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Mint stuff from Tino in the Sunday Sun today

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Guest WDP

Guest WDP

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PETER BEARDSLEY was one of the best players in the world during the Entertainers era.

 

That is the eye-catching claim of Faustino Asprilla, who says the unassuming Newcastle United and England forward never got the credit he deserved for his “breathtaking” ability.

 

Everyone knows about Asprilla’s elastic technique and capacity to conjure magic from nothing.

 

But while Beardsley was unlikely to ever don a fur coat like his Colombian team-mate, they were equals in terms of tricks and flicks.

 

Asprilla will share a stage with the current United reserve boss on January 21 at a sporting dinner at the Lancastrian Suite in Gateshead, and he can’t wait to see him. “Peter Beardsley is a hero of mine,” Asprilla said.

 

“He made time to meet last year when I visited and I still smile when in my mind I relive our training sessions and five-a-side games,

 

“I always wanted to be on his team because he was the ultimate skipper and professional who led by example with breathtaking ability.

 

“To be honest he probably didn’t realise how much I admired him – and others marvelled at him too.”

 

Interestingly, Asprilla still stays in contact with most of the side that went so close to ending Newcastle’s title drought.

 

He was a house guest of Alan Shearer’s last year, while he is also still in touch with fellow flair players David Ginola and Les Ferdinand. They were, he admits, like a bunch of school mates playing together in the park.

 

And the regret of not winning a title endures.

 

“I loved my time at Newcastle. Loved it,” he said.

 

“As soon as I met Kevin Keegan it was clear I wanted to play for him. His football ideas were the same as mine.

 

“I had watched all the Premier League on games on TV so I knew the team was flying and they were beautiful to watch.

 

“When I came over and trained and played I couldn’t believe my luck – it was all perfect. I had played with Zola in Italy and thought he was genius and then I teamed up with Peter Beardsley, who was even better.

 

“I loved playing with Les, Ginola, Philippe (Albert) – it was like real life Fantasy Football.

 

“Keegan told me he wanted me to add something different to the squad as he felt it required a spark and knew the second half of the season would be very hard.

 

“I think the only previous title winners in the team were Beardsley and Batty, plus me and David (Ginola) but not in England. And looking back we dropped points at crucial times when the winners Manchester United, Schmeichel and Cantona pinched points just as dramatically.

 

“It was cruel but neutrals would argue Man Utd dropped points early on in the campaign.

 

“But I know it’s never remembered like that.

 

“It has happened since, but those who have lost titles have won honours in the same period.

 

“We were a dream team at our peak who maybe had a few more years to keep challenging and with a couple of key additions would have clinched a trophy.

 

“But different managers, players come and clubs change.”

 

IT may be more than a decade since he swept out of St James’ Park, but Tino Asprilla remains as feisty as ever. Mark Douglas reports.

Tino Asprilla

 

HERE’S a message to thaw Tyneside’s deep freeze – Toon cult hero Faustino Asprilla can see a touch of South American sunshine skill about Newcastle’s England star Andy Carroll.

 

Billed by many as a throwback to an age of leather balls, steel toe-capped boots and defenders’ elbows in your face, Carroll’s style is as traditionally English as fish and chips and World Cup misery.

 

Big, bustling and brilliant when the ball is flung into the box – Premier League defenders used to quick, nippy forwards simply can’t cope with big Andy when the mood takes him. Which even his detractors would have to admit has been just about every weekend recently.

 

But in an exclusive chat with the Sunday Sun, ultimate Magpie maestro Asprilla has put forward the case for Carroll possessing hidden Samba style beneath that hulking great frame. In fact, Tino can see flashes of his own mesmerising, elastic magic in the England striker.

 

He should know. The flamboyant striker – famous for turning up on Tyneside in a mock Chinchilla coat during a snow storm fit to match anything that blasted the city during the week – remains a Newcastle nut, despite some 6,000 miles separating his luxurious ranch from St James’ Park.

 

And he will be back in the North East next month, appearing alongside Sir Les Ferdinand and Peter Beardsley at a sporting dinner to raise cash for Gateshead Fell Cricket Club.

