t bargained for the Big Freeze. This had begun on 21 December 1962 and lasted 76 days to 6 March 1963. Bradford’s population lived in sub-zero temperatures with just a few minor breaks, like almost the rest of Britain. Normal life came to a halt with burst pipes, power cuts, restricted public transport and no sport.
Planned for 5 January, the match was inevitably postponed with a frozen pitch. Finally, weeks later the Big Freeze ended and ended quickly. On 5 March, the morning temperature of 6.4C recorded at Lister Park was the highest since December 16, ten degrees warmer than the previous day. As snow and ice melted, scores of roads were inundated with water up to three feet deep in places.
The Newcastle match had been postponed a record TWELVE times, but finally took place on Thursday 7 March. The pitch was very muddy from the thaw. Despite the lack of games City managed to have a goalkeeping crisis (reasons not remembered) and played an 18-year-old rookie goalkeeper, David Roper, still at school (Belle Vues Boys, then located a stone’s throw away on Manningham Lane).
The game was a disaster with City losing 6-1, their heaviest-ever home Cup defeat!
you forgot the 2nd best City player John Hendire going to Newcastle and Andy Thomas and Brian Tinnion who came to City.
A truly fantastic draw for us, & a very exciting night in prospect once again. It’s true, that on paper we just don’t stand an earthly chance. But of course, football is never played on paper, is it?!! 😉
I remember Matt Clarke being cat like in his reflexes. I put him up there with Shwarzer as my favourite No 1’s. Shame he spat his dummy out.
I remember Matt Clarke being cat like in his reflexes. I put him up there with Shwarzer as my favourite No 1’s. Shame he spat his dummy out.