All language subtitles for Giantkillers.The.Team.That.Wouldnt.Die.2019.1080p.WEBRip.x264-CBFM

Here we are, Rodney Parade,

the magic of the FA Cup.

FANS CHEER

Every year, the FA Cup
throws up an underdog story.

Crosses into the middle...

It's a goal for Newport County!

But this year, it turned
the most unlikely of clubs

into national heroes...

Scores!

FANS CHEER

..because by rights, Newport

shouldn't even have a football team.

30 years ago, Newport County

had ceased to exist.

Their ground was closed down
and everything,

even the team kit,

was sold to pay debts.

Lot 103, a large quantity of
black armbands.

It was a group of ordinary

County fans who brought the club

back to life. Finish, BLEEP!

Dragging it up from the very

basement of British football.

Along the way, they had to fight
one of the most acrimonious battles

in Welsh sporting history,

all to bring football
back to Newport.

All we want to do is go home.
Is it too much to ask

to play football where we belong?

This is the story of how a David
and Goliath battle off the pitch

allowed the league's
least likely giant-killers

to take on the richest club
in the world.

Here we go, then!

Newport County playing
the Premier League champions,

Manchester City.

MUSIC: Portlife
by Jack Perrett

# Oh!

# All right, go on!

# No, I haven't got £45

# Hogarths is the preference
for the habitual drinkers

# In what is known as...

# Portlife

# The green glass tunnels
can be avoided

# If you take a route straight
through what is known as... #

Newport County Football Club

plays in the bottom division
of the English Football League.

It has done for
most of its existence.

It's hardly ever been
"the beautiful game".

# ..All the people... #

Each week, 3,000 die-hard fans

turn up to cheer them on...

..and to groan.

And he's in on goal!

This could be surely it...

Oh, no! He had a chance here.

That really has got to go down as
the most amazing miss.

# ..Portlife... #

Newport rent their ground
from the local rugby team,

and you can sponsor a player

for 90 quid. Yes! Yes!

This is a scrapping team

for a scrapping town.

Newport is...

There are not many places
like Newport. I mean...

Woo! Ooh, there you go.
There's an example there.

There's always something going on.

Not necessarily something you'd pay
to see, but you will see something.

SIRENS WAIL

Newport's an outsider, you know.

It's just hanging in there,
it's doing its own thing,

and every now and then,
it pops its head up and says,

"I'm still here,
I'm still doing it."

It was incredibly rich at one point.

People came here to make
massive amounts of money, then left

when the industry fell out.
And then the people left behind

kind of formed Newport
as we know it now.

Is Newport a crap town?

Yes. There's nothing wrong
with being crap.

It could have just become

a car park for Cardiff,

but it's always managed to hold out.

It's very defiant. I think that's
shown through the football as well.

CHEERING

County, dead and buried
two months ago,

have done it!

# Portlife. #

THEY CHEER

A new football season begins,

and like many small clubs,

Newport County find themselves

on the financial breadline.

Thoughts here are as much about
survival as winning silverware.

This is a club that is owned by

its fans,
where everybody pitches in.

As soon as some of
the supporters have seen

the very attractive leisurewear
that the first team wear,

people are snapping it up.

You've got onesies,
all stuff for the children.

We've even got dog coats now.

We've had two deliveries of dog
coats, both went straight away.

Hopefully, then, we'll have
another line of dog leads,

dog bowls. You name it,
we'll get the County crest on it.

Right, the only extra large ones
we've got now...

Since I retired,
I was asked if I could volunteer

one day a week in the club shop.

That snowballed to two,

snowballed to three, four, five.

There's a lot of volunteers
working for the benefit of the club.

The shop, ticket office,
programme sellers.

And I think, really,
without the volunteers, the club,

I don't think,
could exist in the Football League.

Thanks very much.
Thank you. Cheers. Bye.

The financial returns that we've got

since we've been open in August,

well, you could probably get
Sergio Aguero's left boot!

But, you know, to a club like this,

it could be a centre forward,
midfielder, defender.

Half a squad.

The whole squad!

CHEERING

For all the struggles, though,
Newport County fans

are grateful just to have a
club to support.

FANS SING

Over the years, survival has been

a constant struggle,

and never more so than in the 1970s,

where our story begins.

