Newcastle United fans showed their true colors on Sunday as Nick Woltemade’s unfortunate own goal turned the derby on its head.
Instead of piling on, the Geordie faithful flooded social media with messages of support for the boy, reminding everyone that one mistake does not negate the fight and dedication he has shown since donning the black and white shirt.
That’s what makes this fanbase special, isn’t it.
Loyalty when it matters most, supporting a player in his lowest moments.
But the point is, if that loyalty stops at Woltemade and doesn’t extend to Eddie Howe, then IMHO it’s pure hypocrisy.
Eddie Howe is the man who dragged Newcastle out of the mess left by Steve Bruce and Mike Ashley, from the relegation scrap to the Champions League.
He has been the architect of our revival; the reason St James’ Park is buzzing again.
Yes, yesterday hurt, in fact for every NUFC fan it hurt A LOT. Yes, the performance wasn’t nearly good enough.
But if we can forgive a striker who defended for a split-second mistake, how can we turn on the manager who gave us Champions League nights we never dreamed of?
Supporting the badge means supporting everyone who wears the badge, both players and managers. Anything less is not passion; it’s picking and choosing.
I’m not saying Eddie Howe is untouchable, far from it, he certainly used up some of his goodwill yesterday. What I want to say is: yes, yesterday was really annoying, but perspective is needed.
This is why I slept on it before commenting.
Yesterday I was unable to think coherently, I was just very angry at our team’s seemingly emotionless display. Anthony Gordon did nothing to help matters by saying he would “put things right” on Wednesday and sounding like he didn’t know what a derby was. He should actually know what a derby is, supporting one and playing for the other club on Merseyside!
Anyway, moving on, Howay the Lads.
Keep the Faith has never sounded so moving!
#loyalty