In many ways the 2004-05 Premier League season marked the beginning of Newcastle United’s fall from grace. Over the course of the previous three years, Newcastle had finished fourth, third and fifth while rubbing shoulders with the likes of Juventus, Inter and Barcelona in European competition.
But the excrement hit the air conditioning in ’04, beginning with an unproductive summer that saw Real Madrid poach Jonathan Woodgate while recruitment was defined by $10 million flop Jean-Alain Boumsong and the rapidly fading star of Patrick Kluivert.
Poor preseason results gave way to a four-match winless streak to open the new campaign, and beloved manager Bobby Robson was promptly sacked despite the success he’d enjoyed over the previous five years.
Graeme Souness was eventually brought in as his replacement as chairman Freddy Shepherd targeted a quick charge up the table, but despite success in the UEFA Cup and FA Cup, Newcastle’s league form remained sporadic.
On Mar. 19, a 1-1 draw with lowly Portsmouth at Fratton Park effectively ended any European ambition while also serving to illustrate how precarious the entire situation was at St James’ Park. It’d all come crashing down 14 days later in Newcastle’s next league match, a home encounter against Aston Villa watched by 52,306.
Things began disastrously in the fifth minute when Newcastle’s defense failed to clear a cross and Juan Pablo Ángel finished emphatically from 12 yards out.
The game turned farcical in the 73rd after Villa’s Darius Vassell robbed Nicky Butt in possession, rounded keeper Shay Given and then had his goal-bound effort blatantly handled by defender Steven Taylor. Taylor’s reaction after blocking the shot with his hand (gyrating in the air at an obscene angle like he’d been shot by a sniper) is now the stuff of legend.
Taylor was obviously sent off for the handball and Gareth Barry made it 2-0 from the spot.
Happy 33rd birthday to former Newcastle United defender Steven Taylor.
Who can forget when the poor bloke was struck on the side whilst keeping Aston Villa at bay? pic.twitter.com/w7tVhiMXEz— When Football Was Better (@FootballInT80s) January 23, 2019
Seven minutes later, the sour mood inside St James’ Park turned foul after Newcastle defender Stephen Carr went shoulder-to-shoulder with Vassell, sending the Villa striker flying, and the referee contentiously pointed to the spot. Barry confidently converted again making it 3-0 in the 80th minute.
That set the stage for what stands as one the defining examples of internal disfunction. One minute after the penalty, Newcastle teammates Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer clashed off the ball with Dyer putting his hands around Bowyer’s neck and Bowyer responding with a series of haymakers.
Remarkably, it was Villa’s Barry who stepped between the two and managed to drag Bowyer away. The referee then presented red cards to both of them as Newcastle finished the match with eight men.
Sterling v Gomez was nothing compared to Bowyer v Dyer...pic.twitter.com/U2DpX3BOqk
— Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) November 12, 2019
“We were losing three-nil at the time,” explained Dyer years later. “We’d already had a man sent off, so everyone’s tempers were a bit frayed. I had the ball and he came short to show for it and I didn’t pass him the ball, but I didn’t give the ball away. I think I passed it to (Alan) Shearer’s feet or something. So I kept the ball and he’s shouting, ‘Why haven’t you passed me the ball?’ I said, ‘I ain’t giving the ball away.’
“Five minutes later, the exact same thing happens. I got the ball on the right wing, he showed for it. Again I’ve — not intentionally — just passed it to someone else. And he’s giving it, ‘You never pass me the ball’ and by this time I lost it and just said, ‘The reason I don’t pass you the ball is ‘cause you’re fucking shit.’
“And then everyone knows about Bow. That was it. The red mist came. Obviously I was thinking I’m a bit hard because I was thinking he can’t attack me on the pitch, but boy did I get that wrong. So I grabbed him by the neck and then all of a sudden there’s haymaker after haymaker.
“I know it only happened in about five seconds but it seemed to last a lifetime, because I can remember clearly as the punches come in that I cannot believe he is throwing punches in my face. I think Gareth Barry dragged him away and Alan came and dragged me away.
“I didn’t know at the time you could get sent off for fighting your own teammate, so I was a bit shocked when the ref gave me a red card.”
But the fallout was even greater than that. In the immediate aftermath of the event, Souness told the pair that he was going to go and watch the video, and that if he didn’t like what he’d seen, he was going to kick the shit out of both of them.
Shearer, meanwhile, labelled them “selfish fucking pricks” in the dressing room since the club was about to play Sporting in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Cup and Manchester United in the semifinals of the FA Cup. Dyer was given a three-match ban and Bowyer was suspended for seven games.
Following that match, Newcastle would win only one of its remaining eight league fixtures en route to a 14th-place finish. They’d also promptly lose 4-1 on aggregate to Sporting in the UEFA Cup and 4-1 to Man United in the FA Cup.
In the 15 years since, Newcastle has suffered as many relegations (two) as they have finishes inside the top 10 of the EPL (7th in 2005-06, 5th in 2011-12).
Newcastle United Vs. Aston Villa | Full Match Highlights (2004-05)
