One of the many, many reasons to admire Eddie Howe is his unwillingness to spout nonsense.
Unlike many recent Premier League rivals, Newcastle United’s head coach doesn’t resort to gobbledegook (Amorim and Postecoglou), or making idiotic excuses to deflect from his shortcomings (Arteta), or constantly accusing the authorities of being biased (Silva, Dyche, Moyes).
We’ve had some crackers this millennium, like Alan Pardew with his foul-mouthed rants and attack on the touchline, Graeme Souness with his ‘it’s not me, Governor, it’s everyone’ and everyone’s favorite brassica, Steve Bruce, who would have been dealing with a lot more than a lone flying cabbage had Covid-19 not come to his rescue by banning spectators.
As someone who occasionally gets caught off guard, I have total respect for Howe, whose behavior embodies the sentiments that Kipling praised in one of his most famous poems:
‘If you can meet Triumph and Disaster
And treat these two impostors alike;
. . . you will be a man, my son!
What happened at St James’ Park on Tuesday evening clearly upset him. Not the performance of his ‘never-say-die’ team, not the result, which was far from ideal, but the build-up to the first and decisive goal.
In the few minutes before Antoine Semenyo scored, we had built up steam. Anthony Gordon’s excellent cross from the left wing, after the referee had played a good advantage, reached Yoane Wissa at the back post, about six yards out. He didn’t hit the ball perfectly, but headed his header back over the goal. It would have ended up inches under the bar and into the Gallowgate End net had James Trafford not scraped it away through the woodwork.
Seconds later, after Lewis Hall had doggedly and expertly collected possession (those should be his middle names), a short pass to Bruno G allowed him to work the space for a shot that beat the Man City keeper, but not the near post.
The next time someone says our opponents controlled the game, mention those moments and Newcastle’s inability to convert other decent chances. No wonder Howe had his head in his hands when our captain’s low shot bounced to safety.
What really upset the head coach was the fallout from Jacob Ramsey’s excellent tackle on Jeremy Doku as the visitors tried to attack down their left flank. Doku’s arm slammed into the side of Ramsey’s head. Ramsey initially appeared unharmed, but soon sat down and suffered the effects of the blow.
He was treated on the field by two medical staff and cleared to continue. This was followed by the enforcement of the 30-second rule, which forced him to leave the field.
For whatever reason, the referee had not penalized Doku. I thought he clearly fouled Ramsey. Neither the referee nor his assistant agreed with my position.
Man City took a throw-in and quickly passed the ball to him. His likely marker, who I thought had his best game in black and white stripes, stood helpless on the wrong side of the touchline as the City winger escaped our defenders and crossed for Semenyo to score after Bernardo Silva had parried the ball.
We all know now that Semenyo was only able to play due to a rule change for this season’s competition, which meant his appearance for Bournemouth in the second round did not earn him a cup win.
Eddie Howe accepted that without complaint, despite media attempts to provoke an angry response. This is what he said:
“I don’t think bitter is the right word, I think the rules are the rules. They are there, I don’t think I can focus on that too much.”
“I would probably focus more on the fact that we were down to 10 men when they scored their first goal because I just don’t understand that.
“JJs [Jacob Ramsey] He has suffered a head injury, he is elbowed in the head and we are being punished for that. I don’t see that that’s right.”
Me neither, Mr. Howe, for what it’s worth. Yes, a blow to the head should be taken seriously. Yes, Ramsey had to leave the field. The protocols were followed.
What upsets me and should upset anyone who believes in fair play is that Manchester City were given an unfair numerical advantage, which they exploited.
If we had taken advantage of our opportunities, mainly through Wissa and Woltemade, the Doku/Ramsey incident would of course have been less important. Unfortunately not.
As I recall, the 30-second rule was introduced to prevent players from feigning injury and stalling their opponents’ momentum.
Maybe it needs to be adjusted. If a player has to leave the field because he is injured during a challenge, why not have the opponent who injured him also spend 30 seconds cooling his heels? As things stand now, insult is literally and figuratively added to the injury.
In many ways, Tuesday night’s match reminded me of last year’s semi-final against Arsenal. They hit the post, squandered other opportunities and paid the price. Was that the match where Arteta blamed the ball? Honestly, that disgrace of a person comes with so many misleading statements that I lose track.
In three weeks we’re going to the Etihad but not outside. One thing is certain: Howe and his team will give their best, just like in the first leg.
Yet another reason for my never-ending bromance with the head coach of Newcastle United.
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