Football’s dirty word | OneFootball

Loyalty.

The word which provokes upturned lips, tuts, pahs, and weary shakes of heads.

I remember the first time that it scarred, as a certain Mr Fender might croon, for me. Andy Cole was leaving us. I could not wrap my head around the almighty betrayal.

Perhaps it was my 11-year-old sensibilities, or my enforced move from my beloved north-east to ‘darn-sarf’ that were playing with my emotions.

I had seen one of my first heroes make his debut, a substitute away at Swindon Town’s County Ground. For the sake of romance and memory, I try to forget hearing the abuse he got off a small group of his own supposed supporters.

I watched as this unheralded prospect wrote himself into Toon history, an absolute goal machine, loved and revered by all. His partnership with Peter Beardsley, his connection and chemistry with Lee Clark, this man became a Newcastle United icon. And then he left.

Of all places, he went to Manchester United. Man U! Why would he leave? How could he join our biggest rivals? Why didn’t he care like I did?

I had no idea at the time of the behind-the-scenes tensions with Kevin Keegan, or that Cole himself was not the main agitator behind the move. And I was just too young to comprehend that Andy Cole just didn’t love Newcastle United as much as I did.

Almost exactly two years later and Kevin Keegan himself abandoned us. This was even more devastating for me. The Messiah himself, walked away.

My parents are still married to this day, but I could only equate this betrayal to my Dad walking out on my Mam and us!

Later that year, Princess Diana tragically passed, world news. I remember telling my Dad it was almost as shocking as when Keegan resigned a few months before, such was the impact it had on me. “Maybe keep that thought to yourself son!”

As the years passed and I matured, I bore witness to varying degrees of ‘betrayal’. Lee Clark, another idol of mine, joined Sunderland. Bloody Sunderland, agh!

Shay Given left chasing ambition, although he has retained his support for the Toon to this day, indeed referring to “us” when discussing NUFC on media duties.

Les Ferdinand rejected the chance to stay, admittedly after being treated with utter disdain by a certain Mr Dalglish, who had already agreed to sell him against his wishes, before changing his mind due to an injury crisis.

Enrique, Debuchy, Cabaye, Carrol, Ba, Perez, on it went, one-time heroes ditching the club for new pastures (and fortunes!).

And so it is with the latest hero, Alexander the Great, or Isak the rat, depending on who you ask!

Make no mistake, I have been appalled at how this pampered superstar has conducted himself.

But I am not surprised. I am not devastated. I am indifferent. It is a great shame, as this man could have become an adopted Geordie hero.

But that is the key word – adopted.

Alexander Isak has no loyalty to Newcastle United, despite the club being the making of him. He has no sense of what it’s like to ache when the club falters, or the pride of supporting battling underdogs up against the world. He is an employee, paid to wear the shirt.

We should not mourn, he came in, did a job, and moved on. No pride, no love, no loyalty. Just don’t expect any back.

When I think of supporting Newcastle United over my lifetime, I can only really think of one player with any real ‘loyalty’, and that is Alan Shearer.

He could teach a few about that dirty word, loyalty. We move on.