My favorite book of all time is The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien. I first read it when I was ten and have reread it almost every year since.
When Peter Jackson directed the film trilogy, I was initially very skeptical, having previously seen some disgusting attempts to interpret the story.
However, despite some disappointment with the portrayal of one or two main characters (mainly Eōmer and Faramir), I was pleasantly surprised.
(Stay with me, fellow Newcastle United fans…)
I was particularly impressed with Vigo Mortensen’s performance as Aragorn.
I thought his highlight of the series was his speech before the Battle of the Morannon – before the gates of Mordor – in which he urged the ‘Men of the West’ to stand firm, to remember their oaths and not to despair.
Stand your ground! Stand your ground!
Sons of Gondor, of Rohan, my brothers,
I see in your eyes the same fear that would cost me my heart.
There may come a day when men’s courage fails,
when we let our friends down
and break all ties of friendship,
but it is not this day.
An hour of wolves and shattered shields,
when the age of men collapses,
but it’s not this day!
This day we fight!!
With everything you hold dear on this good earth,
I ask you to rise, Men of the West!!!
As fans of Newcastle United, I feel that right now we need an Aragorn to “rally the troops” and remind us all of the need to stay true to our beliefs and show faith in the cause!
We have had a series of setbacks along the way and the morale of our army has been shaken to some extent. I don’t think we have a problem with deserters, but trust in our commanders is quite fragile in some parts of our support.
To me, this is a natural reaction and not a reason for panic, knee-jerk reactions and finger-pointing – for berating the doubters and shaming rank-and-file troops who express their bitter disappointment at what they see as a defeat snatched from the jaws of victory.
Last night’s match in Marseille was another away defeat for the Men of the North East. A comment immediately after the match on TNT’s coverage told us that NUFC’s “poor away form” continues. Well, I agree it was a bad result, but I dispute that it was an example of bad form.
In his post-match commentary on The Mag last night, ‘Matt Busby Said To Joe Harvey…’ made the point (emphasized time after time by the co-commentators throughout the match) that it was a great spectacle. A fun football game with action from start to finish and both teams creating good chances – all played in a pulsating atmosphere where, for once, our away support was drowned out by a fervent home crowd.
We were in charge for most of the first half and our game plan (after an initial but unsustainable period of high-intensity pressing) was to let Marseille play through the park up to our penalty area and then try to break away and catch them. But with a decent performance from the goalkeeper and an indifferent finish it could well have worked.
Unfortunately, we were undone by a five-minute period of self-inflicted chaos, initiated by what can only be described as a Kamikaze mission, carried out by our security guard. Why Nick Pope felt he not only had to race out of his box, but that he could get to the ball ahead of both Thiaw and Aubameyang, will remain one of life’s mysteries (along with such weighty issues as what exactly did Andrew Ridgely do in Wham?).
Whatever the response, it gave Marseille the equalizer – although Aubameyang must be given credit for an excellent finish. It could well be that that equalizer was the catalyst for Marseille’s second-half revival and possibly inspired them to create what turned out to be the winning goal. But the reaction in The Mag’s comments section to these two goals was markedly different.
According to most critics, Pope has lost us the game. I understand the argument that the goal cheered Marseille up and made things more difficult for us, but it was the equalizer and not the winner. The winner came when two of our best and most reliable defenders were passed by Marseille attackers.
First of all, Tino held off the difficult and dangerous Weah just a little too much and gave him space to make a good cross towards the first post. It would have been entirely possible if that had been in Thiaw’s territory, but Schar, great player that he is, didn’t have the pace to stay ahead of the 36-year-old Aubameyang, who managed to finish in the top flight again.
No brickbats for Tino or the Fab that I could see last night. Again understandable, as both players are returning after an absence and this was done by excellent play from the opponent. But that was the goal that made Newcastle United lose the match if we want to be technically correct.
So who was to blame for this outcome? In the aftermath of defeat, many people try to blame. And when it comes to militaries, leaders will inevitably come under scrutiny. Did our commander-in-chief, Eddie, choose the wrong team and the wrong tactics? Has he shown too much confidence in his favorites? Has he been abandoned by the financial wizards of Saudi Arabia?
Or do we allow the bitter disappointment of seeing a feasible three points seemingly thrown away in four minutes of chaos to test our faith across borders? These things happen, but we don’t have to let them define us. We have lost a battle, but the war continues and we will be better equipped to come out in good shape if we stick together and believe in our leadership.
If Aragorn were a Geordie and Toon supporter, I am absolutely certain he would admonish us to:
Stand your ground! Stand your ground!
Sons of Tyneside, of the North East, my brethren,
I see the doubt in your eyes that will not play a role in me.
There may come a day when the faith of toon fans fails,
when we let our team down
and break all ties of friendship,
but it is not this day.
One hour West Hams, Brentfords and Marseille,
as support for Eddie collapses,
but it’s not this day!
This day we fight!!
With everything you hold dear on this good earth,
I ask you to rise, men (and women!) of the North East!!!’
#gates #Mordor