Newcastle United players now in the spotlight – Reality check | OneFootball

My teenage years were spent arguing with very old guys, who were probably well into their 50s, about the relative merits of Newcastle United players.

Macdonald is better than Milburn.

Moncur is better than Stokoe.

Hibbitt is better than Mitchell.

The fact that I had never seen the 1955 cup final team and there was virtually no footage of them in action, was irrelevant to me. I knew best .

When it comes to football opinions, that has always been the default position for most of us. We know best and if you disagree, you are a numpty.

As I get older, I have tried to be more receptive to the thoughts of others, but I think we humans are hard wired to make a decision and then be incapable of admitting we were / are wrong.

Which brings me to the present and what feels like an undercurrent of a falling out between ourselves on The Mag.

Or would it be more accurate to say, between a minority of us.

What do you think is the current mood of the fans, at the end of October 2023, two years after takeover, sitting sixth in the Premier League and holding our own in the Champions League .

Well for the record, I am perfectly happy with where we are but if you disagree with me, you sir are not a numpty. It’s a game of opinions and yours is as relevant as mine.

Therefore, let me explain why I have no issues with our side “throwing away” points at West Ham and Wolves.

Seven of the twelve players who went on the pitch were at NUFC pre-takeover. These were the Newcastle United players who had the club sitting bottom of the Premier League and heading for relegation.

Therefore, for a squad that contains so many Newcastle United players who were written off as no hopers by so many, including myself, to be performing as they are is in my opinion something to admire.

I really had lost faith that Big Joe, Almiron, Sean and even Fabian, would come good, but how wrong can one man be?

The thing is that no player can be 10/10 every week and it’s just a fact that they will have bad games, maybe bad spells. I worry that when they do have an off day, we have a tendency to go back to our default position from 2021, and feel they are not good enough .

However, the facts are that over the past two years, they have proved themselves to be more than good enough. Ask yourself just how much they have contributed to our resurgence.

Now if we are going to move to the next level and win things, I can accept that some of these lads may find themselves replaced by an upgrade. That’s the nature of the beast.

However, if we end up 5th or 6th this year, I think that may well be the level that our current injury hit squad should achieve.

I for one wont be off to the Tyne Bridge to practice my Tom Daley routine, if I turn out to be correct.

This team have given me more wonderful memories in the past 24 months than I had from the 20 years previously, so I will try and cut them some slack.

Longstaff better than Batty ?

Isak better than Beardsley?

Pope better than Pavel?

It’s all about opinions lads and lasses.