Pavel Srnicek arrived in Newcastle unable to speak English. He left as a Geordie. And in that city, there is no greater honour.
He was never a global superstar, but to Newcastle United supporters, Pavel Srnicek was something much more special. He was one of their own.
Born on 10 March 1968 in Ostrava, then part of Czechoslovakia, Srnicek was the son of a woodcutter. English wasn't taught in schools under the communist regime he grew up in, so he learned Russian instead.
He began his career with hometown club Banik Ostrava before Newcastle signed him for £350,000 in January 1991.
He arrived on Tyneside unable to speak English and struggled to understand the famously thick Geordie accent. But the supporters quickly took to him. They saw a brave, athletic goalkeeper who gave everything for the shirt.
He wasn't perfect, but he could be magnificent. One save against Everton's Anders Limpar was so extraordinary that legendary goalkeeper Gordon Banks considered it one of the ten greatest saves of all time.
Srnicek helped Newcastle win promotion to the Premier League in 1993 and became an important member of Kevin Keegan's famous Entertainers side.
That team came agonisingly close to the title in 1996, eventually finishing four points behind Manchester United after surrendering a 12-point lead. But the bond between the players and supporters was special, and Srnicek embodied it.
After a 7-1 win over Leicester City, he lifted his goalkeeper's shirt during the lap of honour to reveal a T-shirt underneath.
It read: "Pavel is a Geordie."
St James' Park erupted. The words became a terrace anthem, a declaration of love from a city to a man who had embraced it as home.
He left in 1998, playing for Sheffield Wednesday, Portsmouth and West Ham, but returned for a second spell in 2006 at the age of 38. The supporters welcomed him like a long-lost brother.
He made 190 appearances across his two Newcastle spells and earned 49 caps for the Czech Republic. But his greatest achievement was the affection he earned from the people of Tyneside.
On 20 December 2015, Srnicek suffered a cardiac arrest while jogging near his home in Ostrava. His agent revealed that he had stopped breathing for 20 minutes before being revived. He was placed in an induced coma.
On Boxing Day, Newcastle supporters sang his name at St James' Park before their match against Everton. His family played recordings of the crowd singing into his ear, hoping the voices of his adopted home might bring him back.
Sadly, scans revealed irreversible brain damage, and his life support was switched off.
Pavel Srnicek died on 29 December 2015, aged just 47.
His agent, Steve Wraith, announced:
"Pav passed away on the afternoon of Tuesday, 29 December 2015, with his family by his side."
Former teammate Steve Howey paid tribute:
"We’ve lost an amazing person, one of our own, and he’ll be sorely missed."
A memorial service was held at St Andrew's Church, in the shadow of St James' Park. Hundreds attended, including his brother Milan, who travelled from the Czech Republic.
Overwhelmed by the love shown to Pavel, he said:
"Pav lived for Newcastle, touched your hearts and became one of you. Pav will always be a Geordie."
He was born in Ostrava, but Newcastle became his home. Pavel Srnicek will always be a Geordie.
I swear to Almighty God, if someone trapped two million animals, denied them food and water, left them in torn tents to freeze and drown, and killed more than 70,000 of them, the world would be shaken by such a catastrophe, such brutality and terror.
What is happening is beyond belief. It makes no sense. These are human beings… among the most precious and honorable of all!! 💔
We are so much stronger together. We can overcome anything. Hate and fear have no place here. Love is winning. The people have spoken.
If anyone knows who this is, please let me know so I can tag them. Watch til the end
MAGA is dead.
Reform are dying.
Restore are irrelevant.
Robinson, Tate and Brand are off to jail.
This age of the grifter is coming to an end.
Civilisation is rebalancing.
Can the FA just nip this shit in the bud right now and make it a lifetime, all-stadium ban if you wave a photo of Bradley Lowery at Sunderland fans to taunt them. It’s beyond sick and this isn’t the first time it’s happened either.
Instead of such negativity please help us share love and positivity by sharing my beautiful boys picture ♥️
#CancerHasNoColours
https://t.co/EE0nP5eaQr
Wow. Our petition for a public inquiry into Britain’s complicity in genocide has now surpassed 50k.
We are half way there to forcing a debate in Parliament.
Make it happen by signing the petition now: https://t.co/s6UpMy2FWM
Well after today’s announcement from the Bank of England, there is something very, very, very wrong in the system.
So … let me get this straight:
* British Gas made a profit of £1.3bn between January & June
* BP announced profits of £6.95 billion between April and June alone
* Shell has profited by £9.4bn in a year
The MEN at the top:
* John Pettigrew, boss of National Grid received £6.5m bonus on top of his salary
* Chris O’Shea, chief executive of British Gas owner Centrica was paid almost £2m last year in salary and benefits
* Centrica's non-executive directors were paid almost £1m
* Scottish Power's CEO Keith Anderson is on £1.15m.
* E.On boss Michael Lewis is on £1m
* EDF's Simone Rossi is also on £1m
* And their top execs enjoyed a share of £4.65m
* Peter Simpson of Anglian Water earned a £1.3m pay package
* Welsh Water bosses awarded themselves bonuses of over £930,000
* Severn Trent bosses awarded themselves bonuses of £5.56m
* Thames Water's Sarah Bentley, received a £727,000 bonus on top of her £2m annual salary
Meanwhile there are...
* People who haven't had breakfast and/or lunch TODAY, because they can't afford it.
* People using FoodBanks because food is becoming more of a luxury than a necessity.
* Children celebrating a birthday without presents.
* Parents worrying about new school uniforms - and some schools enforcing rules which are not cost-effective.
* People who can't get to work because they can't afford to put petrol in their cars/pay for public transport anymore.
* People who are working so much they're making themselves ill, and they STILL CAN'T AFFORD to pay their bills.
* People who have been given fines by these same energy/water companies because they couldn't afford to pay their bills in the first place - increasing their debt.
* Customers being told to do STAR JUMPS TO KEEP WARM for crying out loud!
* Hose pipe bans when gallons of water leak away everyday.
* Elderly people NOT DRINKING because they're worried about running out of water!!!
All this and energy prices are set to rise up to 75% in October...
THIS IS MADNESS!.. I'm all for supporting profits … I'm not for supporting greed at the cost of lives of others.
Something needs to change.
Why is customers' money being used to make life more comfortable for those who are making life more intolerable for the rest of us?
I actually don't understand how the energy companies are allowed to get away with this and why the government aren't stopping them instead of handing out money.....
Papiss Cissé: "I love Newcastle. I'm the black Geordie Boy!" 😂
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Link in bio.
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