Tommy was a brilliant footballer, but he was also ‘the best kind of man’
NI’S World Cup hero and Newcastle United star Cassidy lived life to the full
TOMMY Cassidy was fun to be around. He was the type of person that after spending time in his company, you felt better for it. He was also a fabulous footballer for clubs such as Newcastle and Burnley and his country, playing in Northern Ireland’s famous victory over Spain in the 1982 World Cup Finals and later going on to become a trophy-winning manager at home and abroad.
Sadly, Tommy passed away at the age of 73 yesterday morning after a long battle with Alzheimer’s having been diagnosed with the condition in 2017.
Referring to her dad, daughter Hannah poignantly posted on social media: ‘Everybody dies but not everybody lives and my God did he live a life’. She added that Cass was ‘the very best kind of man’.
That he was.
Our hearts go out to Tommy’s children Jennifer, Anders, Victoria and Hannah, who were rightly proud of their father. They saw him as an incredible dad who was much loved by his brothers, grandchildren and extended family.
Cass was generous, kind, thoughtful and caring. Honest, too. As a friend, he would tell you things straight, offer advice and leave it up to you if you wanted to take it. He tended to be right.
This Belfast boy could light up a room with his presence by just walking into it and leave it filled with laughter after recounting one of his many stories from that life well-lived, be it about his onetime international room-mate and hero Georgie Best or exchanges with fans when he was in charge of Glentoran.
Long after he had finished playing professional football, he turned out for the NI Sports Media team to play in charity games and was a joy in the dressing room and a wise owl on the pitch, letting the ball do the work.
In the 2000s, he was also a brilliant columnist for the Belfast Telegraph and the old Ireland’s Saturday Night, pulling no punches about Irish League football and the international scene. It was must-read material.
No surprise, really, as Tommy was always worth listening to, and whether wearing the black and white stripes of Newcastle or the green of Northern Ireland, he was worth watching, too.
He won 24 caps as a strong and gifted midfielder, scoring once — the winner versus Scotland in 1974 at Hampden when, as Cass recalled, he ‘beat Billy Bremner in a 50/50 tackle, waltzed past Denis Law and sped round Kenny Dalglish before netting a long-range stunner!’
His final appearance for Northern Ireland was as an early second-half substitute for his great pal Sammy Mcilroy during the epic 1-0 victory over hosts Spain in the 1982 World Cup Finals. Previously, he played a key role when Billy Bingham’s team won the Home Nations Championship in 1980.
Tommy first came to prominence in club football as a teenager with Glentoran, with impressive performances earning him a move to Newcastle where he became a regular, playing in the 1974 FA Cup Final against Liverpool and 1976 League Cup decider versus Manchester City.
Proud to skipper the club, he scored a fine goal in a famous New Year’s Day win over fierce derby rivals Sunderland at St James’ Park which is still talked about by the Toon Army today.
Tommy loved Newcastle, the North East and its people, and the affection was mutual.
After a decade with the Magpies (right) and 239 appearances, in 1980 Cassidy moved to Burnley where he enjoyed an impressive spell prior to joining APOEL in Cyprus in 1983.
He was a Cup winner there as a player and led APOEL to title glory as manager, leaving in 1989 having spoken out about corruption in Cypriot football. Cassidy would continue in management with Gateshead before being appointed
Glentoran boss in 1994. He would save them from relegation and then lead them to Irish Cup glory in 1996 thanks to a memorable Final winner from Glen Little against Glenavon.
A year later, under pressure from fans, he departed. Later, he would be boss at Ards, Sligo Rovers, non-league Workington, Newcastle Blue Star, Whitby Town and latterly Blyth Spartans, leaving that post in 2012.
Five years on came the Alzheimer’s diagnosis. It is a cruel disease.
On the occasion of his passing,