The last couple of weeks
must have been

a tremendous battle for you
personally, under great pressure.

How do you relax? I know you have
a very full-time job,

but how do you manage to relax?
Well, in my little office,

as it were, I've got an organ,

which I sometimes sit on and play.

One perhaps I can play you now,
just to finish,

and you may enjoy it.

Newport County Football Club
has been around

for over a century, almost all of it

at the grittier end of
British football.

Sometimes, they finished
rock bottom of the league.

The worst professional team
in England and Wales.

This should have meant relegation
to non-league football,

but that depended on the say-so
of the directors of other clubs.

Something Newport were wise to.

The directors made sure that
when other directors

came to the club,
they were well looked after.

Now, there was a good
reason for doing that,

because if we were in trouble,

you could count on them...
"We always have a great time at

"Somerton Park, they look after us,"

and they vote you back in.

It was the welcome that some of
these club chairmen got at

Somerton Park that kept Newport in
the league quite often,

because they had a great time.

It wasn't unknown for
visiting directors

to be carried out of the boardroom,
such was the hospitality.

Yeah, it was legendary.

Newport's combination of
cheek and tenacity

eventually saw their fortunes
change on the field.

CHEERING

In the early 1980s,
they went on a run of form

that surprised even their most

optimistic fans.

This was commanding football.

Newport were now well on course for

the two points which would

guarantee them promotion.

County won promotion to the Third
Division and bagged the Welsh Cup,

earning them a place
in European competition.

Newport were off to the continent -

or to Communist East Germany,
anyway.

But bitter experience
had taught them

not to get their hopes up too much.

How do you expect the result to go?
Er...

Well,
I hope it's...

I hope a 2-0
defeat.

That'd be nice.

CHEERING

In fact, County managed a heroic
draw against Carl Zeiss Jena.

But sure enough, they were soon

out of Europe and back to the harsh

realities of lower-league football.

First, they were relegated back to

the Fourth Division.

CHEERING

But much worse was to follow.

# You're losing all the time

# You never win, no... #

Newport have been propping up
the Fourth Division

for virtually the whole of
the season.

They're now 11 points adrift.

In 1988, County finished

bottom of the Fourth Division.

With relegation now automatic,
they were dumped out of

the Football League.

Unless something changed,

the very existence of the club

was under threat.

These days, in modern times,
clubs look for foreign investors.

Well, Newport County had one turn
up on their doorstep!

# Yeah, yeah, yeah! #

This millionaire called
Jerry Sherman

was insisting that he take over.

This was...
This was like a gift from heaven.

An American investor?!

CAR HORN BEEPS

On the streets of Mayfair,

Jerry Sherman cuts an imposing
figure, as he wheels and deals.

He had the gift of the gab.
He was brilliant.

Of course, we've got to get a league
to play in, we've got to get

a park to play in, you know,
little things like that,

but we'll sort something out.
One way or another,

anything I've ever set my heart
and my mind on, I would accomplish,

and I know that
I'll accomplish this.

# I'm gonna get dressed for success

# Shaping me up
for the big time, baby... #

Newport County were groaning
under the burden of debt.

Their ground, Somerton Park,
had been sold to the council

to raise cash.

The arrival of Jerry Sherman

seemed to be the answer to
the club's prayers.

There were some extraordinary
stories of the team being

taken to Chinese restaurants
in London before and after games.

Sometimes, they'd stay overnight
after a game, as I recall.

Soon, though,
the facade began to crumble.

How much would you say
you've put into Newport County?

Almost 200,000.
Out of your own pocket? Mmm.

Cheques bounced,
bills were left unpaid

and angry creditors began to pursue
the club through the courts.

Well, turns out to be
a Walter Mitty character.

The cheque was always in the post.

Never mind what was coming up,
it was going to be fine.

His people were on it.

What happened after that?

HE WHISTLES

A demise.

By February 1989, Newport County

owed over
a third of a million pounds.

The club's biggest creditor,
Newport Council,

applied to have it wound up.

How do you think Jerry Sherman is
going to be remembered in Newport?

I hate the bloke now for what
he's done. Let everybody down.

All the supporters, all the players.

