Sport – Page 3 – Middle Age Fanclub

Magpie Moments Episode 2.

From limbs all over the terraces celebrating the latest goal to watching on helplessly as a much loved favourite is sold, as we found out last time, there are many types of moments as a football supporter. So, here’s some more Magpie Moments for you!

Fabian Schar’s thousand yard chip. Ok, so it wasn’t that far out and it was only last season, but I thought this one was well worth a revisit. Last season’s away game at Leicester was an excellent all round Toon performance. Three goals, a clean sheet and we can even throw in a cracking interview with Jacob Murphy on Sky afterwards. But none were the moment of the match. That came in the 11th minute of the game. Newcastle were already 1-0 up and cruising thanks to a Jacob Murphy tap in. Step forward Fabian Schar. Moving forward with the ball and still inside his own half, our Swiss genius looked up and decided that a chip at goal from 55 yards out was well and truly on. I mean, find me another centre half who thinks like this! Leicester’s defenders are up near the halfway line and their keeper has decided to go on the wander and is a good 30 yards from goal. Schar looks up and goes for goal and as the ball sails over the keeper’s head it’s odds on that Schar is joining Murphy on the scoresheet. The commentary team are giving it big ‘Ooooohs’ and we’re told ‘This could be something extraordinary’. But no, with a resounding ‘smack’ the ball hits the bar and despite his best efforts to shin it out for a goal kick, Murph is there to bundle it home. But imagine if Schar’s attempt had hit the net!

A Budgie saves the day! Hands up if you’ve ever watched a football match in an ice jockey rink. Aye, there won’t be many of us! But one of my personal favourite memories of watching Newcastle happened in Whitley Bay Ice Rink. Despite wagging school and queuing up outside St. James’ from very early, we couldn’t get tickets for the away leg of the now infamous Play Off semi final against Sunderland at Roker Park. But our disappointment was tempered when someone told us of a beamback at Whitley Bay Ice Rink of all places and so we bought tickets that same morning. So, on a Sunday morning in May 1990 we found ourselves sat high up in the ice rink as a big screen beamed back grainy images from Joker Park. Strangely, we’d managed to arm ourselves with a cut out of Uri Geller’s hand in the hope that the legendary spoonbender might bring us some luck. It was a scrappy game with very little goalmouth action until a penalty was given to sunderland in the final minute. There was nothing else for it but to place all available hands on Uri’s! Then, we started to try and channel his superpowers, chanting ‘We Three Are One’, something we still do to this day. Safe to say that it was a bit of an unusual sight as Paul Hardyman ran forward to take the kick. It felt like there was going to be nothing we could do to avoid taking a defeat into the second leg at St. James’ Park. But as their left back placed his penalty to the left hand side of the goal, our keeper John Burridge sprung over and dived onto the ball. Cue absolute bedlam, which got worse as we watched the penalty taker go on to kick Burridge while he lay on the floor. At least one of us toppled down the seats of the ice rink, drinks were spilled, beanie hats thrown and Uri Geller’s photocopied hand was lost forever. But we’d had our moment and surely the second leg at home was to be a formality. Sadly not though and the rest is history. However, the Budgie moment will live with me and my mates forever!

Hibbitt’s pass, Supermac’s goal! I wasn’t there as I was only actually two years old, buy I’ve heard all about this one as well as having watched it time and time again over the years. What a goal and what a moment! In between telling me all about Tony Green and Malcolm MacDonald, my dad is happy to wax lyrical about Terry Hibbitt’s pass for the second goal and I used to think that he’d romanticised it, having been at Hillsborough that day. He hadn’t. This was the FA Cup semi final from 1974, played at Hillsborough and having been under intense pressure from Burnley for much of the match Newcastle had scored on the break in the 65th minute. Our number 9 Malcolm MacDonald had scored after chasing a long ball from Terry Hibbitt having been almost wrestled to the ground by the Burnley centre half. But the moment of the match came ten minutes later, again on the break. Burnley launch a high ball into the box and Bob Moncur heads it out. It drops to John Tudor who hooks it clear out towards our left where Hibbitt is running on to it. Hibbitt lets it bounce once and then hits the sweetest left foot, first time through ball over the Burnley centre half and into Supermac’s path. Supermac seems to use his bollocks for the first touch, knocking the ball into his path and then finishing with a bobbling shot through the keeper’s legs. Cue bedlam! If you’ve never seen it, get on YouTube and search it out. If you were there, feel free to let us know how it felt!

And there we have it. Three more Magpie Moments and a fair few more to come! Howay the Lads!

Gallowgate Cult Heroes Number 15, Wyn Davies.

After he sadly passed away earlier this week aged 83, it felt wrong that I hadn’t recognised Wyn Davies as a Gallowgate Cult Hero, especially given the impact he had on the club and the fans during his time on Tyneside.

Wyn Davies was one of the first hero figures that I was made aware of as a kid. He was before my time, but became part of my education as a budding Toon fan via my dad and my grandad.

