Newcastle United's 'oldest' season ticket holder, 95, overjoyed to see the Toon win a cup final
by Nicole Goodwin · ChronicleLiveNewcastle United's Carabao Cup win is a dream come true for the club's 'oldest' season ticket holder, John Beeby.
The 95-year-old, from Newburn, has attended an impressive 1,777 games and witnessed many incredible football moments in his 40 years as a season ticket holder. But seeing his team lift a trophy was a bucket list dream that never seemed to become a reality. That was until this weekend.
"I'm overjoyed. I'm so pleased they won", said John, who was watching the match again as he spoke to ChronicleLive and reliving the momentous occasion. "I'm still recovering", he added.
After attending the Carabao Cup Final against Manchester United at Wembley in 2023, aged 93, John decided to watch the 2025 final against Liverpool at his daughter's house with family after struggling with the walk along Wembley Way to the stadium.
He said: "I would have loved to have been there but I couldn't manage it. But my grandson enjoyed it and phoned up to thank me."
The family made sure to make a day of the special occasion, celebrating with lunch and drinks before the kick off at 4.30pm. And as the match got under way in the capital, John said he just had a feeling that the lads would bring it home.
"I wasn't anxious at all before the match. I just had that feeling that they were going to do it", he said.
The former Swan Hunter's Shipyard worker added: "It was a wonderful day. I said we would win 1-0 but 2-1 will do nicely! I think Liverpool only had two shots on goal, we were all over them.
"Newcastle didn't really get the credit they deserved. Towards the end of the match on the TV they were saying Liverpool will come, there's 10 minutes left. They kept mentioning how long it had been since we won a cup and not about how well we were playing."
The true Toon Army supporter said he will continue to attend Newcastle matches for as long as he can walk and still manages to climb to his seat at the top of St James' Park's East Stand with the help of a walking stick and his fellow Geordies who look out for him.
He explained that he has attended some "great games" over the years, including the one-off Coronation Cup in May 1953 to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. However, seeing the team take home the Carabao Cup will certainly rank among the most memorable, even if he couldn't be there to see it in person.
John said: "The supporters were terrific. It was like Liverpool didn't have any supporters there because you never heard them over ours. It was all going off in the end and it was nice to see Shearer and Ant and Dec there, and Antony Gordon get his medal.
"It was magnificent seeing all the black and white scarves in the stand too.", he added.
Of all the managers Newcastle has seen through the years, John said current manager Eddie Howe has been his favourite as "he's straight talking and doesn't make any excuses".
In a message to Eddie and the boys following the game, John said: "Well done", adding: "They were brilliant, all of them. Especially Dan Burn. They all did really well."
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