£5 for this one? £5 for it?

£5?

£4 to start, then, £4?

The final indignity
for Newport County was the sale,

at auction, of all its assets -

from trophies to corner flags.

Lot 103, a large quantity
of black armbands.

What do we say for them?
Must be worth something.

£1? It must be worth
a pound note to someone!

Really, it struck home, then,
just what had happened.

It was the death of a football club.

At £1, going down...

£1.74.

And it left a vacuum.
It left a vacuum for the supporters

and it left a real hole for

the city of Newport.

Did you think this day would
ever come? Never, never.

Saddest day of my life. What's
it like, seeing all these things

being sold off?
Heartbreaking. Heartbreaking.

The supporters there,
they're good supporters,

and people from outside...

Newport was a town without a club,

and so the story might have ended,

but behind closed doors,
a group of fans full of

the battling Newport spirit
were plotting an audacious escape.

Thank you! Give me five!

HORNS BEEP REPEATEDLY

Give us a hug.
Can I give you a hug? Aw!

Midway through the 2019 season,

the Newport County spirit
isn't hard to find,

but the season itself has taken
a very unexpected turn.

As well as the league,
County are competing in

the FA Cup and, having
come through the early rounds,

have drawn Premier League giants
Leicester at home.

# Come on the County!

# Let's have a score... #

In the good old days,

County had a way of
levelling the playing field

when big teams like West Ham

came to town in the Cup,

using typical Newport inventiveness.

The manager did a bit of a job
on West Ham United.

He took the light bulbs
out of the away dressing room.

He took the toilet rolls
out of the loo.

He didn't even give them
proper balls to warm up with.

They were all deflated.

We could hear them arguing
and calling us for everything

in the other dressing room.

And then, almost went 1-0.

CHEERING

# Come on, Newport County, oh

# Bang it in the net. Hey! #

FANS SING

These days, the spoilsports
of the FA insist on fair play.

So, if County can beat Leicester,

it will be a feat of giant-killing

to take its place in club legend.

2-1, County.
Amond, the first goal-scorer.

Confident? Confident, yeah.

The last time I forecast a game,

I said we were
going to beat Yeovil Town 4-0,

and we ended up losing
6-0 at home.

So, I don't want to
pre-empt it but, you know,

I won't sit on the fence any more.

I'm going to go for
a 1-0 win to the County.

For the chairman, though, this is
all about financial survival.

It's not easy running
a League Two football club.

It's the most bizarre industry ever
where, two months of the year,

you don't have any income
but, at the same time,

you've got to pay out
all your wages.

There's no doubt about it, at times,
like most clubs in our division,

you are sailing close to the wind.

I think as directors, sometimes,
you watch games differently.

Obviously, you want us to win,
but you're also thinking,

if we win this, it means 250,000
from TV revenue and everything else

that sits around side of that.
So, it's great for the club,

but it's great for the revenue
in the club as well.

FANS CHANT

The stage is set for
a David and Goliath clash.

For 90 minutes, the eyes of the
football world will be on Newport.

We are all set to go,
as Newport County

look to down a Premier League club.

Not just any club,
the former Premier League winners

of just over two years ago.

CHEERING

They're off!

County are out of the traps
like Fourth Division whippets!

And after ten minutes...

Willmott attacks...
Oh, he's got good pace!

Crosses into the middle.

It's a goal for Newport County!

Bloody hell, they've scored!

FANS CHANT

Now the County fans
are in for some nail-biting.

In the second half, sure enough,
money talks.

The Premier League pedigrees
are back level.

Oh, well.

Just a case now, I suppose,
of clinging on for a replay.

But hang on, wait...

Newport on the attack.

Oh, it's a handball!

Penalty, ref!

Ah, Christ! I'm not sure
I can watch this!

Did he score it?

Everybody looks at referee
Chris Kavanagh.

And that's the final whistle!

Oh, they've only gone and done it!

COME ON!

I...

I, um...

I...I still can't believe

that we beat Leicester City
in the FA Cup!

This means so much,
not just to the supporters,

but to the...to the football club.

I'm sorry.

I just can't believe that we have
dumped a Premiership side

out of the FA Cup in my lifetime.

Newport County have slain a giant

to reach the next round
of the FA Cup.

