Where are they now? Liverpool and Newcastle’s teams from the 4-3 in 1997

Planet Football • 13 Sep 2019

Liverpool‘s 4-3 win over Newcastle in the 1995-96 season was named the Premier League Match Of The Decade – and the two teams went on to play another classic the following season.

There was more late heartbreak for the Magpies, who lost 4-3 at Anfield for a second straight season, as they finished runners-up behind Manchester United once again. Alan Shearer finished that season as top scorer with 25 goals, but he was absent for the visitors on this occasion.

Here’s a reminder of the players who did appear on the night, including plenty of Premier League legends and some definitely not Premier League legends.

Liverpool – David James

The goalkeeper suffered a nightmare second half on the night as Newcastle scored three goals in the final 20 minutes, but his blushes were spared.

James remained a Premier League mainstay at various clubs for 13 more years after this game – only Gareth Barry, Ryan Giggs and Frank Lampard have made more appearances in the competition – before finally retiring at the age of 44 in 2014.

After a spell managing the Kerala Blaster, James has since followed in the footsteps of Peter Schmeichel, John Barnes and Robbie Savage by being confirmed as a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing.

Stig Inge Bjornebye

After seeing out the final years of his playing career with Blackburn Rovers between 2000 and 2003, Bjornebye moved into coaching and immediately became Norway’s assistant manager.

He had a brief stint at of club side IK Start between 2006 and 2007 and is now the sporting director at Rosenborg, who have lifted the last four Norwegian titles.

Bjorn Tore Kvarme

Bjornebye’s compatriot made a total of 45 league appearances for the Reds before departing for Saint-Étienne in 1999, retiring back at Rosenborg in 2008.

Nearly two decades after leaving, he scored his first Liverpool goal in a charity match as Liverpool Legends drew 5-5 with Bayern Munich in 2018.

Mark Wright

Already a veteran at that point, Wright retired from playing in 1998.

He’s since had managerial stints at Chester City, Peterborough, Southport and Oxford but hasn’t been in the dugout since a short spell at Maltese side Floriana in 2012.

Wright now occasionally appears as a pundit on LFCTV and is also an ambassador for Foster Care Associates.

Dominic Matteo

After making more than 150 Liverpool appearances, Matteo became a cult hero at Leeds United for the “f*cking great goal, at the San Siro” he scored in the group stage of the 2000-01 Champions League – still sung about by Whites fans to this day.

The goal, earning a 1-1 draw, dumped Barcelona out of the competition and ensured that Leeds went through alongside Milan, with David O’Leary’s young side going on to reach the semi-finals.

He retired in 2009 and has since moved into broadcasting.

Patrik Berger

The Czech Republic international didn’t retire until 2010, at the age of 36, back at his first club Sparta Prague. And he continued to play alongside his old team-mate Vladimir Smicer for amateur side Dolní Chabry for several years.

He left behind a hell of a highlights reel, saving arguably his best strike for Portsmouth.

Jason McAteer

The local boy made exactly 100 Premier League appearances for Liverpool between 1995 and 1999, retiring nearby at Tranmere eight years after leaving Anfield.

He’s now a regular on LFCTV. He’s a lot of fun.

READ: Seven hilarious Jason McAteer stories: Roy Keane, Bono, The Rolling Stones

Steve McManaman

At Real Madrid during their unforgettable Galacticos era, McManaman won two Champions Leagues and two La Liga titles during his four years in the Spanish capital after moving there on a Bosman from Merseyside.

He saw out his playing career with Manchester City and is now a regular pundit and commentator on BT Sport.

He told us not winning more with Liverpool is his biggest regret.

Jamie Redknapp

Injuries saw Redknapp call time on his playing career at the age of 31, having been unable to help Southampton stave off relegation.

He’s been a regular face on Sky Sports for over a decade now.

John Barnes

A two-time title winner with the Reds, Barnes eventually brought his career to an end in 2000, having made nearly 800 senior appearances.

His media portfolio includes Question Time, Strictly, Big Brother, Waterloo Road and lots of football punditry. Let’s not talk about his management.

Robbie Fowler

Nicknamed ‘God’, Toxteth-born Fowler scored 183 goals for Liverpool in two stints at the club.

He’s recently been appointed Brisbane Roar manager, with the Australian A-League season set to get underway in the coming weeks.

Newcastle – Shaka Hislop

The Trinidad and Tobago keeper left Tyneside in 1998, going on to make 200 more Premier League appearances between West Ham and Portsmouth.

