Like listening to The Smiths – Please sign somebody soon! | OneFootball

I hope Eddie Howe and Newcastle United sign someone soon, if only to keep some of my friends and people I know happy.

This last week has been like listening to The Smiths down here on the coast.

‘Panic on the streets of North Shields, Tynemouth, Cullercoats, Whitley Bay….I wonder to myself’.

You get the drift.

This is the most important transfer window since Eddie Howe’s first one in January 2022. We were desperate back then, but Eddie Howe with the help of the new Newcastle United owners, didn’t do too badly.

Indeed, the unheard of Bruno Guimaraes, local lad Dan Burn, and experienced England international Kieran Trippier, proved to be inspired buys.

The amount of clickbait doing the rounds has never been worse. These cheap sites and outlets peddling most of the garbage should be given a wide berth, but unfortunately, they reel in many who just want to read any snippet about the Toon.

I too get absorbed in most things related to our club, but am careful to avoid the agent provocateurs on social media, who seemingly know about as much as the next man in the boozer.

In my locals, that tends to me.

I was a canny player in my youth and have always loved delving back into the history of Newcastle United and football in general. Most of my acquaintances know this, so I am regularly asked for my opinions.

I just keep reiterating that we just have to trust in the process and make sure that Eddie Howe is given the sufficient time to bring in the right players.

We cannot afford to make any mistakes in this window with such a massive season ahead of us.

Going back to my love of football from yesteryear, I have recently been watching re-runs of the ‘Big Match’ with my mates in the Fat Ox.

The programmes have been featuring games from the 1975/76 season and I’ve got to say that Brian Moore was the greatest ever footballing anchorman.

One thing in evidence, the pitches have improved considerably from the ‘no man’s lands’ mudfests of the 1970s.

Saturday’s instalment featured QPR v West Ham and I was mesmerised by how comfortable players were with the ball at their feet. Dribbling and taking on opponents were expected by the fans on the terraces.

People rightly say that the game has moved on but some of the players from 50 years ago would still take some beating.

The likes of Trevor Brooking, Stanley Bowles and Supermac’s old England supplier Dave Thomas would still grace the game today.

After the Big Match had finished, Auld Ellas asked me and Dag what our hairstyles were like at the time, and I had to admit that mine was canny long, like the players we’d just watched. Dag is a decade older than me and owned up to being a skinhead.

Half a century on and it’s great now for us following a successful Newcastle United as we continue to grow older.

But if anyone else is getting nervy about any lack of transfer activity by next weekend, or even just bored with it being pre-season, I suggest watching the Big Match.

It’s a definite heartwarming blast from the past and hopefully we’ll be treated to some Supermac, Tommy Cassidy, Micky Burns and Tommy Craig soon.