As Newcastle United prepared for their first major final in decades, the air of the miraculous turnaround in just over a year was palpable. Fans, deprived for years, took to Trafalgar Square to celebrate wildly with happiness, hope, and of course expectation. Eddie Howe's magpies were bullish too. They have lost only two Premier League games--both to Liverpool, although, they were coming into this final off the back of the 2-0 home defeat to the Reds in which Nick Pope, their transformative goalkeeper saw red. The chance to end a 54-year wait for silverware surely outweighs the disappointment of losing Pope, even if it meant going with Loris Karius, who is on a redemption program.
The game was a dream, but the result would have given a bitter tang as Manchester United showed superior quality in decisive moments whilst the burgeoning Magpies huffed and puffed but floundered. Newcastle have big characters in their team but a five-time champions league winner like Casemiro in the Red Devils' is telling and his header for the opener set off the pathway to a master class in the art of finals!
To come to this point is massive progress for a once-dying giant like Newcastle, which was gasping for air under the old regime. However, it is also, particularly the defeat at Wembley Stadium, a rude awakening to the brutal world of competition and top-level success. It's like a domesticated dog tasting blood: it'll want more!
Now, that's Howe's challenge, and he was quite bullish and matter-of-factly in his post-match assessment when he admitted some of these players will not make it to Wembley again. In the world of football management, Howe too must recognize the scale. Newcastle fans and owners' expectations can only grow, but the rate now may be spiked by the pain of seeing Manchester United hoist the carabao cup into the Wembley sky! Howe too must see that this is the level, and he may not lead Newcastle's next Wembley expedition if the momentum does not keep gravitating upwards.
So, the next step for Newcastle United is critical to their bid to return as a genuine big hitter in England and subsequently, Europe as they were in the good old days. A top-six finish will be a massive jump from where they were when the new owners came in, but even that may come with a slight disappointment: such is the optimism and competitiveness at St. James' Park these days.
When all the pain settles, there can be a genuine sense of measured pride and laser-focused ambition toward making the positive side of such games familiar again, and getting the trophy cabinet busy too.
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