Since retiring, he now works as a regular pundit on ESPN.

Shaka Hislop & A Brief History Of Wavey Garms. pic.twitter.com/7PcNKtpgic

— Planet Football (@planetfutebol) November 20, 2017

Warren Barton

Barton scored the 89th-minute equaliser at Anfield that night, only to see it somehow count for nothing just minutes later.

His post-Newcastle career saw playing stints at Derby County, QPR, Wimbledon and Dagenham & Redbridge, followed by a stint in charge of the San Diego Flash between 2010 and 2012.

He now does punditry on Fox Sports in the US.

Steve Watson

Watson was back working in Tyneside for the first time in nearly 20 years when he took up a position as Gateshead’s manager in 2017.

The former right-back left the non-league outfit for another, York City, in 2019.

Philippe Albert

Scorer of one of Newcastle’s most iconic Premier League goals, Albert has kept a low-profile since his football career.

It has been reported that the Belgian runs a fruit and veg stall back in his home country. A few years back, a couple of fans ran a kickstarter for a documentary tracking down the former Magpies defender.

Goal 77: Philippe Albert vs Manchester United, 1996. #Greatest90sGoals pic.twitter.com/SNjursuckw

— 90s Football (@90sfootball) November 16, 2017

Darren Peacock

Peacock’s playing career came to a sudden, shocking end in 2000 when a collision with his own goalkeeper at Wolves, Michael Oakes, damaged vertebrae in his neck.

He was most recently seen working with fellow 90s Premier League star Trevor Sinclair on the coaching staff at non-league side Lancaster City, but both left the club in 2015.

Robbie Elliott

One of the more unheralded cogs of Kevin Keegan’s entertainers, Elliott made the short trip to Wearside in 2006 and subsequently turned out for Leeds and Hartlepool.

He now lives in Portland, where he works for Nike’s Sport Research Lab. Last summer, we spoke to him over a coffee, looking back over his career and a number of the colourful characters he encountered.

READ: Robbie Elliott: Asprilla lost his deposit as there were bullet holes in the walls

David Batty

The former England international’s fine career ended on the worst possible note as he was relegated with boyhood club Leeds United in 2004.

Batty famously wasn’t really interested in football – or at least everything outside of the 90 minutes on a Saturday afternoon – and since retiring he’s led a reclusive family life away from the spotlight.

Lee Clark

The Wallsend Boys Club graduate is back in the North East. Since playing, he’s managed Huddersfield Town, Birmingham City, Blackpool, Kilmarnock and Bury, and now finds himself in charge of Blyth Spartans.

Keith Gillespie

Part of Manchester United’s FA Youth Cup-winning Class Of 92, the midfielder never quite made the grade at Old Trafford, forging a decent career path elsewhere, most memorably Keegan’s Newcastle.

In his 2014 autobiography How Not to Be a Football Millionaire, Gillespie revealed how he lost millions due to gambling, and he is now on the sporting dinners circuit.

Faustino Asprilla

Subject to a thousand urban legends, Asprilla returned to Parma after his unforgettable two years on Tyneside, going on to be something of a journeyman in South America and calling it quits in 2004.

Now living back in Colombia on a ranch, regularly dressing up in a Dinosaur costume. Course he is.

Enseñándole a mi caballo Firulai a jugad futbol. pic.twitter.com/OBN1trmzm0

— Faustino Asprilla (@TinoasprillaH) February 18, 2016

Peter Beardsley

Back at the club as a youth coach, Beardsley left Newcastle under a cloud in 2019 amid accusations of racism and bullying.

The club released a statement saying that they were “grateful for the contribution Peter has given over the years as a player, coach and ambassador and we wish him well for the future”.

Les Ferdinand

The striker was brought on at half-time against Liverpool but only lasted ten minutes before he had to be withdrawn through injury.

We caught up with the striker to talk his playing career and subsequent work at QPR.

READ: Les Ferdinand gives his verdict on why Newcastle lost the title in 1996

David Ginola

The mercurial Frenchman was brought on at half-time against Liverpool and helped Newcastle mount their three-goal fightback.

He suffered a heart attack in 2016 and was clinically dead for eight minutes before paramedics arrived with a defibrillator.

Having made a full recovery following a quadruple bypass operation, he continues to do punditry work in both France and England.

Jim Crawford

Brought on for Ferdinand, this was one of the Irishman’s two Premier League appearances for Newcastle. He spent most of his playing career in the League of Ireland, retiring in 2016.

He’s now the coach of the Republic of Ireland’s Under-18s.