During the close season of 1977, Newcastle United supporters on the face of it had much to look forward to.
Notwithstanding the departure of long-time fans' favourite Malcolm Macdonald, a new-look Magpies outfit had managed to achieve a creditable fifth-place First Division finish at the end of the previous campaign. It was United's highest top-flight placing since 1951.
It also meant the return of European football to St James' Park in the shape of qualification for the UEFA Cup. For those of us too young to have witnessed the glory days of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in the late 1960s, the thought of seeing top continental teams in the flesh fired our imaginations.
