The famous argument between Duncan Ferguson and former Newcastle United manager Ruud Gullit will be passed down for generations.
An argument for the ages that was the end of one era and the beginning of a new one on Tyneside.
However, it was not always terrible under Ruud Gullit. The Dutchman took Newcastle United to the FA Cup final in 1999, but failed to lift the trophy against an unstoppable Manchester United side. Little did fans know, but Gullit would leave the club just a few months later.
Newcastle United were struggling under Gullit at the beginning of the 1999-2000 season, and his relationship with club legend Alan Shearer was on the ropes.
In a recent interview, Gullit admitted that he is friends with Shearer now, and there seemed to be a lot of miscommunication regarding their stance on each other at the time.
Additionally, Gullit suggested Newcastle played well in that 1999 FA Cup final, despite being well-beaten by Man United at Wembley.
With Gullit one of many managers who have failed on Tyneside, former Everton and Newcastle man Duncan Ferguson has shared what really happened between the pair, and admitted he was shocked to learn about his plans to sell one Newcastle star.
22 May 1999: Duncan Ferguson of Newcastle United in action during the AXA FA Cup Final match against Manchester United played at Wembley Stadium in London, England. The match finished in a 2-0 win for Manchester United and they completed the "Double"for the third time in six years. Mandatory ...
22 May 1999: Duncan Ferguson of Newcastle United in action during the AXA FA Cup Final match against Manchester United played at Wembley Stadium in London, England. The match finished in a 2-0 win for Manchester United and they completed the "Double"for the third time in six years. Mandatory …
Duncan Ferguson recalls historic Newcastle United row with Ruud Gullit
In the late 90s, Newcastle were still trying to find their feet after losing Kevin Keegan in 1996 and sacking Kenny Dalglish in 1998.
MORE NEWCASTLE STORIES
Gullit joined the Magpies after a successful two years as manager of Chelsea, where he won the FA Cup in 1997. However, things all turned sour when Gullit dropped Shearer and Ferguson for a game against fierce rivals Sunderland at St James’ Park.
Both players were livid, but none more so than Ferguson, who revealed in an interview with FourFourTwo what happened in the angry exchange between the pair.
“I think (Gullit) wanted out in the end,” says Ferguson.
“Alan and Gullit were at loggerheads, they were clashing. I felt I got caught in the middle of it with his (Gullit’s) comments after the game.
“I was injured, I wasn’t expected to start the game really. He should’ve started me, he should’ve started Alan, obviously, leaving Alan Shearer out is f**king ridiculous.
“I didn’t like I was getting dragged into an argument either. So I f**king told him.
“I went in early and gave it to him. Him and his assistant were there, he took it to be fair.”
“I was coming storming out, and I remember Alan was coming in, I think he’d been on the school run or something.”
Duncan Ferguson couldn’t believe Ruud Gullit’s stance on selling Alan Shearer
On Sunday, Ferguson has a dilemma over who he wishes to support as Newcastle welcome Everton to St James’ Park. The Scotsman is a hero on Merseyside for spending 10 years at the Toffees over two separate stints, as well as temporary managerial roles in 2019 and 2022.
While it is a dead rubber game for Everton, a lot is riding on it for Newcastle. Champions League qualification is at stake, so a win is a must if they want to return to Europe’s top competition for the second time in three seasons.
Another person who will have a keen eye on the game is Shearer, who believes his boyhood club will qualify for the Champions League. Shearer rejected Manchester United to join Newcastle for £16m in 1996, a world record fee at the time. However, Gullit could have put a stop to his career on Tyneside if things had gone his way.
In the same FourFourTwo interview, Ferguson opened up on his shock that Gullit was genuinely considering letting Shearer go.
“That was ridiculous what he [Gullit] done to him.
“They wanted me to replace Alan at Newcastle. I think that was the strategy, but they maybe thought Alan was on the way out, he was struggling, he wasn’t the same player that he was. But he scored another hundred goals for them! [laughs].
“To be fair, it doesn’t matter how good you are, when people erode away your confidence and are behaving negatively towards you, your form can dip, and I think Alan was struggling at the time.
“He didn’t like Gullit and rightly so because of what happened to him. He was England captain, he was still a class player.”
Thankfully for Newcastle fans, Shearer stayed on Tyneside for the remainder of his career and became the club’s all-time top scorer.