An exclusive interview with Andy Griffin.
I spoke to the former Newcastle United and England Under 21s star via zoom on Thursday March 26th.
The one-time NUFC defender is currently running the Andy Griffin football academy near Stoke.
We began by talking about him signing for NUFC in 1998 before moving on to his memories of playing under three different managers until 2004, as well as his thoughts on Newcastle United in the present day.
(ED: This epic interview covers a lot of ground and has been split into four parts, this is the final one of the four. Our thanks from The Mag to The Armchair Fan for this top quality interview with Andy Griffin)
Did you watch the 2025 League Cup final and how did you feel when Newcastle won a major trophy for the first time in fifty-six years?
Emotional, very emotional.
I watched it with my son and was so happy.
For Dan Burn, what a story! An inspirational fella! For him to get the goal in that performance was outstanding.
For Newcastle to eventually get that trophy, it’s the emotion isn’t it, as well as the relief. All that hard work, the pain, the torture the fans had been through, the rollercoaster of relegations and promotions, the near-misses over the years so yeah it was very emotional. It was great!
Then you think ‘we’ve now got a taste of it, this is what we want’ and the expectancy of that comes with the new ownership but that’s easier said than done because at times it almost feels like we’re operating with one hand tied behind our back.
Do you think the current Newcastle United owners will bring sustained success to the club, in terms of both silverware and regular participation in the Champions League?
I’m very, very positive that it will happen.
You’ve got to provide the money but then you’ve also got to get the players through the door.
I think Eddie Howe has been very good at identifying players who aren’t there yet but are hungry and have potential, willing to learn and to get better. I think that’s the way to go about it. With good coaching, you can have a forty million pound player and turn them into an eighty million pound player, they become better because they’ve got the right work ethic. They haven’t got the mentality of ‘well I’m not going to run, other people can do my running’, you can’t have success with those kinds of players. If you want to buy players who are already exceptionally good then they may cost you eighty or ninety million and what comes with that, maybe bigger egos so it’s not as easy as we might think.
Maybe on Eddie’s radar, he might say ‘I want to sign him’ but that player might not want to come to Newcastle especially if Chelsea or Man City want him. When you’re near the top of the league, you’re competing for the same players as those teams as well as Man United and Arsenal. You’ve also got financial fair play which I don’t think is fair whatsoever. It just enables the current most powerful clubs with the biggest revenues to stay where they are. Maybe the thinking behind it was to stop clubs going into administration but ultimately, to compete and be successful you need money and bags of it to compete at the highest level of world football. It’s going to be a slow burner, maybe we have to look at the blueprint that Manchester City put in place which has worked exceptionally well, but then again the spotlight is now back on them in terms of charges. We’ve been taken over by club owners that are exceptionally wealthy and that surely has to be beneficial.
Who was the most gifted player you played with on Tyneside?
Apart from Alan Shearer?!
Let’s put Shearer to one side!
I think in terms of ‘gifted’ you would have to look at Kieron Dyer and Laurent Robert, those two players. Particularly Kieron who had energy, speed, endurance, composure. An incredible player who almost had it all.
Laurent Robert; in one way you would admire him and in another way he would infuriate you. You were never quite sure which Laurent Robert was going to turn up and I don’t like that, I like players to be trustworthy, but things tended to be on Laurent’s terms. You can either think ‘that’s ok or that’s not ok’. We actually had a bit of a bust up in training once so that tells you I maybe wasn’t ok with it (laughs) but I was a right back and he was a left winger so when training is that intense, which it should be, you are going to have those clashes. His left foot was remarkable, the power, the accuracy, the delivery nine times out of ten. He could be obnoxious at times where he’d give the ball away and wasn’t bothered, when I gave the ball away, I’d be scrambling around trying to get it back. Then again I couldn’t do what Laurent did and smash the ball into the top corner from thirty-five yards.
Issue 165 – 19 January 2003
If you had to choose a best XI of your NUFC teammates, who would you pick?
I’d have Shay Given in goal without a shadow of a doubt, at left back I’d choose Stuart Pearce who was an iconic English player.
Centre back would be Jonathan Woodgate who was a very elegant footballer. Calm and composed. Throughout his career he had so many injuries and didn’t play as much as we all wanted him to. I’d also have Aaron Hughes who was Mr. Reliable, you always knew what you were going to get. Very similar to Jonathan Woodgate, cool and an ice man whereas I was a five foot eight ball of rage!
At right back I could have Warren Barton or Steve Watson but I’m going for myself (laughs).
In midfield, I’d have Laurent Robert on the left wing.
In the centre of midfield I’d definitely have Speedo, I did play with John Barnes even though it wasn’t the John Barnes who was at the peak of his career, so I’ll go for Gary Speed.
Alongside him I’d have Dyer or Jenas but I also loved David Batty. I’ll go for Kieron Dyer at his best because he could be everywhere and receive the ball in any position.