Born Ronald, but known as ‘Wyn’, Davies was signed from Bolton Wanderers in 1966, going on to make 188 appearances before he was sold to Manchester City in 1971. At the time of signing he’d cost a record fee of £85,000 having been the most feared striker in Division 2 at Bolton. At Newcastle he proved to be a great success, scoring 40 goals, but being more well known for his aerial ability and his success in bullying defenders. In those days of teams playing 2 up front Wyn became the big ‘un supporting the more prolific little ‘un that was Pop Robson and the pairing was a great success. And of course, Wyn would be an integral part of that Fairs Cup winning team of 1969.

As a kid I remember hearing tales of his famous leap, his fantastic heading ability and how Davies just seemed to have this ability to hang in the air. My dad still tells stories of the Fairs Cup run in 1969 where Wyn simply bullied European defences. During the run to the final Wyn scored four goals and then in the first leg of the two legged final broke his cheekbone. He still played a week later in the second leg though – no mask, no protection. Imagine that in this day and age! The only restriction on Wyn that day was that the club doctor would only allow him one pint in celebration before he was whisked off to hospital for treatment!

Wyn would continue to have an influence on me as I began to go to games with my mates in the late 80s and early 90s because of the famous song related to his name. During his time at Newcastle fans had adapted the Manfred Mann hit, ‘Quinn the Eskimo'(The Mighty Quinn) to include Wyn’s name and it seemed that some older fans didn’t want to let go. And so, I found myself singing along on the Gallowgate in my early independent years as a Toon fan. Then, within a few years we’d adapt the song again to fit our new hero Micky Quinn. Of course, my dad was only too keen to remind me that it wasn’t really Quinny’s song!

From Newcastle, Wyn went on to have a distinguished career, playing for both Manchester clubs, Blackpool and numerous others before retiring while playing for Cape Town City in 1979.

Wyn the Leap, The Mighty Wyn, a Gallowgate Cult Hero sadly missed. As the song said, ‘You’ll not see nothing like the Mighty Wyn’.

R.I.P Wyn Davies.

Magpie Moments – Episode 1.

Football fans will tell you there’s almost nothing like the moment the ball hits the back of the net. Players too, obviously. It’s visceral, animalistic almost; the roar, the way we throw ourselves around, hugging strangers, screaming at the sky!

But football’s moments can never really be restricted to just goals. Over the course of a season there will be hundreds of things you remember for years to come. Over the course of your life supporting a team, there will be untold thousands. So, I thought I’d write about our my own Newcastle United moments. Each month I’ll string a few together in I guess what we could call a trip down memory lane. Some are from games I’ve attended, some from stuff I’ve watched on the telly, while others have been passed down to me by others. There’s no order of importance, just Magpie Moments.

Mitrovic’s late equaliser v Sunderland (2016). I remember this one quite vividly. We’d lost the previous six games against Sunderland and it looked like we’d make that seven. Rafa Benitez had not long taken over from Steve McLaren and the team were still without a win under the new manager. This felt like a turning point though. With less than ten minutes left, Georginho Wijnaldum clipped over a beautiful hanging cross that Aleksander Mitrovic gladly headed home at the back post. St. James’ Park erupted, a few thousand mackems deflated rapidly and Mitro took off his shirt to reveal a surprisingly doughy physique! Spinning said shirt around his head, he seemed to just run around in circles for a bit before a supporter joined him from the East Stand. As Mitro ran towards him the bloke slipped and almost two footed the Serbian into next week until he took evasive action and dived over the supporter! Both ended up on the floor before jumping up and hugging like long lost brothers. The pitch invading fan was then carted off by stewards with a look on his face that said, ‘What have I done wrong?’ Only at Newcastle United!

Keegan vs Ashley. It was never a great fit and never going to last, but when Mike Ashley brought Kevin Keegan back to the club the romantic in us all probably took over. We were once again royally in the brown stuff, but King Kev would work his magic and before too long he’d have Shola playing like Messi and the Toon climbing the table. And then, in a tale of lies and deceit and one that takes in names such as Milner, Schweinsteiger, Llambias, Wise and Xisco, it was all over. Keegan resigned less than a year after being appointed and Chris Hughton was left in caretaker charge for the next home game against Hull. The atmosphere that day was poisonous; possibly the most toxic I can recall as a Newcastle fan. Walking up to the ground the tension was tangible and the closer I got to St. James’ the more I thought there might not even be a match. It felt like something close to a riot or a revolution was in the air and the match itself felt irrelevant, played as it was in front of a crowd baying for blood. Leaving the ground that day, I felt as low as I’d felt as a Toon supporter. And believe me, that was a tough competition. It wouldn’t matter. Ashley and his cronies would remain for quite some time, mismanaging the club horrifically. Keegan would never return, although there’s hope for next season. This wasn’t quite the straw that broke the camel’s back, but it was a moment that told us that drastic action would be needed to rid our club of this particular owner and although it took some time, we got there eventually.

