'Bulldog-like' Newcastle United have glory back in their sights - Spurs and Liverpool should be worried

For Newcastle United, major cup finals are a somewhat sobering experience and have been that way since their last trophy win in the same year man first walked on the moon and The Beatles gave their last ever public performance.

Take the Carabao Cup final defeat against Manchester United of two years ago as a classic example. On and off the pitch, there was a chaotic din that looked set to blow away the cobwebs that have enveloped the St. James’ Park trophy room - but realisation set in, there was a game to win, nervous tension took hold and the spiders were able to get back to work weaving silk over historic silver.

The Red Devils, for all of their faults and failings at the time, were ready for the big occasion. They managed the game and their big players came to the fore, falling back on the experience of numerous major cup finals and all that comes with them. Their supporters, much to the frustration and annoyance of their Magpies counterparts, boasted of their sizeable trophy haul, oozing confidence and belief that another pot was soon to be added. They were right.

Walking out of Wembley, watching shell-shocked Newcastle supporters make their way into pubs with a look of bewilderment, it all felt like a sobering experience. Almost as if the 90 minutes that had unfolded in front of their eyes never actually happened. The occasion, the weekend, the experience was what mattered - but there was understandably little talk of the game itself.

Why Newcastle will carry new hope to Wembley

Enjoy it with friends, share memories of great moments in the past, think of what could be in the future - but the game itself felt like a non-event. As I’ve said on social media, raw emotion and delight at experiencing a Wembley cup final for the first time since the millennium bug was seen off was the primary focus for those in the changing room, those in the stands and those watching on from afar.

However, there is hope. Newcastle, somewhat bizarrely, have shown Newcastle how to cope with the big occasion and the tension-laden affairs that consistent contenders for major silverware have become accustomed. In modern football parlance, Eddie Howe’s side gave a lesson in ‘game management’ and ‘football IQ’ over the 180 minutes of their semi-final tie against Arsenal.

The Gunners are powerhouse of a team under Mikel Arteta, although not at the standards of Arsene Wenger’s sides of years gone by and lacking a striker worthy of such a tag, they are comfortably one of the Premier League’s elite - even if they couldn’t manage to sign a half-decent striker in January.

Yet the Magpies, cast off the shackles of nerve and tension, remained disciplined and focused throughout both legs of the tie and, although it would be a stretch to say progressed with comfort, they were deserved winners by the time ‘Que Sera’ reverberated around their famous old home just before 10 o’clock on Wednesday night.

Unlike at Wembley two years ago, the pre-match chaotic cacophony of noise that bound out of all four corner of St James Park echoed on to the pitch and continued throughout the following 90 minutes. Sam Fender’s trusted saxophonist Johnny ‘Blue Hat’ set the tone with with a performance of ‘Going Home’, a song from the film Local Hero that has become synonymous with Newcastle through the years. Much like one of Fender’s most popular tunes, those of a Magpies persuasion on and off the pitch, were only ‘Getting Started’.

The St. James’ Park factor had Arsenal rattled

St. James’ Park is made for nights like this. Floodlights streaming across the pitch, a clear chill in the air, shadows dancing with every turn and pass and supporters, fresh from a work day and some post-work visits to local public houses, ready to roar and make the Magpies home a hub of energy that could probably fuel the world.

Howe’s side ceded possession to the Gunners for large swathes of the game - but were able to keep Arteta’s troops at bay with relative comfort. Newcastle were angry, in their face and sheer guts and desire oozed out of every player in black and white. A bulldog-like performance from the gritty Kieran Trippier and the energy and intensity provided by captain Bruno Guimaraes set the tone and ensured it remain high until the full-time whistle was blown.

But this Newcastle win was one for the so-called lesser lights, this was a win for the minimal fuss of Dan Burn. This was a win for the relative calm of Martin Dubravka and Fabian Schar. A win for the understated class of Lewis Hall and the effervescence and workmanlike attitude of Jacob Murphy. United’s leading lights such as Isak, Gordon, Tonali and Guimaraes may well take the majority of praise - but this win was down to togetherness, spirit and an ability to keep cool heads in key moments.

Gunners midfielder Declan Rice appeared to lose composure with two questionable challenges within relatively quick succession. Neither were punished - but perhaps it was fitting that the punishment dished out was not a yellow or red card, but the realisation this was not a night for one of English football’s most renowned players and his team-mates. That felt like the moment when Arteta and his players were done.

So what now for Newcastle? At the time of writing, in the blur and haze of the early hours of Thursday morning, with the sound of a pulsating St. James’ Park still reverberating around all corners of Tyneside, the Magpies are still awaiting their second Carabao Cup Final opponents in three seasons.

Whether it be a ruthless Liverpool or a staggeringly unpredictable Spurs, a severe test lies in wait for Howe and his squad. But they have already shown the way to come through a big occasion - now they must replicate that on English football’s grandest stage and ensure the cobwebs are swept away and a long awaited piece of silver takes pride of place at St. James’ Park.

In other news - AI has predicted Newcastle’s summer 2025 transfer window, with a mixture of eyebrow-raising incomings and intriguing exits among the forecast business for the Magpies.