He took the club from the gutter and left them in one of the best Leagues in the world.
Now that the dust has settled, finishing 13th is still nothing to get excited about.
But from Hall's point of view, he leaves the club in a much better state than it was when he first arrived on the scene at a crumbling St James' Park back in the early 1990s.
And before this season we've had a host of really GOOD memories to with the Hall era as well, despite the fact we still haven't got a trophy!
But where do you start?
Kevin Keegan's first game against Bristol City, 3-0 in front of packed house after Hall sacked Ossie Ardiles and appointed special K?
Or what about David Kelly's late screamer that kept the club alive at Gallowgate a few months later with the strike against Portsmouth!
Moving on through the years who can ever forget winning 11 out of 11 of the first games in the old First Division? Bracewell's screamer? Lee Clark in red hot form? Liam O'Brien's winner at Roker Park?
And then after winning the First Division trophy, the Premiership years and Andy Cole netting 41 times in his first season at top level.
Peter Beardsley coming home and the redevelopment of St James'.
If that wasn't enough a third place finish and European football.
Quickly afterwards we witnessed the 5-0 hammering of Royal Antwerp and Rob Lee's hat-trick of headers, it was dream time all right but there was more to come.
However, we did fail to live up to our own high expectations the following season by finishing a lowly SIXTH!!! How times have changed.
But Hall wasn't content with that and the summer of 1995 resulted in Les Ferdinand, Warren Barton, Shaka Hislop and David Ginola coming to Tyneside.
Keegan was loving the Premiership life and we were living the dream, 12 points clear after Christmas - the title surely coming to Toon.
But no, oh no.
Despite playing the best football witnessed in my living memory, we capitulated.
However, I'm going to continue looking through my rose tinted spectacles and I refuse to remove the blinker, just for a bit longer.
Next to come on board was a certain A Shearer, for a drop in the ocean at £15million.
Goals and quality performances continued to follow, many of them scored by Shearer and Big Les.
Again United romped to the top of the table, beating Man United 5-0, yes 5-0 no less, to get there.
The European nights continued but after Newcastle started moving into a new business era with stocks and shares dominating the headlines rather than goals, Keegan had had enough, he was off.
Hall, who watched Kenny Dalglish then take United to the Champions League the next May, soon followed the next season and you could say with their departure, apart from the brief success enjoyed by Sir Bobby Robson years later, conincided with the end of really good times on Tyneside.
So raise a glass, for the new life president and a man who helped us have so many great memories.
Cheers Sir John.
- Post to:
del.icio.us
Digg
Newsvine
Nowpublic
Reddit
« Previous | Home | Next »