Dyer v Bowyer. Saturday, April 2nd 2005 and unbeknownst to everyone in the ground, including our two protagonists, Newcastle United are about to reach a new low. And if you’ve followed the club from the depths of the 70s and 80s, I know that’s a big claim! In fact, if you know of this game and Steven Taylor’s ‘Platoon’ style handball, you might not even see Dyer and Bowyer as providing its lowest moment! This was a shocker of a performance as a team including the three aforementioned players plus the likes of Jenas, Robert and Shearer, found themselves 0-3 down and already reduced to ten men with only minutes left to play. Then, just as Newcastle continued labouring on, still huffing puffing and trying to find a route to goal, another pass goes astray and suddenly all Hell breaks loose. For a moment the Premier League turns into Sunday league as Bowyer approached his team mate Dyer and they started throwing punches. I mean, I say punches… In truth, barely a connection was made and the whole thing ended with lots of shirt grabbing before Gareth Barry and Stephen Carr managed to intervene and dragged the scrapping pair away. Inevitably, both Dyer and Bowyer were sent off and we finished the game with 8 players! Apparently Bowyer had become more and more wound up, believing that Dyer wasn’t passing to him, words were exchanged and then…FIIIIIIIGHT! Personally, I missed the whole thing up in Level 7 as my eyes just naturally followed the ball! In fact, around me, no one seemed to know until word filtered around the Leazes. Once again though, the kind of moment you rarely hear about but fully expect at Newcastle United!

What’s your favourite Magpie Moment? Any spring to mind? I’m happy to take requests!

NUFC: A Tribute to Callum Wilson.

And so, it came to pass; Callum Wilson actually did leave Newcastle United. Despite at least the one initially convincing hoax announcement on social media about him extending his deal for another year, the fact is he’s off to pastures new.

I genuinely didn’t think that it would happen yet. When it was announced that there were discussions about another year it felt like the most Newcastle United thing would be that we’d see him back for season ’25-’26.

It would be churlish to call Wilson’s time in Toon anything but a success. Sure, there have been injuries – we’ve lost count – but there have also been goals galore. 49 of them that make him the club’s third highest Premier League goalscorer as well as putting in the top 40 of all time scorers.

Joining from Bournemouth in September 2020 for a fee thought to be around £20m Wilson immediately hit the ground running with a goal on debut away at West Ham. He would go on to score 12 in that first season; not a bad return in a side that would struggle to find any kind of form and consistency throughout the season and would eventually finish in 15th. Wilson himself was consistent though and invariable when a chance came his way, he took it. Things would stay this way for the whole of his time at the club.

Rather than drone on through his record across 5 years though, I thought about the things that made me smile about Wilson. Here’s what I came up with.

The goals. Callum Wilson scores goals. End of. And he scored all kinds of goals for us as well. Not just a poacher in and around the six yard box, Callum. Remember the chip from outside the box away at Spurs after their keeper had fumbled the ball? What about the curler from the edge of the box away at Everton in 2023? Or you could just cast your mind back to the countless times where he stayed ice cool when put clean through on goal or just when taking a penalty. That said, one of my favourite Wilson goals had to be his opener in the 5-1 away win at West Ham in 2023 when he was able to find room enough to get a free header from a Saint Maximin cross while being surrounded by 4 or 5 defenders.
The alertness in and around the box. Few strikers have had this instinct in all the time I’ve watched the Toon. Wilson just sniffed goals and chances out. While he was a pacey striker, it was his pace over those first few yards, particularly in the box that set him apart from many others. For me, Wilson was the best at this type of thing since Micky Quinn.
The trademark grin. Wilson’s smile said a lot about the man. Confidence, swagger and calm. Callum Wilson just loved scoring goals and loved playing for the Toon. The grin told us that he was self assured and had the kind of self belief required to wear the number 9 shirt when he eventually got it.
The salute. He loved celebrating in front of the fans and that salute often topped it all off. Wilson loved the adulation and our fans served it up in spades! Callum Wilson just loved scoring goals for Newcastle United.
That post takeover goal. The first game at St. James’ Park after the takeover was confirmed. A renewed optimism around the place after years of utter drudgery under Mike Ashley and his cronies. Early on in the game, the ball was worked across the edge of the box before finding Allain Saint Maximin who in turn slipped in the overlapping Javi Manquillo. Manquillo fired over a hard, low cross and there was Callum Wilson getting across the defender and stooping to bullet a header beyond Hugo Lloris. The whole place erupted. There were even the proverbial limbs in the director’s box as messrs Rueben, Al-Rumayyan, Ghoudousi and Staveley leap about in celebration. Okay, we lost the game, but in that moment we all believed that this was the start of something and it was fitting that it would be Wilson flying in to grab the goal. It’s definitely one that I’ll never forget.

Callum Wilson will go down as a hugely important figure in the last 5 years at the club. I’d go as far as to call him a legend. One of the reasons why we were still in the division both pre and post Eddie Howe. Thanks for the memories, Callum.

