Thank you, Isaac Hayden – A tribute to a true professional, top bloke and reliable performer

This summer is going to be one of the craziest we’ve had in a long time as NUFC supporters.

We’ve already completed our first signing – a massive, deserved welcome back for Matty Targett – and Twitter is abuzz with rumours of top signings that are, for once, realistic.

The summer won’t drag on as we enviously watch other clubs sign players while we make the odd loan and free signing.

But on the flipside, we’re going to say goodbye to a large chunk of the squad that we know and love.

There’s no doubt that we need a big clear-out. A lot of these players have been around since our last Championship escapades in 2016/17 and were bought purely for that season. But because of a lack of investment, they’ve stuck around.

Some simply aren’t good enough. Others are, but they don’t fit into our new system, our new style.

One such player is Isaac Hayden.

He was dropped pretty much as soon as Howe came in as our new manager instantly switched us to attacking football – something we desperately needed and that we hadn’t been utilising effectively despite players like Almiron, Wilson, Saint-Maximin and their ability to leave players behind in a cloud of dust.

I was gutted, but I understood. I was gutted when he was omitted from the updated 25-man squad, but with an injury, there was at least a small justification.

I knew deep down he was going this summer, but it still hurt.

So much so that I got a touch emotional when reading his exit interview on a train back from Glasgow – but we’ll blame the gin for that.

For years, Isaac Hayden has been one of our most consistent performers. Not flashy enough to grab headlines – except for that corker last-minute winner against Chelsea – but always reliable. A real midfield lynchpin with the best slide-tackle in the league (fight me).

Hayden rarely underperformed. In a team of players whose heads naturally dropped at the start of this season, his always seemed to remain high. I don’t think he’s ever received enough credit for his pure reliability. You’d seldom see him give the ball away and he was always connecting the midfield to the defence. Any issue was down to formations and tactics and not him.

For these reasons, he was always one of the first names on my teamsheet before Howe arrived. I’d have still included him before Bruno’s arrival, but I can at least see Howe’s tactical logic – we’d been craving that for so long that I could let it slide.

But beyond being Mr Reliable on the pitch, his attitude was second to none. The rock-bottom moment of getting sent off at Cardiff is well-documented and I thought that was the end of his NUFC career.

He was open about wanting to leave for family reasons in 2019. There was no spite, no secrecy. His family and his young daughter had to come first. The club blocked his move in 2018 and he pushed for it harder in 2019.

We were devastated. But we understood.

He even said himself that despite everything that was going on in his personal life, he was always committed to Newcastle United when he trained and played. And that was very evident. He was the model professional.

Imagine asking your employer to leave because your child was unwell and being denied? It wouldn’t happen in most workplaces, but you’d be pretty narked. You might even stop putting the effort in.

Not Hayden.

Happily, things started to change. Hayden’s personal circumstances and his daughter’s health improved. He made the decision to stay.

We rejoiced for both Hayden and ourselves.

Since then and up until December time, he’s continued his reputation as a tackling genius, a constant, reliable presence in an unsettled team.

You can tell how much he cares for the club and supporters. He voiced his frustration at being left out of the 25-man squad and I like that. I liked it even more when he openly criticised the shoddy refereeing that saw us unfairly lose to Chelsea away.

The FA deemed that unprofessional, but give me a player unafraid to speak out on unfairness any day.

It’s so rare that you find a player that’s both consistent and has a faultless attitude. We had one of a kind in Hayden. A player you could always rely on and a man that you could put the world to rights with.

Selfishly, I’d have liked to keep him. But it would be an insult to him to let him sit on the bench. He needs and deserves to be a regular starter like he once was here.

For me, he deserved to go back to a Premier League team. But I’ve no doubt he’ll lead Norwich back to the Premier League.

Thank you for an unrivalled service to this football club, Isaac.

And I know we’ll meet again, one sunny day.

4 thoughts on “Thank you, Isaac Hayden – A tribute to a true professional, top bloke and reliable performer

  1. great piece , I totally agree , great servant to the toon , true pro , I wish him well in everything he does and also hope he gets more time with his family , he totally deserves it

      (Quote)

  2. Thanks Isaac, you’ll always be part of the NUFC family. Good luck wherever you go, they’ll be getting a true professional ?

      (Quote)

  3. What was great to see was the day it was announced he was off to Norwich social media lit up with NUFC fans saying positive things & wishing him well – and rightly so.

    Couldn’t have asked for much more for the lad & he’s a perfect example of – if you come & play for the shirt the fans will get behind you regardless.

    Best of luck to the lad ????

      (Quote)

  4. It was wonderful to see how social media was flooded with supportive messages and best wishes from NUFC supporters the day it was revealed he was moving to Norwich.

      (Quote)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *