FOR A man with such high standards of accomplishment, Sir John Hall probably regards Newcastle United as unfinished business - but he will always be a favourite with the fan.

He took over in November 1991 and genuinely believed that, with his help, the team could rule the premiership.

Born in Ashington, Northumberland, Sir John was a fan of the Magpies and it was his dream to bring silverware back to Tyneside during his time at the helm.

Initially, after appointing Kevin Keegan as manager in February 1992, it looked as though success was around the corner.

Keegan transformed the team from being on the brink of relegation into the old Third Division and into runaway Division One champions inside 15 months. The Hall-Keegan partnership had the perfect platform to progress.

But while the legendary Newcastle hero was giving the fanatical Geordie faithful a team to be proud of once again, Sir John was already outlining his own vision for the future.

Not only did the man behind the construction of Gatesheads MetroCentre want to see Newcastle become a force in Europe, he wanted to use one of the continents greatest clubs as the blueprint to follow.

Barcelona were one of a number of top clubs to boast an incredibly successful sporting club. Sir John, after witnessing the extent of the unrivalled success enjoyed at the Nou Camp in northern Spain, wanted to replicate the Barca way a few miles from Benton.

During 18 months between the summer of 1995 and March 1996, Hall successfully helped Sporting Club Newcastle to acquire the Durham Wasps ice-hockey team, Gosforth Rugby Football Club and the Newcastle Comets, of the British Basketball League.

Sir John was a trendsetter and helped change the face of rugby completely. Gosforth, who eventually became known as Newcastle Falcons, won the Premiership in May 1998.

That, however, was not something he was able to achieve at St James. It remained the case despite generating further funds for inflated transfer fees by selling off the non-football interests in 1996 - when they paid a club record £15m for Alan Shearer.

Taking Newcastle into the Champions League was always a lifelong ambition, he achieved that in 1997 when Newcastle finished second in the Premiership. He then stepped down in the December, when he allowed Freddy Shepherd to take over the chairmanship.

By that time Keegan had departed.

* You can read the full story in The Northern Echo tomorrow.