Power Up signs, smiling more and a bloody cricketer! The Leeds 10k.

Having been forced to miss last year’s Leeds 10k due it falling on the same day as my daughter’s 18th birthday, I was looking forward to this one. It’s an event that I came late to, having only done my first one about 4 years ago, but I always really enjoy the race.

All in all, it was a good day for me. Illness meant that I’d managed less than a month’s training – 7 runs – and only a couple of 10k runs in that time. That said, having pulled out of my last 2 races in April and May, it was nice to feel well enough to even get round one for a change!

I’d been to a gig the night before and so my legs were pretty sore from all that standing and dancing, which resulted in some lovely shin pain all the way around the 10k. Nothing else for it but to grit my teeth and get through it though!

I’d hoped to run it in under 55 minutes, as that was my quickest run in training. Alas, it wasn’t to be! A slow last mile, where I just didn’t quite have the legs to get me up the last couple of hills quickly enough, brought me in slower than I would have liked, but I have to admit to being pretty pleased with my time of 55 and a half minutes.

It’s a brilliant race to do. There’s always lots of support out to cheer you on your way, which actually does help. The route is fairly undulating; some nice flat parts, some lovely downhill stretches, but some nasty hills – particularly coming back into Leeds in the final mile – so it’s a fairly challenging course.

This year, rather than writing some kind of report, talking you through almost every step I take I’ve decided to take a different approach. Sat at home afterwards I had a moment to reflect on some of my favourite bits and some of the things that occurred to me as I plodded my way round the course.

Choirs. There were at least 3 choirs out on the course and all of them gave me, and I daresay thousands of others, a timely boost. The best of them though was outside a parade of shops in Headingley. All wearing black and yellow, all ladies and just sensationally good. I actually ran past applauding. I mean imagine being kind enough to think, let’s get together and sing some songs to those knackered looking people who’ll be going past on Sunday. I just think it’s a lovely thing to do.
A one man band. Near Hyde Park, I think. Just as we were crossing a road to head to a much needed downhill stretch I heard music. Drums, a keyboard, maybe some guitars. And then when I looked it was one bloke playing drums to a background of what I assume was a programmed synthesiser. Just rocking away without a care in the world!
Volunteers. Loads of them. Whether they were at drinks stations or just marshalling along the route, the volunteers are the heart of any event. Sometimes, when you’re feeling pretty shattered and some kind soul in a high viz bib tells you, ‘You’re doing great’ or ‘You’re amazing’ it really helps. Invariably, I’m not but it’s such a lovely thing to hear!
Fancy dress. I’ve never understood the need to run in fancy dress. Don’t get me wrong, I really admire those who do it, but have always felt that it’s enough just dragging myself around without a costume! This year I spotted runners dressed in all manner of costumes; a flamingo, a sloth, a lion complete with mane (this was in about the last half mile and I lengthened my stride, determined not to be beaten by bloody Simba!), a sunflower and a zebra. My son – a little too happily for my liking – also informed me that I was beaten by a man wearing full cricket whites complete with jumper, a bat and all of the padding; a really heavy outfit to run a 10k in on a hot day! It takes a special kind of person to commit to something to that extent!
High 5s. I’m not normally one for a high 5. Not very touchy feely, me. However, whenever I do a race there a families with children who will hold out their hands to get a high 5 from the runners. Again, it’s just another lovely thing about this type of event and I try to go out of my way to indulge at least a few of them. Kids always get a bit of a kick out of it and it’s just really rewarding to hear them laugh or see them smile as you run over. That said, given my sweaty red face, it must be terrifying for them as I approach!
Power Up Signs. The effort that had gone into some of these cardboard masterpieces this year was amazing. If you’re not in the know people sometimes hold signs saying ‘Power Up Here’ or something similar while watching these races. The idea is – like a video game – you touch the sign and receive a ‘power up’. This year people had drawn Sonic on them, characters from Mario and all manner of other stuff. And they looked great. Sadly though, they don’t actually work!
And finally…smiling! The amount of smiling faces who turn out to give some encouraging is always a real positive and I really appreciate. In fact, there’s nothing better than spotting my family somewhere near the finish, smiling and screaming at me. This year though, I decided that it might help my running if I smiled more. Let’s just say I don’t ‘wear’ running well. I look knackered and my face and body must seem to scream ‘HELP!’ to the casual observer. So, for this run I tried to relax, smile and even have a bit of a laugh and I think it kind of worked. Mind you, it didn’t work on the final long hill when a fellow runner dressed head to toe in various dayglo colours took it upon himself to turn Mr. Motivator and shout encouraging stuff like ‘Come on, guys we’ve got this’ and ‘We’re all in this together!’ as well as singing lines from whatever song popped into his vacant head. Smile? It was all I could do not to tell him to shut the f… up!

Anyway, I’m off to find my next running adventure as the next one booked in isn’t until October! I’ll be back for Leeds next year though!

NUFC Academy: Next Cab Off The Rank?

Every year Summer brings what feels like a never ending, exhausting amount of transfer talk. From bedroom ITKs with their insider sources and local journalists who can never seem to agree on the status of a transfer to the new breed of ‘celebrity’ internet transfer gurus; they’re all at it to the point where it becomes tiresome. And that’s before we get to the flight trackers!

But what about getting one or two breakthroughs from our youth ranks?

It’s a bone of contention for many Toon fans; the will to have young players coming through versus the dearth of talent in the youth ranks that we’ve seen over the years and also our demands for shiny new names and star players.

But, given the demands of the fixture schedule in the coming season, academy talent could well be in demand at some points. Especially if it means solving the habit of putting two keepers on the bench! So, who could be the next sensation after Lewis Miley to make the leap from academy up to the first team squad?

There are some more obvious candidates, if you look at our loan lads from last season. Young Alex Murphy has already featured in the first team and then spent the season on loan at Bolton last year, so maybe he’ll make the step up this season. Similarly, there’s Charlie McArthur, also a defender who was out on loan last year and could well get a chance next season. There’s also the exciting prospect of Trevan Sanusi stepping up, after making his senior debut last season before succumbing to injury. However, I’ve decided to pick out three players whose progress intrigues me the most.

Leo Shahar. A name that many of us will already have been alerted to, but also perhaps a pertinent name for us with the coming season in mind. While Tino Livramento seems to have deservedly nailed down the right back spot in the team – when he’s not filling in at left back that is – it could be a position of little cover this year. Kieran Trippier may well be sold, despite showing his value to the side last season and this then leaves Emil Krafth or Harrison Ashby as cover. While the former has proven himself a reliable squad member, he is prone to picking up injuries. Ashby, on the other hand, is yet to make an appearance for the first team since joining in 2023 and with only loan appearances since then, he may well be moved on. Shahar looks like a young player with a big future. With a wealth of experience at Premier League 2 level, Leo is also an England international at both Under 17 and 18 levels. Since I first watched him he seems to gained a little bulk and strength to his frame and now looks a lot more capable of handling the rigours of the mens’ game. He’s a pacy full back, with good positional sense and decent distribution. And of course, he’s been learning from two excellent examples in Tripps and Tino. Could he be one who makes the step up this year or is a loan the more likely option?

Alfie Harrison. Since joining us from Manchester City in the 2024 January transfer window, Alfie has made steady progress with the Under 21 side. With 5 goals and 7 assists last season, he certainly made an impact. The little I’ve seen of Harrison suggests a player of real promise. A really skilful player who looks at home as a number 10, Harrison is quick and carries the ball really well, while his movement looks fantastic. He looks to be a player who sees passes a step ahead of most and his stats back that up. And while those in the know seem to be suggesting that a loan may be the best course of action for the youngster, I think it would be interesting to see how he fares as part of the first team squad where minutes as an impact sub could well produce interesting results.

Garang Kuol. Kuol has had quite a turbulent time since his arrival in January 2023. A full Australian international, he’s been loaned out twice since then and has still only made 25 appearances. It’s safe to say that neither loan went well with both clubs – Hearts and Volendam having poor seasons and changes of management. From what I’ve witnessed of him, Garang seems to be a quick, skilful player with an eye for goal. Comfortable with the ball at his feet, he plays mainly as a winger, but looks at home anywhere across the front line. Kuol’s best time since joining the club was during the latter half of last season in the Under 21 set up where he scored 8 goals and might just have caught the eye of Eddie Howe and the senior coaches. It seems likely that next season may be spent on loan again, but for me this kid looks worth shot at some point, especially with the number of games we’ll be facing across a very busy season.

Obviously, given our transfer activity with youth players over the last few years, there are lots of players getting noticed at both Under 18 and Under 21 level. The future looks exciting with the likes of Lewis Miley and Sean Neave breaking through of late. And then we can look to players like Cordero, Vakhtang Salia Baran Yildiz, Miodrag Pivas, Travis Hernes before going even younger with players like Michael Mills, Mason Miley and Sam Alabi all breaking through into older age groups last season.

But will we see a first team squad breakthrough from anyone in the academy set up next year? It’s the kind of thing that always captures the imagination, so let’s hope so.

Sell Anthony Gordon? Please, step away from the internet!

Like any fully grown adult I realise that it’s futile to get too bothered by stuff you read on social media. Whether it’s to do with politics, music or sport – particularly football – there’s always someone having a rant or disguising their desperate attempts to get attention by starting with ‘unpopular opinion but…’. Over time, we learn just to move on and don’t engage. However, occasionally, you can’t believe what you’re reading rendering you helpless against actually replying.

I understand that everyone’s entitled to an opinion, by the way. It’s just that sometimes those opinions can’t really be justified, especially when the object of your negative opinion is an integral part of the team who’s actually done very little worth even complaining about. I mean, we’re talking here about a young, gifted player with loads more to give, after all.