And as is so often the case,

nobody is going to fancy a trip
to Newport.

It's pretty good going

for a club that not so long ago
was dead and buried.

Somerton Park has been the home
of Newport County

since the club was formed in 1912.

There's talk now of it
being turned into houses.

You hear of, sort of, fans' groups
trying to resurrect clubs.

Still, the journalist in me

was always not quite certain
how it was going to end,

actually, how it was going
to come to fruition.

A month after Newport County
had ceased to exist,

one last meeting of its supporters
was convened.

They had £400 in their kitty,

and had to decide
what to do with it.

The answer launched
an amazing adventure

led by the unlikely figure

of a 51-year-old deputy headmaster
from Groes-faen.

We all said, "Right,
why not start a new club

"to replace the County?"

We wanted a Newport side aiming
to play in the Football League,

even if it meant starting
right at the bottom.

The new club was
christened Newport AFC

and it was owned by the fans.

Immediately,
they had a problem to solve.

The Welsh FA didn't regard
Newport AFC as a valid club,

meaning they would have
to play parks football.

The club's answer
was a drastic one -

cross the border to England

and go into self-imposed exile.

We got the support
of the Hellenic League,

in the adjacent county
of Gloucester.

They were in the Football League
pyramid

and therefore offering the hope
of progression.

And that's what we wanted.

The Hellenic League
was four tiers below

the promised land
of the Fourth Division.

But it was willing to accept
Newport AFC.

A very unlikely fightback had begun.

We're going to go back to basics,
here. We're going to go back,

we're going to get players
from Newport

who want to play for
this football club

and we're going to go from there.

Newport AFC's players
were all amateurs,

coming to train straight from work.

The starting 11 they put together
included a plumber,

an insurance rep,
a sheet metal worker

and four postmen.

Get in for quarter past five,
and hopefully

I can finish the work
by nine o'clock.

Then it's home
for a quick bath,

quick snore, what have you,

and then straight off
to meet the coach, then.

Leading the ragtag crew as manager

was former star player
John "Relo" Relish,

and even he didn't know
what to expect.

It's a little bit...unwise

for me to say how well we'll do
in the short term,

because it's a new venture
for everyone concerned.

We really don't know
the strength of the league.

We're stepping into
the unknown a little bit.

One major issue, however, remained.

Playing across the border
in England,

Newport AFC had no ground
of their own.

The new club
was only three months old,

but unless it could somehow
find a home quickly,

it might never play
a competitive game.

In the 2019 FA Cup,

Newport County are facing
a long trip away from home.

Having seen off Premier League
Leicester,

their reward is a fourth-round clash

against Championship high-flyers
Middlesbrough.

It's a match that's
already being called

"the Battle of the
Transporter Bridges".

Well, by me, at least!

Our bridge is better than yours!

It's been a six-hour,
300-mile journey

for over a thousand County fans.

COMMENTATOR: Floats it into
the middle. It's looping.

It's in!

And ten minutes into
the second half,

they are wondering
why they bothered.

It's that Newport County feeling,
handed down the generations.

Losing against a better team,

away from home,

in the rain.

It doesn't help that the
Boro boss is a Newport lad.

He'll know all the dirty tricks.

One chance.

One chance, that's all we want.

The clock runs down past 90 minutes.

All over, then?

I think I'll go to the bogs
before the rush.

Inside the last two minutes
of the added four.

Breaks to Sheehan.
Sheehan crosses into the box!

Matt is in there...
Might break to Dolan!

THEY CHEER

And Newport County

have got a dramatic equaliser
in injury time!

Oh, that's better.

Did I miss anything?

Ye-e-s!

That's the final whistle,

and the tie is heading for a replay!

I cannot believe this.

I don't mind being busy
in the ticket office

next week for a replay.

I am going to get myself

absolutely BLEEP tonight!

Brilliant!

County's last-gasp equaliser
has earned them a replay

and put them in the draw
for the Sixth Round of the FA Cup

for only the second time
in their history.

Bagging a big-name club here

would be worth hundreds of thousands
of pounds

and feel like a victory in itself.

Number 12.

And Middlesbrough or Newport

get the Premier League champions
Manchester City.

Man City.

