From Apathy to Anxiety: The Newcastle United Rollercoaster

There’s never a dull day on NUFC Twitter. Even during our winter break.

The week has been a rollercoaster on the ol’ bird app. We went from news that Joelinton was out for six weeks to the entire season and only a few short days later, were told he could have played his last game in black and white from our favourite doom-monger Craig Hope.

I can’t say I bought too much into the Joelinton contract stand-off sensationalism, but I woke up on Friday, dazed and confused, and opened Twitter to see talks of Trippier potentially leaving.

Not the best start to my Friday, if I’m honest with you. Even if it’s sheer speculation at this point.

It felt like a little dagger to the heart. We’ve been talking all January about the potential sale of players to make room for more investment. But Trippier had never entered the chat. I was completely blindsided. I didn’t want to even entertain the idea.

That idea of Trippier, the best leader we’ve had since Kevin Nolan and Shearer (dare I say maybe a nose ahead of Nolan...), leaving is unfathomable. Not only has he been one of our best and most consistent players (December aside) since he signed, but the other qualities he brings are irreplaceable.

The more level-headed amongst us are talking about the benefits of selling him. We have a sensational understudy in Tino Livramento, it frees up money to invest elsewhere – and depending on the potential fee, could prevent the (again, potential) loss of Bruno in the summer.

I see all of these points, but it still makes my heart ache. I’m still very firmly in the stance that he should stay. Aaron Stokes arguably put it best:

https://twitter.com/AaronJStokes/status/1748345226866114842

“Is this what football is going to become? Rolling over and simply accepting the sacrifice of key players to meet stringent financial quotas? I hope not. I love watching Trippier play football for Newcastle United Football Club and hope it continues.”

Trippier is ageing, but right now, you wouldn’t be able to tell. Of course, the real crux here is that he doesn’t have many years left in him, which presents two arguments: sell now while you can get the money or allow him to retire here. It won’t come as much surprise to say I’m in the latter category here.

My question is – if the Bayern interest is real, of course – how much would any club be willing to pay for a 33-year-old, even if he is at his peak? £20 million has been bandied about, which is a lot for a player with so few years left – but would you take that for him? He’s arguably not worth that to other clubs, but he’s worth way more than that to us.

There have been discussions about how our current problems pale in comparison to what we faced under Ashley. Constant relegations, threadbare squads (that weren’t just a result of injury) and big player sales that we knew wouldn’t result in reinvestment. The replacement of a Champions League-winning manager with statistically the worst-performing ~experienced~ Premier League manager ever. You could say we’re in a position of luxury compared to just a few short years ago – and you’d be right.

But I felt so apathetic and numb towards the club for so long that these situations now feel like the end of the world. When we were last relegated in 2016, I felt empty. My only real concern was Rafa leaving, because I’d instantly fallen in love with him. But the relegation itself felt par for the course.

Steve Bruce was one of the worst managers I’ve ever seen at this club, and I have an undying, burning hatred for the man, but I became even more apathetic during his tenure – particularly the two months prior to the takeover. Another relegation felt inevitable. I’d accepted it. I’d also accepted that we wouldn’t have bounced straight back after it. I still loved the club deeply, but it felt like a love borne out of necessity.

It's nice to feel excitement again. It’s refreshing to feel like the club’s hierarchy, manager and players care for you as a supporter. It’s a lovely, bewildering feeling to see us playing good football again. It’s not to say that I was any less of a supporter under Ashley, or Bruce, Carver, Pardew or Kinnear. But I was tired.

In the grand scheme of things, Trippier leaving would be less impactful than that third fateful relegation would have been, but it feels bigger. My heart hurts more. But isn’t that what football is all about? Feeling the highest of highs and the lowest of lows?

Getting to a cup final was something I didn’t think we’d achieve for a good few years, but it happened within a year and a half of Staveley, Ghodoussi and Howe breathing new life into the club. It was momentous, but I still can’t talk about it, because losing was gut-wrenching.

Getting back into the Champions League was a mega achievement, and while I knew it was a privilege to just be there this season, I was broken for weeks when we didn’t progress from the groups. Going out wasn’t the worst thing that has or could happen to the club, but my god, it HURT.

Some will say sentimentality has no place in the game when you’re shooting for the stars. But then what is the point of it all? One of the things I love the most about where we are right now, and where we were last season, is that there’s togetherness in the team. Players that I genuinely feel connected to. No prima donnas, no divas, no attitudes.

I’m not naïve enough to think it’ll be like this forever, but let’s enjoy it while it lasts. And let’s hope Martin Hardy and Craig Hope are – and continue to be – right about no contact from Bayern.

(No Craig Hopes were harmed in the making of this blog).