On Sunday night, within minutes of the Arsenal match ending Twitter was alive with people telling anyone who’d engage with their madness that Newcastle should be selling Anthony Gordon. See Sven Botman the week before too. Reasons for this ranged from his perceived arrogance and over confidence to questioning his ability, work rate and feelings towards the club. If I saw one person saying “he doesn’t want to be here” then I saw a hundred. How do these people know this?

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I’m replying with this piece.

It’s my belief – and hopefully that of many other Mags of sane mind – that we shouldn’t even give a second’s thought to selling Anthony Gordon. And I really can’t envisage a situation where Eddie Howe thinks that it would benefit Newcastle United to do so. Having spent decent money to buy him and then having had the patience to wait and get him up to speed with the team’s style, Howe created a monster in Anthony Gordon. A force going forward as part of a devastating three and a workhouse going back the other way to help the full back.

I was all for his signing and I’m even more for keeping him. Gordon fits perfectly into Howe’s system and as others have said elsewhere, ‘form is temporary but class is permanent’. People are pointing out that his form hasn’t been the same since the red card against Brighton in the FA Cup. That might be so, but personally, I thought he made a decent impact as a sub in the game away at Brighton and it can’t be said that he’s not capable of a ‘moment’ when one is needed. That blistering form that we’ve got behind in the past couple of seasons will undoubtedly return.

Gordon is clearly an excellent player; a European Championship winner at Under 21 level and now a senior England international, a Champions League player and Carabao Cup winner with Newcastle. A player who more than fits the make up needed for success in the modern era – a grafter, pace to burn, an eye for goal and a team player. Why would we even think about selling?

It’s been quite a journey for Gordon since he signed in January 2023. Despite the price tag, he didn’t walk straight into the team and had to be patient before his chance came. There was even a bit of a tantrum away at Brentford when he was subbed on and then off later when Eddie was looking to protect him from injury. He was quick to realise the error of his ways and apologise. From there he knuckled down and went on to be a vital player as we went on to qualify for the Champions League. Since then, Gordon has largely been a fan favourite and another example of a player who seems to absolutely love life at Newcastle United.

If, like some of the internet ITKs would have us believe, Gordon is sick of life at the club (and I don’t for one second believe this), then he needs to knuckle down and work hard once again. I think the player himself would say exactly the same. I’d be staggered if it came out that he was looking to leave.

Everything about Anthony Gordon is exactly what our club needs. A grafter, a realist, a student of the game who works incredibly hard both on and off the field on both his game and his mindset in order to improve and someone who gives everything week in week out for a crowd who have taken him to their hearts, but also just a very, very good footballer. Imagine selling him and then having to sit and watch as he returned to play against us. I’d guarantee that he’d give our defenders nightmares, however good they might be. I remember being constantly worried about him when he played for Everton – apart from the time that I found myself worried for him as he picked a fight with Tripps and found himself nearly knocked into next week by Fabian Schar and Nick Pope!

There is no way that we should be looking to sell Gordon. Many questioned whether we’d wasted £40m when he signed and have been made to eat their words ever since. Now that he’s having a small dip in form, those same types are back again.

So, rather than typing ‘Unpopular opinion, but…’ when you’re next craving attention and following it up with some ludicrous rant against yet another Toon player, why not just leave the box room and pop downstairs and ask your mam for a cuddle instead?

NUFC – The ones that got away: Ayoze Perez

The rumoured signing of wonderkid Antonio Cordero, as well as being quite exciting, got me thinking about another player signed in similar circumstances. With Cordero attracting lots of attention in the Spanish Segunda B and rumoured interest from the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona, I realised I’d heard this kind of thing before.

For Cordero, read Ayoze Perez. Signed in 2014 for around £1.7m from Segunda B club CD Tenerife, Perez himself was rumoured to have attracted interest from some of Spain’s biggest clubs. And yet, despite the club being run into the ground by Mike Ashley, we still had enough appeal to gain his signature. Of course, seeing the scouting reports on Perez alongside the rumoured interest of some of La Liga’s big guns would undoubtedly have the pound signs flashing in big Mike’s greedy eyes! I mean, imagine the profit from that initial £1.7m layout if he was anything like as good as he seemed!

As it turned out, Ashley would see a cracking return on his investment when Perez eventually tired of the club’s lack of ambition and signed for Leicester City in a deal worth £30m.

However, before that Perez would prove to be a valuable asset on the pitch too. Playing largely as either a second striker, attacking midfielder or a left winger Perez always gave his all for Newcastle. And yet, he became quite a divisive figure, often finding himself the scapegoat for losses or poor performances. Personally, I was always pro Perez. I found him to be a cracking little footballer; skillful with an eye for goal and a decent turn of pace and brave when he needed to be.

Ayoze stayed in Toon for 5 seasons, making 195 appearances and scoring a total of 48 goals. But was his time just that of another footballer who came for a spell and then left when he got fed up, having not really produced the goods? Or was Ayoze one that got away?

