Let’s not forget how far Toon have come!
LIVERPOOL DEFEAT NEEDS PUTTING INTO PERSPECTIVE
IT is a sign of just how far Newcastle United have come in such a minuscule space of time that a narrow defeat to a quadruple-chasing Liverpool should leave us all feeling a tad deflated.
However let us remember what United have achieved in 2022, bearing in mind from whence they came, has been more unexpectedly spectacular than anything the Mighty Reds have done.
Their unquestioned super success as the best club team in the world alongside Manchester City ironically next up for the Mags - has been a relentless job in process for a significant while.
It is what we would love United to become some glorious day but the current rise and rise of the blackand-whites from the graveyard has been so rapid it has given Geordies a nose bleed.
Put simply, Newcastle have achieved what no other club in history has ever managed.
To stay up comfortably, fend off seemingly inevitable relegation after failing to win in their first 14 Premier League matches is nothing short of phenomenal.
Their shocking early record is written in stone and in our blood 14 played, wins none, draws seven, defeats seven. Seven points gathered out of 42. Bottom of the league. End of November 2021.
Such torture was temporarily relieved by a 1-0 victory over Burnley at SJP before the run to disaster was resumed.
The next five matches produced no further win, two draws and three losses. Two points out of 15. Mid-january and second bottom. All that doom and gloom equates to P20, W1, D9, L10, Pts 12 (out of 60).
Oh and just to accentuate the pain, United were knocked out of both domestic cups at home without scoring a single goal by such luminaries as Burnley and Cambridge United.
Yet here we were before Liverpool came to town a dizzy ninth top after the best run of points gathering in the top flight apart from ...Liverpool!
Houdini’s escapes pale into insignificance in comparison.
Can I hear a ripple of applause for everyone concerned? Of course last Saturday’s match told us exactly how far Newcastle have to go before they find a level playing field with the best. Of course our visitors were a class above. They could rest half a team of their best players and still cruise to yet another three points with tip-top displays by stand-ins like James Milner, Jordan Henderson (both once of these parts) and goalscorer Naby Keita.
Perhaps flushed by recent results there was hope United were a little closer to the elite than we are because, well, we all like to dream, allowing the heart to rule the head.
Yet no, deep down inside we knew what was coming. There is an awful lot of work still to be done.
The first of the building bricks have only been put in place.
Cleverness in the transfer market starting this summer and beyond is essential while Eddie Howe retains the togetherness which has worked so wonderfully well and the tactical nous coupled with inspirational attitude to create vivid pictures from rough materials.
In the meantime, let us remember the pain of the 14 years prior to this one and then what has been achieved between January and the end of April.
We must not let defeat at Manchester City - and it will come unfortunately - dampen Geordie spirits in any way.
Lest we forget!