As part of our weekend long read series, lifelong Newcastle United fan Olly Scholes explains what it feels like to fall back in love with your club again, and how fans might one day look back on the second half of the 2021-22 season as one of the most special in the history of the club.
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Olly Scholes: I had no words after Monday night’s game, so I said relatively little on social media. I still feel like I can’t do it justice, but let me try. You see sometimes there are no words that can summarise the emotion or significance of an occasion adequately.
There is nothing quite like watching Newcastle United under the lights at the best of times, however Monday night hit differently, probably to any game I’ve ever attended in 35 years of supporting the club. I’ve been lucky enough to have had a season ticket since I was very young and have witnessed some incredible nights over the years, both at St. James’ Park and away from home.
Games that stick in mind include the 5-0 destruction of Manchester United, that special European night v Barcelona and the late drama in Rotterdam. I’ve seen my club on the brink of obliteration and I've witnessed the bright lights of the Champions League. Monday night however, probably topped the lot.
Why would a routine 2-0 win in a fairly meaningless game for us against a faltering Arsenal be so special? Well, that’s the bit I’m struggling to find words for.
From an individual perspective, I’ve had the opportunity recently to take my 8-year-old to a few games and that in itself has been beyond special. He has absolutely loved every minute of it and watching him turn from a casual Newcastle fan with a growing interest to a die-hard fanatic in the space of four games has given me more satisfaction than anything I have ever experienced in football.
On Monday night however, I saw him fall in love. It was a switch, something just happened and there he was, absolutely captivated by the club and everything that went with it.
What I would give to be in his position, where the last 14 years are just tales of a distant past shared over a drink after another comfortable win on the road to a title, rather than a lived-out reality.
On a more collective note, Monday felt like the culmination of something incredible, 14 games into the season, we looked doomed. A shell of a club, mismanaged, unloved and neglected. I couldn’t see an outcome other than relegation, and this time I wasn’t convinced we’d return quickly.
Then it happened.
There are many things about the takeover which sit uncomfortably with me. I’ve talked about them previously and will continue to challenge them, but I’ll save this for another time.
The first job of the new incumbent, Amanda Staveley was to unwrap the manager situation, with ‘he who shall not be named’ moved on, and a humble Eddie Howe taking the reins. I backed Eddie from the start.
I can’t explain it, but I was unwavering in my certainty that we would stay up despite some people in various WhatsApp groups and social channels understandably being sceptical. Also inexplicably, it was only when we were just about safe that I began to panic about relegation. A precondition from a previous acquaintance, maybe.
Since Howe’s arrival, it cannot be denied there has been a huge cultural shift within the club. Fitness and confidence have been restored, of course, but Howe has instilled a winning mentality, not just around the club and training ground, but around the whole city.
Spend time walking around the centre of Newcastle and you can’t help but notice a new sea of black and white. Everyone is back in club colours, no longer ashamed or uninterested.
There has been reinvigoration on a huge scale in such a short space of time and the whole city has bought into it. There’s a buzz around the place.
People talk about the club with passion and pride, hope and optimism. It has been an absolute joy to be part of. During the week, I took my son to football training. Where once, goals were celebrated with shouts of ‘Neymaaarrr’ and ‘Mbappeeee’, that night the kids roared ‘BRUNOOOOO’ instead. That’s something that hasn’t happened for a while, and long may it continue.
Back to Monday night's game. Walking up to the East Stand through leafy Exhibition Park in the early evening, my mind began to wander towards the flag display. It was due to be a big one, signing off in style.
Wor Flags displays have been incredible this season and their influence on the atmosphere in the ground should not be taken lightly. They have been another significant cog in the engine and the atmosphere generated in St. James’ Park has been electric as a result.
Inside the ground, the army of flags rippled to the sound of the chants. The atmosphere was building already. Out bolted the teams, ready for battle. “We’re going to win this, dad!” exclaimed the bairn, confidently. “I hope so, son.” I responded. Hope. Lovely stuff, eh?
The game itself, whilst a spectacle, could probably be described as the least important aspect of this evening. We dominated for 90 minutes with some big performance from a rejuvenated group of players.
This just another chapter in Volume 1 of miracles Eddie Howe has performed since his arrival, turning the fortunes of several squad members on their heads. The enhanced form of Krafth, Fraser, Schar and our newly crowned Player of the Season, Joelinton, has been nothing short of breath-taking.
After a first half stalemate, barely had the second half kicked off when we were forced into a change. Schar and Nketiah collided leaving the Swiss unconscious with Lascelles coming on to replace him in a concussion substitution (me neither!).
Traditionally in these circumstances, enforced subs for the Mags lead to feelings of doom and dread, but not now. Not Eddies Mags.
We rolled our sleeves up and put in the performance of the season, with a Joelinton cross from the left, turned into his own net by Ben White after pressure from the mischievous Callum Wilson making it 1-0. A low strike from our new hero Bruno Guimaraes followed.
A superb dinked through ball from Sean Longstaff found Wilson who was met by the onrushing Aaron Ramsdale, with Bruno on hand to double the lead and seal the win on 85 minutes. We could have added to the score on a couple of occasions, but we took the three points nevertheless, all but ending the visitors Champions League aspirations.
So, what was so good about that? Well, everything really.
The performance was superb, and a good way to sign off this campaign at home. A sign of things to come, hopefully. But it was more than that.
It represents something far greater than the sum of its parts. It’s the beginning of a new era. Maybe we’ll go on to win the lot, maybe we won’t. But it won’t ever be for the want of effort and ambition.
We’ll spend money. Lots of it. And it will be fun. But that Arsenal game, that’s what kicked it all off. Got that ball rolling.
Whatever comes next, I’m sure I won’t be the only Newcastle fan who will look back at these last 20 or so games and think, ‘that was where it all started’. It is still inconceivable to me that players like Bruno and Trippier would take such a gamble on this club in the state we are in when they joined.
You may say it is down to money, that is your right. But I think it is more than that. They believed in us and bought into us when we didn’t even believe in ourselves. For that I will be eternally grateful.
They didn’t just sign for us though. They changed us. They lead the way for others to recognise what we could be.
Bruno had a choice of clubs. I don’t doubt for a second that he KNOWS he made the right one. He is adored here already, and the feeling appears mutual.
He claims not to score many goals yet is our 3rd top scorer this season. Just wait til he gets going. Could he end up being the best player we’ve ever had? One day, quite possibly.
Nothing represents any of this emotion, this change in direction, this hope, this togetherness, or this cultural shift more in my opinion than the team photos. Serena Taylor’s amazing photography work has been the first thing fans flock to the socials for after a win since Howe arrived.
That in itself is an incredible change, knowing so many people, myself included, who didn’t even follow the club's Twitter account prior to the regime change. It indicates the transition from losers to winners, from hopeless to hopeful and from indifference to passion.
Outsiders might look in and say things weren’t that bad. Other clubs may feel far worse off. I accept that. But trust me when I say, whatever division you are in, however bad things are, that feeling of your club losing its soul feels so desperate.
It is something no fan at any level deserves and I don’t mind saying I’d just about given up on us. I’ve fallen in love with my club again, and I’m far from alone.
The final photo of the season was perfection, the players, the management team, all of their families to a backdrop of fans in the Gallowgate End, while the owners showed their appreciation around the edge of the pitch.
Finally, we are all in this together. And it feels incredible. In the words of Primal Scream: we’re moving on up now, getting out of the darkness.
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