For me, Perez falls into the latter category and I feel that he could have been an absolute superstar for us. But, he found himself at a club whose only ambition seemed to be to finish 17th or above in the Premier League and in the end it was no surprise that he left. Here was a player that would go on to win an FA Cup winners’ medal, play successfully in La Liga and eventually represent Spain at Euro 2024, picking up a winners medal in the process. In many ways, he fulfilled his ambitions only when he left the club.

Perez had many great moments and performances over the five seasons he spent on Tyneside. And while he wasn’t the most prolific goalscorer – that wasn’t his job by the way – he had a happy knack of producing goals when it mattered. For quite a small player he was also pretty good with his head, scoring a good few flicked near post headers in his time due to his ability to time runs across defenders.

Watching a few highlight reels what struck me most about Perez was his ability to find space and also his vision and the way he’d be able to thread a pass through a small gap when nothing looked on. For me, his best football was played under Rafa and it was then that his passing ability was illustrated perfectly in his link up play with the likes of Salomon Rondon and Kenedy.

For me, Ayoze Perez was definitely one that got away. Yes, he was with us for a relatively long period of time, but I still believe he left us in his prime. To say that he went on to play for the best international side in Europe should tell us enough. He had all the attributes to be a real game changer in the right team, but unfortunately, apart from the Championship winning side of ’16/’17 he was never part of a consistently competitive Newcastle side.

During his final couple of years at the Toon, Perez seemed to become a bit of a scapegoat for some fans. For me, this was unfair to say the least. Perez was a clever player with a positive attitude who always put in a shift for the team. He was both durable and versatile, rarely succumbing to injury and often playing wherever he was asked for the sake of the team. In my opinion, definitely one that got away.

Gallowgate Cult Heroes: Number 12; Paul Gascoigne.

While we’ve all seen incredible footballers, it’s rare that a player will literally take your breath away. I can’t think of many that we’ve had over the years who would have the ability to do that on a regular basis. Paul Gascoigne took people’s breath away time and time again. Paul Gascoigne took people’s breath away even when he was 18 and making his debut. Paul Gascoigne was a phenomenon. Or to use today’s parlance, he was a generational talent.

I first saw Gazza play in the FA Youth Cup final in 1985. It was a two legged affair and even though we were fairly ordinary in the first leg, drawing 0-0, Gascoigne stood out. He was captain of the side and it was obvious that he had something a little bit special. In the return leg at Vicarage Road they would win 4-1 to take the trophy and Gascoigne starred, scoring twice and just running the show. He was put into the first team squad for their game the next day, but didn’t make an appearance. Paul Gascoigne had arrived.

There wouldn’t be a great deal of point in me rambling you through Gazza’s time in Toon here, minute by minute, day by day. Some of us – of a certain age – will well remember him. And if you’re too young to have witnessed him, there are far better people than me to inform you. Search out his YouTube highlights, track down a book on Amazon or in an actual bookshop or just talk to your mam, dad, uncle etc. You’ll find put all you need to know and then some.

However, it’d be remiss of me not to mention a few things, especially as I have a personal memory of Gazza. So here you go.

I met him once, briefly. When our school was celebrating it’s 75th anniversary – big up the Blaydon Comp massive – part of the celebrations was a sponsored cross country race. Aye, we knew how to celebrate in Blaydon! Now, my form tutor lived next door to Newcastle’s captain at the time, Glenn Roeder, and had arranged for him to come and start the race. Cue much excitement from us Toon fans. Yet on the morning of the race, he wasn’t there. And then Gazza appeared, sent by Roeder himself. From somewhere, a football appeared and suddenly me, some mates and Gazza were having a kickabout! It only lasted a short time, but even then Gascoigne could do things with a football that the rest of us could only dream about. I remember as well that Gazza grabbed another kid and held the starting pistol to his head; if we think about how his personality revealed itself more and more as he got older and more famous it was just Gazza being Gazza, I suppose.

Paul didn’t stay long at Newcastle. His time here was only from 1985 until 1988. But on the pitch he was incredible at times. He was a skilful central midfielder; a great passer with more than the odd trick and the ability and balance to drive past markers as if they weren’t there. The first performance that sticks in my head – as much as anything sticks in my head at this age – was against Blackpool in the League Cup in 1987. It was a second round tie in October and although Newcastle fell behind quite early, we rallied to win in style. Gazza was magnificent throughout and in the second half especially just seemed to be finding himself on the end of chance after chance after chance. He finally scored with a rocket of a first time strike from the edge of the box that nestled in the top corner of the Leazes net. Even at such a young age, he had ran the game.

Later that year he would be pretty much the only positive – apart from the narrow win – in a Simod Cup match at home to Shrewsbury. Less than 8000 were in attendance on an absolutely foul night, to see a terrible game of football. But the one shining light was Gazza. The conditions were horrible – driving rain, freezing cold and a blustery wind, yet it felt like Gazza walked on water.