Oh! The champions, you know,
of the country.

It's what dreams are made of.

Just one game away,

one of the giants of world football

lies in wait for Newport County.

In June 1989, all that lay in wait

for the newly-formed
Newport AFC and its fans

was uncertainty.

They had a club legend as manager,
a team full of postmen,

and absolutely nowhere to call home.

My idea was, well, we've got a
league, we've got a team,

we've got a manager,

so let's find somewhere to play.

Newport's directors
hoped to share a ground

with another team
in the Hellenic League,

so they worked their way down
the list of clubs,

starting from A.

It wasn't looking promising,

until one fateful call.

We managed to find a club that we
were able to share a ground with,

at a place called Moreton-in-Marsh,

80 miles away from Newport.

And they said, "Do you know
where we are?"

I said, "I don't care where you are,
we'll come."

Now nicknamed the Exiles,

Newport AFC set out
for their first home game...

..85 miles away from Newport,

and in a different country!

Of course, Moreton-in-Marsh,

a sleepy little market town
in the Cotswolds.

It's a nice ground.

There's a cemetery at one end

and the "allotment end"
at the other!

And there was a shed
which served as a stand.

I said, "It's not exactly Wembley,
but it'll do for a start."

And the police were there
in force at our first game.

There were police dogs, I think
there were even one or two horses.

And by the time the third
home game was played at Moreton,

it was just one copper on a bike.

Remember, lads, we're the away team
tonight, OK?

The average crowd in the
Hellenic League's probably 80,

maybe a couple of dogs.

And we came out to about 1,500
Newport fans around the place.

It was just amazing!

REFEREE'S WHISTLE

Back you go, cocker.

AWAY FANS CHUCKLE
I haven't been called that before!

WARM LAUGHTER

What time will you get home tonight?

11, 12.

Then up for work again in
the morning? Oh, yes, yes.

If my boss is watching.

Newport AFC's makeshift side

smashed their way
to the top of the league.

Video coverage was less Sky Sports,
more You've Been Framed.

We didn't win all our games,
but we won more than we lost,

and we were clear
champions at the end.

Wahey! Champions! Wahey!

First of all, thanks to you guys.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

This was the end of our...

..magical mystery
tour of the Cotswolds.

# Between a rock

# Between a rock and a hard place. #

Following the team's promotion,
Newport Town Council allowed them

to return home for
the following season.

A now dilapidated Somerton Park got

a DIY blitz from fans and players,

and they were ready for

a glorious new dawn

in the Beazer Homes League South.

The day some never thought
would come was there.

Competitive soccer
back at Somerton Park,

money changing hands,
turnstiles clicking,

fans filing in - 2,271 of them.

Getting back to Wales
was one thing, though.

Getting back into
the Football League

remained a very unlikely dream.

In 2019, it's halfway
through the league season.

Newport County's next FA Cup game
is fast approaching,

and already the cup run
is inspiring confidence at the club.

In the January transfer window,
new players have been brought in

to bolster the squad.

Welcome to Newport
Transporter Bridge.

This is the icon of Newport.

Now there's a ritual they must
complete, with the man who helped

to bring football back to Newport.

I just wanted to tell you
two connections with the club.

When Mr Lysaght built
his steelworks there,

he brought his workers
from Wolverhampton to come here.

Those Lysaght's workers were,
of course, Wolves fans,

and they were coming
to a largely rugby area,

and they wanted a professional
football club, so they started

the first Newport County in 1912.

So, that's the first
connection with the bridge

and the club.

The second is that when Newport
County went out of existence in 1989

and we started a new club,
that was our logo,

and we took it all over
the South of England,

and it was always a talking point.

To be fair, I was quite
shocked when I first saw it.

I didn't know what to make of it,
in terms of, how does it work?

Are you going to climb up it? No.
It's been a long day at training!

A week ago in the FA Cup,
County snatched a late away draw

against Championship giants
Middlesbrough.

Now, Boro must face a replay
at Rodney Parade on a filthy

Welsh winter evening.

The stakes tonight
could hardly be higher.

Win this game and little Newport
County will face a last 16 tie

against one of the costliest

and most talented teams in world
football - Manchester City.

Newport hasn't been this exciting
since the Chartist riots!

