Relief. Disbelief. Joy. Unfamiliarity. The biggest party London has seen.
That was two years ago as tens of thousand of Newcastle United fans descended on London for the Carabao Cup Final against Manchester United.
This time it feels slightly different. It still matters but this time it feels like Newcastle United belong. This time it feels like this is a party we are supposed to at, and not just one we’re grateful to be invited to after 20 long years.
No, we’re here again – and it feels much more like our house rather than threshold we just stumbled over.
This time around Newcastle fans met a Covent Garden – and while it was loud and boisterous, it again felt different to the February of 2023 and Trafalgar Square. At times it felt disjointed and confused – before the chants of ‘Tell me ma, me Ma,’ sounded again. Perhaps, it was not confusion but instead a feeling that Saturday was just a warm up to the main event the following day, and that’s not a bad thing.
Granted, the location didn’t really help. You had two groups of Newcastle fans separated. One by the market hall and the other around the corner by the tube station – United by their excitement for the weekend but not where they stood.
There was also the fact that Covent Garden with its upper market restaurants and its market was operating like any other Saturday. In amongst thousands of Geordies, were the regulars to the bakeries and bistros as well as the tourists, all looking a little bewildered by what was going on.
A tourist stopped me and asked me what was happening. I explained it was the cup final on Sunday and we’ve come down to celebrate. The lady wondered if both Liverpool and Newcastle fans were in the square, looking shocked or perhaps impressed when I told it was just the Toon Army, before rather confidently assuming that Newcastle must be a ‘London club.’
I told her we were 300 plus miles away from the banks of the Tyne, she couldn’t believe it, and with a smile braved the crowds to enjoy the rest of her day.
And with that it sums up the unrelenting love Geordies have for their club. It’s a commitment few other clubs have, and contract to follow and support where ever and whenever that the uninitiated will never understand but always appreciate.
But it is a love and celebration that needed to be channeled in the right way. Two years ago, it was a total blowout before a single ball had been kicked. This time round, it was less of a ‘we don’t know when this will happen again,’ celebration and more of clinical and familiar feel.
The fact that the first Liverpool shirt I’ve seen this weekend was on Sunday morning in the hotel lobby, sums up where Newcastle are and where they are hopefully heading to.
Finals are the norm to clubs like Liverpool, finals like this for some Reds might not even register as important but regardless it is the familiarity of being here, being just afternoon away from winning that matters.
They familiarity breeds professionalism and confidence – it’s always emotional but there’s a knowledge of how to win, and experience of how to win. It’s not about the night before and cans in the square but the moment of kick off and channelling all you have, on and off the pitch, to achieve success.
Newcastle are on that journey – and this weekend does feel different, and for me that is a good thing. A swaying Geordie end with energy can make the difference and a win moves Newcastle along that path to feeling at home in these games. Let’s hope they do it.
You can watch a video diary of the Saturday and the events a Covent Garden by clicking here.
View news Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/covent-garden-newcastle-united-fans-31210813
