Let us be in no doubt as we reflect with defiant pride upon Geordie disappointment at yet another return from Wembley empty handed with dreams cruelly shattered.
Newcastle United will win silverware under a new regime of ambition and determination across boardroom and manager's office. It is only a matter of time and the wait will not be anywhere near as long as it has been. May I suggest it is just round the next corner.
Geordies, all of us, are rightly proud of what has been achieved this season chasing Champions League qualification and reaching a cup final just a year after a long arduous relegation battle. Indeed Geordies ought to be proud of themselves. They owned Wembley, they were the atmosphere, and their day is nigh.
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This latest cup final setback, temporarily painful in the extreme, is not like 74 which marked the end of European winner Joe Harvey. Not like 98 and 99 when Kevin Keegan and his Entertainers had gone and only a fleeting flirtation with success sparked by Bobby Robson remained before we were plunged into normality.
What we have now is not the end game but the beginning. A new era post Mike Ashley. Post Steve McClaren, Joe Kinnear and Steve Bruce. This is dawn, not dusk, and while hearts are heavy that the League Cup could not be claimed we can recognise what is more than the green shoots of growth. It is a revolution.
Wembley and Europe may as well prepare itself. The Toon Army will be on the march again. We will not be denied indefinitely. In truth the final came at just the wrong time for us. Manchester United are on a surge of form, Newcastle on a little dip.
However this was no humiliation. Far from it. United began like an express train, were much the better side, and then were hit by a double barrelled blast. Two goals in six minutes killed everything, hope, dreams, belief.
Ironically Allan Saint-Maximin had just weaved some magic twisting and turning like a corkscrew to hit a close range effort David de Gea one handed away. From it Man U swept downfield, won a free-kick, and Luke Shaw arrowed it in for Casemiro to just stay onside, confirmed by VAR, and whip a header into the rigging.
That was on 32 minutes and by the 38th minute mark it was all over in the cruellest of manners. A Marcus Rashford effort struck Sven Botman to loop up and over Loris Karius whose feet were planted expecting something low not high. To add to the harshness it was officially given as a Botman own goal.
It must be said that while Karius was questioned by some pundits on the goal overall he did not let United down. Far from it. He can stand proud.
It some ways the outcome mirrored what had happened against Liverpool the week before. Newcastle were hit by two goals in quick succession and we perhaps feared the worst but instead the Mags bravely took the fight to their opponents to leave fans deflated but with pride intact.
In truth Man U's game management was ruthless. Two up, they cut off avenues of opportunity bringing on two holding midfielders and then a central defender.
Yes, the wait goes on and on and on. When Newcastle last won a domestic trophy, the FA Cup of 1955, it was a vastly different world to that of today. There were no mobile phones or internet, no twitter or TikTok, on-line dating or electric cars.
It was all pounds, shillings and pence. A pint of beer cost 1s 11d, 20 ciggies 3s 7d, gallon of petrol 4s 6d, a pint of milk 7d, and a pound of spuds 3d. A Ford Anglia car set you back £511, a washing machine was 61 guineas, and the average price of a house was £1,937. All had to be secured on a weekly wage of £10 17s for the average working man.
The Queen had only been on the throne for two years and now we are waiting for the King to be crowned. Life has been long and lean. However I will say it again. It is almost over. Keep the faith. We have done it for many years but our time will come and very soon.
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