England sporting legend Steve Harmison stood on top of the world after winning the Ashes in 2005 and ending a painful 17-year drought of success for his country.
It was then that Michael Vaughan, Kevin Pietersen and Freddie Flintoff finally saw Australia off and English cricket's day of fate came at the Oval before the country celebrated in style. A different sport maybe but the emotions of elation, delight, euphoria and delirium will be close to that of Harmison's beloved Newcastle United should they end the 54-year wait on Tyneside for a trophy.
This week Dan Burn spoke about a special visit to the training ground involving Nobby Solano and Harmison who were invited by Eddie Howe to talk about their careers and experiences. Harmison was happy to oblige and like every fan he will be praying for black and white success at Wembley this weekend.
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Harmison told Chronicle Live: "I didn't make this public but a few weeks ago I went into the training ground with Nobby Solano as the manager asked us to go in.
"Nobby talked about playing in the cup finals and Eddie asked me to talk about what it was like to win the Ashes for the first time since 1986/87.
"What was it like having that experience, the pressure of not winning something for a while. It was great going in. The one guy who stood out and made me feel so welcome was Nick Pope.
"He came over and talked for 20 minutes or so. He just made me feel so welcome, they all came over and shook hands of course, but Nick sat with me and talked, I couldn't actually believe how tall he was.
"So when you see him missing out on the final it's gutting because he's not only a fantastic footballer but a nice man. That's what I was so disappointed about, sometimes good guys don't get what they deserve.
"He was great and generous with his time that morning. But it will still be a great day."
There is usually a fine line between success and failure but the difference in the lives of the Newcastle players if they win or lose will be like night and day this weekend. Harmison was asked by Howe to reflect on those experiences and the burden of playing for a success-starved team.
Harmison said: "I said to them: 'You lads may think you know what will happen if you win the Carabao Cup but I remember in 2005, for seven and half weeks we were saying in the media we knew what it meant to get the Ashes back.
"But we had no f****ing idea! When we went round the corner in Trafalgar Square we had no idea of what we were about to witness, a sea of England flags and fans.
"If Newcastle do win, and I have read Kieran Trippier saying how much they want to do it for the people of Newcastle, but I don't think they realise."
The man nicknamed the Ashington Express lived the dream in his sporting career, twice helping England win the Ashes in 2005 and 2009. This season he has spent the campaign watching from the Press box as TalkSPORT's Newcastle reporter and he is currently in New Zealand commentating on England's tour in the Southern Hemisphere.
Speaking to me from Wellington, where he was working with BT Sport, Harmison said: "I hope it can be the start of building very positively. Newcastle have gone from being everybody's second team from the Entertainers to a club of nothingness and disinterest.
"Going from Kevin Keegan everybody loved us, same with Sir Bobby. The whole country loved Sir Bobby. Bobby was different to Alex Ferguson or Arsene Wenger because there was more of a human edge rather than just the business side.
"Under Mike Ashley we were nobodies and nobody cared about us. What has happened in the last 15 or 16 months, this could be a stepping stone to other clubs really enjoying the way we play.
"To be fair Eddie Howe has played it the right way. He wants to win. He reminds me of Ben Stokes with England cricket, he is always trying to get on the front-foot and try to change the game in a positive way.
"Many times this season we have gone behind but Eddie has made the hard decisions. He's made the right substitutes and thought I don't care if we lose by three or four, I am trying to get back into the game and they have done.
"I watched Ben and Eddie and there are many similarities. They have one thing in their minds - winning and entertaining.That's Ben's big mantra, entertaining. And for me I feel they are both similar.
"Eddie knows the fans pay their money to be entertained so I think that's why he's got off to a great start as manager at Newcastle."
Can Newcastle's season get even better at Wembley though? Despite adversity in the camp, Harmison sees now reason why not.
Harmison said: "They have been unfortunate with Nick Pope but I think they have a great chance. Bruno hasn't played for a while, I thought Allan Saint-Maximin looked sharper compared to recent games, he was sharp with 10 and 11 men against Liverpool.
"It's a final and it's who turns up on the day so they have as good a chance as any. Defensively, I know they had a bad 20 minutes against Liverpool.
"But we have looked very good defensively this season. They have looked strong but having Bruno gives us that cutting edge.
"If Newcastle score in the game they have a great chance of winning because these days they do have a solid defence."
With the door closing for Pope after his red card for handball outside the box against Liverpool, another suddenly swung open to Loris Karius and Mark Gillespie. Harmison feels it is not something that should hinder the Magpies too much if they stay positive.
The Ashington-born star said: "They are both more than capable if asked to step up. It's about what's in front of you in life.
"Nick had been brilliant this season and largely down to keeping concentration and focus. He has made one or two unbelievable saves in games where he's had nothing to do and that down to the four lads in front of him.
"Hopefully, that will happen again for Loris Karius. I feel for Karl Darlow, he's a pal of mine, he's been here so long and been through the Championship and the thick and thin of things.
"He just wanted to go out and play but it has sadly come to him missing the final. But that gives somebody else an opportunity and it looks like it will be Karius.
"I don't think he will let Newcastle down. If you have played in a Champions League final - you are a decent keeper. If it was a midfielder it might be different.
"I remember Bobby Robson bringing Rob Lee back when Ruud Gullit had frozen him out. When Rob came back he hadn't played for a while and that was different.
"But it's not like that with keepers, a centre-forward or midfielder needs minutes. As long as the keepers do their training I don't think it takes as much for them to get up to speed than somebody outfield, that would be a gamble."
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