FANS CHANT

County couldn't do
it again, could they?

Come on, the Port!

Don't tell anyone,
I've actually put 20 quid on Boro.

Wilmott, found by Amond.
In a central area this time.

Matt in support.

But Wilmott goes for it,
and he's done it!

Unbelievable!
Poundland beating House of Fraser!

Some people think it's all over.

If there were people on the pitch,
I could do the... Oh!

2-0, that'll do!

And Manchester City are surely
heading to Rodney Parade!

WHISTLE BLOWS AND CROWD ROARS

Full-time. I've lost 20 quid.

Who cares?!

Man City! Ho-ho!

Yes!

That gets you more than money
can buy, to see the look

on the kids' faces, the adults'
faces, the seniors' faces!

They can't believe it! Manchester
City, they're coming here!

Unbelievable!

It just makes you feel really,
really proud to be involved

in the whole occasion,
but also I think it shows

how far the club has progressed.

Come on! Loving it!

I mean, the whole atmosphere
was just fantastic,

in and around the city.

You talk to people who run pubs,
bars, restaurants etc from early

doors, you know, the whole place
was just absolutely bouncing.

And I think that's what a
football club brings to a city.

Manchester City are
on their way to Rodney Parade.

I just hope they've got sat nav!

By 1992, Newport County
had been back from exile

for two seasons.

They were on a stable footing,
and for fans, things were beginning

to look up.

This is a very important
announcement.

Please, would the spectator
on the pylon at the far side

of the ground come down, please?
Thank you.

Newport being Newport, though,
trouble wasn't far away.

We were establishing ourselves
in the Beazer Homes League.

But then, of course,
the Football Association of Wales

had the brilliant idea of forming
the League of Wales.

We'll be meeting next week
as a committee,

and we'll be starting
to prepare detailed plans,

because I have to say,
there will be a League of Wales

in 1992/93, and obviously,
if we come, we'll have all the best

teams in Welsh football
playing in it.

We wished all the best
for the League of Wales.

However, it wasn't what

we formed for, simply that.

And we'd have lost...

I'd think we'd have lost about
80% of our support overnight,

if we'd have said,
"We're going to go in with you."

Their view was, with
the League of Wales,

we were in Wales, we had to stay
or go on the other side.

So, we did again.
We had to go to Gloucester.

Almost unbelievably,
the Exiles were cast out of Wales

again, this time with two
other renegade clubs.

Home games at Gloucester City's
ground were closer than at

Moreton-in-Marsh, but this was to be
no happy repeat of the first season

over the border.

Gates were low,
sponsorship hard to find.

Even die-hard fans losing heart.

All we want to do is go home.

Is it too much to ask to play
football where we belong?

It's a fiasco, isn't it, really?
A farce.

Just two years after
rising from the ashes,

it looked as if the new club
might be coming to a sad end.

And so it might have been,
were it not for one London-based fan

who happened to come
along to a game.

It was one home game at Gloucester,
and at half-time,

I was in the gents,
chatting, as you do, to an old boy

called Ken Thomas,
and I said, "Well, Ken,

"explain to me why we're here,"
and he tried to explain to me.

And I said, "Well, they can't do
that, surely they can't do that."

Charlie Hopkins was a die-hard
Newport fan and...a hotshot lawyer.

Looking into the matter,
he calculated that Newport AFC

could bring a legal
case against the FAW.

But he warned them that to
do so would be unprecedented

and an enormous gamble.

It's not going to come cheap,
and if you lose, the costs

will be such that you are going
to go out of business,

but you're going to go out of
business anyway if you carry on

like you are, so you have a choice.

You either go down all guns blazing,

or maybe you don't go down at all.

We brought him into the boardroom
and we discussed it,

and we all said, "Right, well,
we've got nothing to lose,"

so, we went for broke.

Today, in their battle
with the Football Association

of Wales, the gloves came off.

The clubs fielded a full first 11
to announce they were going to serve

a writ on the FAW's solicitors,
claiming restraint of trade.

We've exhausted all
the other possibilities.

We've tried negotiating
with the FAW.

We've approached UEFA,
we've been in contact

with the English FA, and frankly,
there is now no alternative.

