It’s a very sad day on Tyneside this afternoon as one of our more colourful servants has been confirmed as having passed away. Pavel Srnicek played for Newcastle United 152 times in two separate spells for the club and represented the Czech Republic 49 times most notably at Euro 2000.
He was signed by Jim Smith in 1991 from Banik Ostrava for the sum of £350’000 but made his debut under the Argentinian great Ossie Ardiles against a club he would later play for in a victory against Sheffield Wednesday.
I had the pleasure of seeing Pav play many times and count myself among the privileged few who saw the unforgettable 6-6 away to Tranmere Rovers in the long forgotten ZDS cup. As the score suggests it wasn’t Pav’s finest night and he certainly initially struggled to adapt to both life in Newcastle and the English leagues and after a brief spell in the side lost his place to Tommy Wright.
Pav wasn’t giving up, a change in manager with the appointment of Kevin Keegan led in time to Pavel returning to the side and being a key member of the squad that secured Newcastle’s return to the top flight of English football.
In the following years he competed with Mike Hooper and later Shaka Hislop, making many appearances and was known and loved as one of Keegan’s entertainers who came so agonizingly close to capturing the title in 1996. Perhaps his most memorable performance coming in that challenge with his outstanding display against Everton in December 1995 .
Indeed Pavel would go on to break the long standing record held by The Robledo Brothers and hold the honour of being Newcastle’s longest serving foreign player .
In 2006 following several moves to clubs including Sheffield Wednesday and Brescia, Pavel made a surprise return to St James’ Park versus Tottenham Hotspur, Shay Given injured his groin late in the game and on came a visibly moved Pav to a rapturous reception .
Like a family many of us are Geordies by default, it’s a quirk of both birth and perhaps bloodline.
Again like family it takes a lot to be welcomed as a stranger and is a measure of both the warmth and character of the person to be adopted and considered one of us. Pav was loved by the club and region and always showed his love of the area.
He died today at the age of 47 following a heart attack on the 20/12/15. We’ve lost a member of the Newcastle family and I for one am gutted. I do know this though, Pavel Srnicek will always be a Geordie .
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