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A former Eastern Block soldier, Pavel Srnicek arrived on Tyneside when
he joined Newcastle United initially on a trial-loan deal in December
1990. Srnicek had appeared in his native Czech Republic for Bohumin
juniors, ZD Bohumin, Dukla Tabur as well as the more established and
well known Dukla Prague and Banik Ostrava, but still had much to learn
when he joined United - not least the English language. Often criticised
during his early part of his career in England due to a failure to cope
with crosses, to his credit Srnicek battled away at St. James' Park
until he had both won over the Tyneside crowd and a succession of
managers. Tall and well-built at 6'2" - ideally framed for the keeper's
position - Pavel had many rivals for the Number 1 position at
Gallowgate, notably Tommy Wright, Mike Hooper and Shaka Hislop. He
became the club's regular goalkeeper as a Kevin Keegan inspired Magpies
stormed away with the First Division title in 1993, then was in and out
of the side during the Geordie's bid on the Premiership title during the
mid 1990s.
Highly popular with the Tyneside crowd, indeed, Pav - as he
was known to all - became something of a cult figure and could perform
breathtaking saves between the posts. The legendary Gordon Banks even
rated one of Srnicek's saves - against Everton - as one of the best he
had ever seen. Alas, what stopped him becoming a truly great goalkeeper
was the occasional lack of concentration or judgement that caused
expensive slip-ups. A regular in the Czech Republic squad for a decade,
Srnicek claims more than 30 caps for his country, taking part in two
European Championships and the World Cup spectacular of France 98. His
inability to hold a regular place in the Newcastle line-up, in addition
to a poor relationship with manager Kenny Dalglish, saw Pavel depart
Tyneside to join Sheffield Wednesday in June 1998 as a free agent.
At
Hillsborough he again gave displays of brilliant goalkeeping mixed with
the eccentric before moving to Italy, appearing prominently for Brescia.
Srnicek also gained Czech Under 21 caps during the early stages of his
career. Pavel made a surprise return to St James' Park in 2006 and the
popular stopper went on to make a further two appearances for United in
league games against Tottenham and Bolton. (Paul Joannou)
Pavel Srnicek died on 29th. December 2015 nine days after
suffering a heart attack whilst out jogging. He was 47 years old.
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