Newsletter

Get your daily update and weekly newsletter by signing up today!

Opinion

‘I said I would report back on my Newcastle United findings…Here you go’

2 years ago
Share

I wrote an article for The Mag late last week, detailing how dramatically Newcastle United had changed over the last couple of months for the better.

I was looking forward to being a very excited and keen observer at St James Park for the Aston Villa game on Sunday.

I also said I would report back…

Well, all I can say is that at the moment, there’s a mood change involving everyone connected with Newcastle United.

I have to say I was a tad nervous about the Villa game beforehand. Granted we had beaten two very tricky sides in Leeds and Everton but my thoughts before the game were that I’d take a point just to avoid defeat and keep the momentum going. Maybe I was thinking that the run of wins couldn’t last? Luckily the team had other ideas.

Now the last game I attended previously was the Norwich City game in November, where a brainless pull back from Ciaran Clark had Eddie Howe’s side in all sorts of trouble, yet we found a way. That game ended 1-1, however, had eleven men remained on the field, I’m confident that three points would have been taken and against another relegation rival to boot. We were rock bottom that day with seven points and had just failed to beat an immediate rival in the relegation zone. The turn around from that Norwich game is further magnified if you look at where both clubs now are.

It’s taken two months and nine games to finally drag ourselves out of the relegation zone since then but the change in fortune has been night and day. In the early part of Howe’s days here, we saw very little change on the face of things. We’d heard about the style of training that Howe wanted to implement but had no real evidence that it was working. But I suppose even turning up for training more often was an upgrade on the tenure of Steve Bruce. Certainly Jonjo Shelvey’s golf handicap must be in some peril these days.

I must admit, I thought we were dead and buried when we went on that run of three defeats against Liverpool, Leicester and Manchester City, then followed that up by failing to beat Watford at home after the awful cup exit to Cambridge. However, like I said, there’s been a change of mood at Newcastle United. Back to back wins against Everton and Aston Villa, adding to the excellent away win at Leeds, have given a whole new slant on things.

In last week’s article, I rattled off a list of positives that even a glass half empty sort of fan (such as myself) must cling to as reasons to be cheerful and hopeful that the corner has been turned at this club. You can add that we’re now four points ahead of Norwich in 18th place with a game in hand, we have two games in hand and are only three points behind Brentford up in 14th place (who we play in two weeks), we have a game in hand on Crystal Palace in 13th (who we play in a month’s time at St James’) and we are only six points adrift of Aston Villa and Leicester City in mid-table. There’s sides in the top six that don’t have form as good as ours over six games.

Aston Villa was always a worry for me, but mind you, so was Everton last week. Both clubs have a smattering of good players and yet we’ve largely nullified both teams for long periods of both matches. Aston Villa only had one shot on target all game to show for their vast possession and Everton had just three. While the attack isn’t bearing great fruit at the minute without the injured Callum Wilson, you can’t deny the defence has sorted itself out. You can point to a stronger midfield as well, or simply just lump it all together into that collective word “Teamwork”.

The game on Sunday was won by one moment of brilliance from (who else) Kieran Trippier and he is what he is, an inspired signing. His motivation and almost talismanic status in the team will be missed with the news that he’ll be out for the foreseeable future but let’s not be too down, for I feel this side is made of sterner stuff than before.

Upon entering the Gallowgate End at 13:30 on Sunday, the stadium speakers were cranked up to ear-splitting levels with “Burn Baby Burn” (The Tramms – Disco Inferno) blasting out. The subject of the tribute was obviously Dan Burn, who it later transpired had most of his family of Geordies in attendance and boy did they see a debut of stunning defensive solidarity from their fella, all six foot seven of him. Every time a ball was lumped forward by a Villa player, up he popped and headed, chested or volleyed clear. His defensive partner Fabian Schar fared the same, albeit with a few injuries sustained along the way. A more solid pairing I haven’t seen in a long while.

Heading down to the concourse a moment or two before half time and you couldn’t get stirred. Ironically, it was like a football match. Back when I was attending (very sporadically) under the toxic Ashley regime and under some awful substandard managers, you practically had your pick of the bar staff. Were people worried about COVID? Were they heck as like. The team was all that was being talked about.

As a note of caution, the game itself wasn’t a classic but it’s one we would likely have lost a month or so ago. Everybody seems together and UNITED at this club once more. This is in a large part due to the takeover of course but crucially, it could have been so much better under the previous owner, if he had simply wanted it to be that way. He didn’t.

For the most part Allan Saint-Maximin continued to frustrate, Chris Wood still didn’t score. Aston Villa scored but VAR intervened and it was chalked off. Finally, a positive VAR call for the Toon. Cue the ironic cheers from 50k fans of “We love VAR, we love VAR.” Referee Craig Pawson then seemed to try and even up our good fortune from Stockley Park for most of the second half by awarding most decisions in favour of the visitors but it didn’t matter. The crowd willed the team on to greater efforts despite losing both Kieran Trippier and Javier Manquillo to injury. Even Emil Krafth came on and put in a decent shift and was propelled on by the goodwill floating around the stadium.

After some nerve shredding stoppage time we had fans staying back to applaud Eddie Howe and his team on the now customary lap round the pitch after the final whistle to the adapted tune of Hey Jude by The Beatles. The stadium announcer had the presence of mind to play Primal Scream’s Movin’ On Up at full time and that’s exactly the sort of feeling I had as we were all exiting the ground. The feel good factor was back and people could feel it. Pints tasted better, the sun was shining (metaphorically speaking at least) and going into work on Monday felt all that much better.

So points on the board and looking to creep up that table and there are plenty teams in our sights. Where we will end up, Lord knows, but we’ll do it with the majority happy with smiling faces, singing songs and above all else, a team that despite it’s limitations, is United and one to be proud of. We aren’t hard to please up this neck of the woods despite what certain sections of the media say. A good bit of graft from the team and some honesty from the dugout and the boardroom is all that is required. We now have these ingredients in spades.

Finally, I like many others can’t make every game (and I applaud all those that can and do) but to those that can make it, I’ll see you at the Brighton game. To those that can’t, it doesn’t matter.

Newcastle United are on the rise…

Share

If you would like to feature on The Mag, submit your article to contribute@themag.co.uk

Have your say

© 2024 The Mag. All Rights Reserved. Design & Build by Mediaworks