I get very disappointed when I don’t win.”I don’t believe defeat at Wembley is a cause for celebration. Some people might say: “Well, we’ve had a good day out or whatever.” But I’ve yet to be convinced of that.”At 36 Pearce remains as pragmatically sparky as the 20-year-old punk- rock-loving left-back who reached the first round of the FA Cup with Wealdstone while in the employ of Brent Council as an electrician “We lost 2-0 at Swindon,” he said, smiling at the memory “Paul Rideout told me to get back to my nine to five job. At 36 the Newcastle defender may be surplus to Glenn Hoddle’s needs, but he has an old score to settle at Wembley today. “The team know they are on show and they’ve got to do well, and I’m sure they will.”But the great thing about this club is that we have a tremendously loyal support. I hope they get their reward and that we win the cup, the team brings it back and we parade it around the streets.”Sir John, meanwhile, is refusing to speculate on his future after being forced to step back into the breach to take over from his son and steer the club through a crisis.

“I want to get the cup final out of the way, relax a little bit and then review the situation after that,” he said.. We had a great time in the ’50s and there’s no reason why it can’t happen again.”Forget about the season. We look at the season in retrospect and say it was just a blip on the gradual progression of the club. We are a great club and we’ve a tremendous future.”You always have to be optimistic and you’ve always got to achieve excellence, but you have to do even better than that, which is what we try to do at Newcastle.”Arsenal have played some super stuff and you’ve got to say well done to them. The bookies quite rightly make them hot favourites because we’ve struggled this season.”But I’ve watched our team recently and there’s a tremendous team spirit, and now the pressure is off from relegation.

We’ve managed to fight back and you should never ignore Newcastle.”Sir John is demanding the team give the Toon Army what they deserve and end on a high after a season to forget at St James’ Park.”It’s a day for the fans and players, not directors and chairman,” he added. The Magpies have been in the news for all the wrong reasons this season, culminating in the resignations of Sir John’s son, Douglas, as chairman and Freddie Shepherd following sleaze allegations.
However, after narrowly avoiding relegation, Sir John is buoyant going into today’s FA Cup final against Arsenal at Wembley and confident his team can upset the form book “I’m very excited and very nervous,” he said “The FA Cup has tremendous history and tradition. Morrow suffered a broken arm, which cost him a return to Wembley for the FA Cup final on 15 May. Arsenal won again, after a replay.1993-94ONE-NIL TO THE ARSENALGRAHAM’S first European trophy – and just in the nick of time, as it turned out, given the scandal that was to cost him his job the following season. THE Newcastle chairman, Sir John Hall, is hoping to banish the memory of a season he describes as “a blip”. His team delivered what could be seen as the perfect epitaph to the Graham era: a performance built around resolute defending and one goal, by Alan Smith, to defeat Parma to lift the European Cup-Winners’ Cup in Copenhagen.. Yet Arsenal still won the title by seven points, having along the way established their best start to a season.

They lost just once all term.1992-93A DOUBLE OF CUPSAS Manchester United were ending their 26-year wait for the Championship, Arsenal had the not inconsiderable consolation of winning both domestic cups, defeating Sheffield Wednesday at Wembley twice. The Coca-Cola final was the one that tested Steve Morrow’s friendship with Tony Adams. After the young full back’s first goal for the club had proved enough to win the day, a delighted Adams hoisted Morrow in the air during the post-match celebrations.. only to drop him. Then, in December, Tony Adams was jailed for nine months – five suspended – for drink driving.

The score remained unchanged with 90 minutes up – then Lee Dixon booted the ball upfield, Smith lobbed it into the path of Michael Thomas and (above) the Championship acquired the most dramatic of all its final twists.1990-91A BRAWL AND A JAIL SENTENCEBUT VICTORY AGAINTHE infamous Old Trafford brawl of 20 October – only David Seaman declined to join in – cost Arsenal a pounds 50,000 fine and, more significantly, two points. Victors by 3-2 in the Cup final, they thrashed West Ham 5-1 and the idea that they would then slip up at Anfield seemed unthinkable, even after Alan Smith had stolen a 1- 0 lead seven minutes into the second half. To do so, they had to beat Everton at Wembley, win their penultimate League match against West Ham (at home) and not lose their final fixture against erstwhile leaders Arsenal – also at home – by two goals. “One-nil down, two- one up, that’s how Arsenal won the Cup” became an anthem after two goals by Charlie Nicholas cancelled out Ian Rush’s opener for Liverpool at Wembley, the third time Graham’s team had recovered from a goal down on the way to lifting the trophy.1988-89MICHAEL THOMAS AND `THAT’ GOALIN the last week of a season remembered bleakly for the Hillsborough disaster, Liverpool were poised to better Arsenal’s proudest achievement by becoming the first side to win the Double twice. Having achieved his first priority of establishing a formidable back four – Arsenal set a club record run of 22 matches unbeaten between September and January – Graham restored the side’s spirit, celebrated by the fans in song.