The case was heading not
just for court, but for the

High Court in London.

Ranged against tiny Newport AFC

were the Welsh FA,
and FIFA and UEFA -

football's highest governing bodies.

And the fight was getting dirty.

By the time we decided

to take court action,

it had become personalised.

The vice president of the FAW,

he said we were no more Welsh
than Gateshead.

We're just like Gateshead,
we're not Welsh.

Newport's not Wales anyway.
It was all that kind of nonsense.

Finally, the day arrived for one
of the most unlikely trials

the High Court had ever seen.

Newport County definitely were
very much the underdogs.

It was David v Goliath, really.

I must admit, I was sceptical
the club would ever get going again,

but then, the longer it went on,
you began to wonder whether,

"Well, actually, the judge hasn't
thrown this out immediately,

"so maybe there is
an argument to be had."

It was just a very, very
intense period.

You were working 18-hour days,
so by the end of it,

it was a bit like having gone
15 rounds with Mike Tyson!

After ten long days in court,
the judge was ready

to deliver his verdict.

This was perhaps the most important

ever result in Newport football's
eight-decade history.

Jubilant supporters from Newport
spilled into the London sunshine

after the judgment,
convinced their long battle

with the Football Association
of Wales was won.

Coming out of the High Court
to a crowd of supporters

was just remarkable.

It was a bit like winning the
FA Cup, or something like that.

Yeah, quite remarkable.

We stayed waiting for the results,
and it seemed to take forever,

and then when it finally came
through, it just went mad.

We were there all night.

I don't think anyone's ever taken

a case like this against

a football association

and effectively defied FIFA,

either before or since.

Two decades after their
legal victory, Newport County fans

were on their way back to London
for another date with destiny.

# We're going to Wembley... #

This time, their destination
wasn't the High Court,

but Wembley Stadium.

The occasion, a playoff final

for a place back
in the Football League.

This was the promised land
that County fans

had been dreaming of.

Just walking down Wembley Way
and seeing County fans,

faces that I've known for years,
and it's just grins from ear to ear.

Oh, amazing!

Manager Justin Edinburgh
led Newport County out.

Standing in their way were Wrexham,

Welsh football's other
perennial underachievers.

Miss out and both teams knew
this chance might never come again.

For 85 minutes,
County fans bit their nails.

Until... Sandell clears down
the left-hand side.

Flicked on by Artell.
This is Jolley in the box.

Jolley to win it for Newport!

Jolley scores a £1 million goal
for Newport County, with just four

minutes to go, and a quarter
of a century of heartbreak

could be just minutes from ending!

Jolley looks for O'Connor,
O'Connor could seal it for Newport!

O'Connor shoots, blocked by Maxwell.
Second chance. 2-0!

Newport County are going back
into the Football League!

Newport County ran out 2-0 winners.

At last, the Exiles were coming
home to league football.

Come on! Woo!

Get in there! Come on!

We returned all those things
that we'd set out to do,

back in 1989, that so many
people were dismissing

there was a chance of.

It don't get better
than that, son!

We'd finally done it!

We never said how long
it would take, and it did take

25 years, but we didn't know
that we would be exiled twice

and have to go to the High Court.

And when it happened,
I simply said, when I was asked...

.."Mission accomplished!"

When Manchester City came
to Rodney Parade in the FA Cup,

a team that cost £70,000 faced

a team that cost £600 million.

So, here we go, then.

Newport County playing
the Premier League champions.

They are 400-1 to win this.

County came close.

But it was the multimillionaires
who finally broke the deadlock...

..and Newport hearts.

With minutes to go,
County were 2-0 down.

The dream of an upset was over.

Or was it?

That's gone into the box.
He's lobbed it past Ederson.

He's scored!

You just cannot keep
this Newport County side down!

It couldn't happen again.

Could it?

Well, it didn't, but Newport

went down scrapping and left

the field like winners.

Man City went on to win the FA Cup,

but it was the underdogs who'd won
the nation's hearts.

You get something big like Man City
going on, it goes across the world.

Football fans all over the place
suddenly hear this name Newport

County, and that's lovely to see
that just sort of kicking

through and just being that
little glimmer of, like,

"We're still here, we're doing all
right, and people know our name."