 

For now, though, his focus is on the here and now – and how Newcastle can get out of a chapter in their history that Asprilla dubs “crazier than any of my legendary parties”.

 

Building a team round the formidable talents of Carroll seems to be a decent starting point.

 

“I love Andy Carroll,” Asprilla told the Sunday Sun.

 

“I think he is a machine for his age, almost a cross of Ferdinand and Shearer. But I laugh when I watch him as he has little bits of skill like me which he shouldn’t have when you look at him.

 

“He has physical strength and great shooting ability with his feet and head. But there are other things to him – surprising skill and pace and awareness to go with the raw talent. It is up to him to maximise his gift and I feel he will need good people around him, but as he matures he will know how to handle the trappings of his fame.

 

“Could he play for the Entertainers? Well, Beardsley and Ferdinand were Keegan’s best front team as they were the forwards when we just missed out on the title.

 

“For me Andy Carroll today would be a fantastic squad addition to back them up.

 

“If you add Alan (Shearer) in later seasons . . . wow, it is some forward line!

 

“I he continues to grow, learn and develop then he will be a hero in Newcastle United history. He is a young Geordie like Watto (Steve Watson) and Lee (Clark) from my days, and he scores lots of goals and is quality so he will be loved.

 

“And it is good for England too. They have Rooney, Defoe and Crouch as first choices and I say he can play with all three.

 

“If he is scoring and playing well for Newcastle and is given the England shirt I believe he will make it his own.”

 

Strong stuff from Asprilla – almost as potent as his take on what has happened to the Toon since he returned to northern Italy back in 1998.

 

“Since I left the club the changes have been too many managers and players and there have been so many bad buys!” said Tino.

 

“It has been more crazy than one of my parties!

 

“Yes, they are not as important as they once were and I think it will be a while before the club outbids the Manchester teams or Chelsea – but outside the obvious money clubs Newcastle United will always be a giant.

 

“The ground, the crowd and the fans make it stand out and if the right team are put together and a good league position is achieved then the challenges are possible, look at Spurs. As Kevin Keegan used to say, you have to believe.

 

“I look at Andy Carroll, Cheik Tiote and Hatem Ben Arfa – there you have foundations for a good team to build on.”

 

As for this season – and this afternoon at the Hawthorns – Asprilla possesses some measured confidence.

 

“I think the top 10 would be special after being promoted and with the current team I say yes, we can do it,” he said.

 

“I have watched the games when possible and I don’t see many teams who will make this impossible.

 

“I know West Brom had a good win against Everton but our away form is OK and I think a draw will be fine. Although as I picture the game Newcastle should win.”

 

For Asprilla, part of his heart will forever be in the North East.

 

His parties and womanising were legendary during his tumultuous two years in Newcastle – but then again he could play a bit too.

 

If he couldn’t, he would have gone the same way as Patrick Kluivert, Jean Alain Boumsong and the other wastrels – consigned to the waste bin of Newcastle history.

 

Instead Tino’s sheer brilliance means he is still a big enough name to draw the crowds when he rolls up at Sporting Dinners.

 

That is why he is looking forward to swapping his relatively easy life of agency work, farm living, the Colombian TV celebrity circuit and his football Academy for shivering Newcastle in January.

 

“I am looking forward to a three-week holiday in England in January,” he said.

 

“I have prepared my famous fur coat and I know it is really cold there as my friends have texting me photos of the house covered in snow.

 

“But I have told them, we are having cold weather here also. It was only 29 degrees yesterday!”

 

I have had the debate about Zola and Beardsley loads of times, I and many others even on here can't pay Peter enough accolades, he is the king of the toon in my eyes, and being biased I always say he was very maginally better than Zola. There's virtually nothing in it though and lets be honest, Zola was one of the best players any of us have ever seen play football, so for Tino to say that says everything about how he revered he was not just by the fans, but by all the players too.

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The Fish

The Fish 11115

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Cracking read that, especially the

“I loved my time at Newcastle. Loved it,” he said.
because I'm desperate to believe that's a nod to Keegan's infamous quote.
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