Another thing I loved about Gazza was watching his warm ups. As a lad of around 15 I would get to the ground early and watch the players warming up and while some would stretch, jog and sprint, Gazza just seemed to spend all his time either pinging balls around, often trying to hit people walking around the perimeter of the pitch or doing keepie ups. He was brilliant and where others were restricted to just their feet and head for ball juggling, Gazza would be using his heel, his shoulders and everything in between.

One of the more staggering things about Gazza’s time in Toon was what Jackie Milburn said about him in an interview. The then News of The World writer claimed that Gazza – at 18 – was “the best in the world”. A bold claim, but hard to disagree with as a wide eyed young Toon fan.

Having made just 92 appearances, Paul would go on to break many a heart in the summer of 1988 when he decided to leave Newcastle for the bright lights of London and Tottenham Hotspur. The £2.2m fee would fund a spending spree for Newcastle, but it could be argued that Gazza would never be replaced. Just four years later and on the back of some staggeringly good performances for England at Italia 90, Gazza would join Lazio. Worldwide fame and injuries though would mean that he would never quite be the same player.

For an all too brief 3 years though, he was our star player and for those who witnessed his greatness, he will never be forgotten.

Were you lucky enough to see Gazza play? Could he really have been ‘the best in the world?’ Let us know!

A moment’s appreciation for Kieran Trippier.

As we approach the end of another long and frankly glorious season there are a lot of players due a bit of respect and even adulation. Alexander Isaak has continued to be magnificent, scoring goals for fun. Bruno, Joelinton and Sandro have been amazing and Jacob Murphy has surely been this year’s success story with a real feelgood factor.

One man though, has had his ups and downs over the last year with personal problems and then a bit of a nosedive in form featuring strongly at the back end of last season and the early part of this. And in both of the last two transfer windows it’s looked likely that he would leave. However, since early February he’s had a bit of a renaissance and is back performing at the top of his game. I’m talking of course about Kieran Trippier.

Trippier will forever hold a place in fans’ hearts just for joining the club in the first place! We were 19th in the league when he arrived and it felt like a statement of intent. After all, he was still very much wanted by Atletico Madrid at the time and you’d have thought that he could almost have had his pick of clubs. But Tripps took a leap of faith and joined a clearly ailing Toon, captained us to safety and then went on to help us qualify for the Champions League the season after.

Cracks began to appear last year though and there were high profile mistakes away at Everton and in the Carabao Cup defeat to Chelsea. It looked like time might be catching up with our skipper. A closer look at the stats though reveals that Tripps made 39 appearances for the club last year, as well as a further 10 for England. Maybe the start of this season was always going to be a tough one for a player who turned 34 last September.

Trippier is no longer curling them over the wall and nor is he marauding down the line making overlapping runs. His game has clearly been adapted. But he’s still performed brilliantly in these last couple of months. His defending in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi final was superb and then he trumped that with a cracking performance in the final, picking up the assist for Dan Burn’s opening goal. He was immense that day and it looked like nothing was going to be allowed to get in the way of him picking up that medal. I dare say there were thousands of sharp intakes of breath when he went down holding his hamstring and yet, he just gritted his teeth and played on. And the emotion at the final whistle showed you exactly what it meant to Trippier.

It’s been fantastic to watch Tripps in this latter stage of the season. You can see that he’s using every ounce of experience gained over the years. He’s looked intensely focused and although he’s no longer the captain, his influence is there for all to see. Whatever problems he’s facing, nothing has been allowed to get in the way of his performances.

One thing I like about Trippier is the way he talks others through games. It’s been brilliant to see how well Jacob Murphy has been doing this season, but I have no doubt that we can put a chunk of what’s been making Murph feel ‘juicy’ down to the encouragement of Trippier. Even when a pass is misplaced Tripps is quick to praise the idea or effort. There’s a little clap or a shout of approval. Furthermore, he’s never slow to pull a team mate over and just have a quick word in their ear when the ball’s not in play, like a coach on the field. Some players seem to be shouting and bawling their way through games almost for effect, but Trippier seems more understated by comparison, which to me seems a lot more positive and effective in bringing out the best in those around him.

For me, it’s that element of wise professionalism that might just help with Trippier’s legacy at the Toon. In Livramento and Hall we have two very young and quite inexperienced full backs who will learn a lot from playing and training day in, day out with Trippier. But then looking further ahead into our future and there’s our impressive young defender Leo Shahar. Shahar has been training with the first team on a regular basis this year and I have no doubt that the likes of Tripps have taken him under their wing, which can only be a good thing.

So all in all, it’s been excellent to see Kieran Trippier back to something approaching his best. Yes, it’s taken injury to get him back in the team, but he’s been fantastic for the majority of that time and his performance in the Carabao Cup final especially will live long in the memory.

Having been linked with high profile moves away in the last year, it remains to be seen if Tripps stays next year, but I personally hope so if only so that those younger players can continue to learn from him, but hopefully because he’s still playing his part in the squad.

The reborn Kieran Tripper; definitely worth a moment of anyone’s appreciation.