My Second Team: It’s Not Easy Being Green, Especially When You’re Supposed To Be Black & White

As we desperately clamour for material now that the season is over, here’s the first of our ‘My Second Team’ strand. First up, Scheidt’s Magpie in resident Adam Clery looks at his second team and the family connection that makes the connection.

Being Green Isn't Easy For Anyone...

Hello there. My name is Adam and I am a Newcastle United supporter. I have a few good reasons for this, it’s not just that I’m a massive, MASSIVE sadist.

First of all, they are my home town club. I was born and raised a few miles outside of the city centre, I went to a school that was about 90% black and white (the remaining 10% being a pretty even split between Sunderland and Man United, with one weird bastard insisting he was “from” Dynamo Kiev) and they’re the football club of choice for all of my immediate family. These are, in the Western world anyway, your two must fundamental foundations for support of a team.

Then there’s my dad, John Brownlie, who- as you may or may not know- spent four years at the club as a player. He signed from Hibs in the summer of 1978 and was one of the players offloaded from the wage bill to accommodate Kevin Keegan’s arrival in 1982. He’s still well received by the clubs fans and still occasionally gets a mention on The Three Legends radio phone-in (an audio dick-swinging contest made up of former Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesbrough players) whenever the position of right-back comes up in conversation…

Like Father... Like Son?

Leeds fans may disagree, but I think It’s fair to say that in my time supporting Newcastle, I’ve more or less seen it all. I’ve enjoyed the excitement of title challenges, the heartbreak of relegation (and the relief of promotion), the spectacle of the Champions’ League later stages and the so-near-and-yet-so-far-isms that accompany our every attempt for major honours.

I’ve seen Alan Shearer, arguably the greatest centre-forward of his generation, complete 10 years at the club. I’ve witnessed players with the class of Nolberto Solano, the unpredictability of Laurent Robert and the resiliance of Shay Given as well expensive flops like Jean-Alain Boumsong and Albert Luque. Most recently I’ve seen Andy Carroll go from “promising youngster” to “£35million England centre-forward”, I find it hard to be surprised anymore.

I’ve seen hardened managers and legends of the game like Greame Souness and Sam Allardyce spend lavishly on expensive stars and struggle to draw at home, and I’ve seen Chris Hughton beat Villa 6-0 and the mackems 5-1. I’ve seen us overcome a 9 point deficit to in the Champions League ground stages and throw away a 12 point lead for the Premiership. I wouldn’t change it for the world.

In short, I love this club. I have their transfer policy to thank for the unlikely circumstances that led to my birth, and I have everything they’ve done since to blame for my cautiously optimistic outlook on life. It’s in my DNA, it’s actually a part of me. That said though, I do still harbour a love for another team.

Growing up as the son of the aforementioned father, I was often regaled with tales about his own glory years, specifically the 8 years he spent at Hibernian. For those of you who aren’t aware, in the 1970s Hibs enjoyed one of their most successful eras, not strictly in terms of medals, but certainly in regards to ability and how good they were to watch. A League Cup success in 1972, two triumphs in the Drybrough Cup (whatever that is), a few Scottish Cup Final appearances, a few good runs in the old Fairs Cup and, the odd title challenge and of course, the still famous 7-0 battering they gave Hearts at Tynecastle on New Years’ Day. Boss Eddie Turnbull had them playing a scottish brand of total football that’s still warmly talked about today, if only in the pubs outside the ground.

Hibernian FC - 1976

He was, in certain circles at least, considered one of the best full-backs in the world at this stage. A fact I wasn’t even aware of until a school teacher brought in a copy of the Observer where actor Dougray Scott called him his favourite ever player. All I knew was that he was Scottish and quite good, Dougray called him “the most elegant and graceful player I have ever seen”. He’s part of Hibernian club folklore now, and I’ve had more than one inebriated, middle-aged fan offer to buy me a pint and then slur on about him to me; “Did you know he was Scotland’s first choice right-back at 19? Did you know he had talks with Man United before he broke his leg?”

Aye I did, did you know that he once forgot my birthday and only drinks lager tops?

The Leg Break That Broke A United Trial

It’s highly unlikely that my two teams will ever meet. Barring the possibility of a meaningless pre-season friendly, the Europa League is the only real chance their paths will ever cross. A situation that’s fairly improbable, and unappealing, for both teams.

At the risk of turning this into a feature for This Morning, I’ve always liked to think that supporting these two teams reflects a lot of who I am as a person. Being half-Scottish and half-English I’m usually derided by both nations for being a mongrel, although it’s usually a source of amusement for the English and a source of contempt for the Scots. It’s always nice to have two sets of results to look out for and, back when I used to have a reason to go North of the border, gave me some source of conversation when stranded at a bar with a load of strangers.

As such it’s difficult for me not to have some affinity with Hibernian. The few games I’ve attended at Easter Road I’ve been sat in the posh seats and been able to mingle with some of the clubs’ other former starts like John Blackley and celebrity fans like… um… John Leslie. I’m not as well up on the clubs progress as perhaps I’d like to be, I can tell you how well they did this season and last, but I’d be hard pressed to give you an informed prediction for next term. They won’t win it, but they probably won’t get relegated – a prediction that applies to 2/3s of the league.

The source of my relative ignorance isn’t because I’m ill-informed about the club though, I’ve got my opinions (strong ones) on the club’s players, staff and the boardroom, but being that I’ve no real reason to keep up with the rest of the SPL, I’ve got no context to put it in. Yes I can see their strengths and weaknesses as a team, but I’ve no idea how well these compare to the rest of the sides in the division. This is the biggest problem with supporting a second team, in order to stay abreast of events, you have to follow an entire other league.

Whilst this wouldn’t be too much of a task if the league in question is the SPL or one of the lower English divisions, I know a few individuals for who supporting another club is a full-time job. A friend of mine decided to make a real effort to follow Lazio after spending a few years in Rome. Already being familiar with the squad was fine, and games against the Milan clubs or the derby with Roma were hotly anticipated, but he soon found himself having to read up on teams like Bari and Cesena, teams he’s otherwise probably never have heard of.

I also had a friend buy a Boca Juniors top from e-bay with the vow he would follow them to the ends of the earth. It lasted a month.