On the right, I’d have Solano who was a very good player for many years, always delivered the goods, could find the pass and had a good work rate.
Up top it would obviously be Alan Shearer but do I put in either Duncan Ferguson or Craig Bellamy? Bellamy, what a player! So much energy, would run the channels and demand so much of his teammates through his desperation to win. Sometimes he would overstep the mark but you could understand where that anger and frustration was coming from but I guess I would have to put in Duncan Ferguson as I’m an Everton fan. Can I not have eleven outfield players?!
Ferguson had a reputation as something of a thug but he was deceptively quick and had great feet for someone who was six foot four. There was a goal against Man United where he turned, left foot and BANG it’s in the top corner. He had a lot of injuries and always wanted to return to his roots at Everton so maybe in that respect do I put Bellamy in because he was more effective for NUFC?
Would any of Newcastle’s current players get into the above team?
Shay Given would be in ahead of Pope or Ramsdale.
I wouldn’t get in ahead of Tripper! What a player he is, I love watching him play. Not only can he defend, he’s exceptionally good with the ball at his feet. Free-kicks and deliveries too.
Lewis Hall at the moment has been a shining light for Newcastle this year but then he’d be going up against Stuart Pearce so I’d have to say no to him.
Dan Burn has been exceptional but Woodgate went to Real Madrid and played for England so that’s a really tough one because I love Dan Burn. I’ll let other people decide that one!
Aaron Hughes or Fabian Schar? This is not that easy! Schar, what a signing and I really like his ability to start an attack from the back, composed, can find a pass and gets a goal here and there. Aaron Hughes was very similar so again I’m going to let other people decide on that one as well.
Right midfield, I’d have Solano ahead of Murphy or Elanga.
I’m going to have to put Speedo in the centre of midfield and also have Bruno in there. Maybe Tonali would also get in ahead of Kieron but I’m going to say Bruno who is immense.
On the left it’s Gordon or Robert. I love how energetic Gordon is and last week, he didn’t stop running against Sunderland. Off the ball, on the ball, trying to make things happen and I really like him but you can’t argue against Laurent Robert’s quality. As much as he could be frustrating in terms of his work ethic off the ball, what he did on the ball in terms of crosses and remarkable goals you would say Laurent would potentially edge it over Gordon.
Up front, Alan Shearer gets in above everyone, simple as that. And I’d have Ferguson or Bellamy in above Woltemade. Maybe Isak would have been ahead of them just to balance things out a bit.
What is your best or funniest Sir Bobby Robson story?
I remember I’d been sent off in a reserve match against Charlton Athletic, meaning I’d be suspended for the first team. I’d had an altercation with one of their players ending up in a fight. I had to go and see him to apologise. I was expecting a right dressing down, I deserved a dressing down to be honest.
He’d seen the video of what happened and told me I should be a boxer. I was in his office and he started shadow boxing! (laughs). This was England’s manager from the 1990 World Cup semi-final and he’s throwing combo-punches near my face! He said he would fine me two weeks’ wages and then told me to f-off! (laughs). That was the man, how he dealt with things, a little bit of humour then tapped me on the shoulder to send me on my way.
How did it feel when the ball hit the net against Juventus?
Unusual! (Laughs) Very, very unusual because why Laurent gave me that ball in that area with his left foot I’ll never know. It was almost like he was trying to stitch me up!
I took a touch to get past one of their defenders but then took a heavy touch, so I was just trying to smash it across the box and Buffon made an error and it went in the net, a rare mistake because he was outstanding in that game. People ask if it was an own goal or not and I always reply ‘it’s Griffin, sixty-two minutes, Newcastle one Juventus nil’. Just the fact we were playing in that game and then winning against a team that went on to make the final.
That result catapulted us on to then win against Kiev and Feyenoord. No one expected us to beat Juventus after losing the first three matches even though we’d played well. We weren’t getting battered so we still had that confidence, still had that hope and self-belief. We won 1-0 against Juventus, beat Kiev 2-1 at home with goals from Speedo and Shearer and then the great game at Feyenoord. 2-0 up, 2-2 before Bellamy scores last minute for 3-2 and we had to wait to see if Juventus had beaten Kiev which they had, so we were through to the next group stage to play against Bayer Leverkusen, Barcelona and Inter Milan. Absolutely incredible times!
Issue 168 – 22 March 2003
What was the proudest moment of your career?
I mentioned before about speaking to my Mum and helping her with her bills when I first signed for Newcastle United, that was the proudest, but I’m also quite proud of the fact that I didn’t change.
Yes there’s been more successful footballers than me but I achieved more than I ever thought I would. I’ve still got the same group of friends that I had in Primary school. I’ve seen people change through success and money but I put the fact I didn’t down to having a good solid character and I think I should be proud of that.
(ED: Our thanks once again to Andy Griffin and The Armchair Fan. You can read the first part that went up on Sunday, the second part that went up on Monday, plus the third part of this epic interview which went up on The Mag on Tuesday)