After the highs of 16 March 2025, to the low of 4 February 2026, Newcastle United meekly surrendering the cup we all coveted for so long and relished having in our possession these past eleven months.
In truth, our grip on the League Cup had been loosened on 13 January 2026, the night Manchester’s oil barons swept into town, Rayan Cherki’s goal in added on time a dagger to the heart.
It was only a Micky Mouse cup though wasn’t it?
Try telling that to the Geordie nation, those who painted Wembley black and white, the many more watching on in pubs and clubs back home and the world over, or the estimated 300,000 that lined the streets of the city to see Eddie Howe take the trophy up onto the Moor.
For such a tinpot cup, Arsenal fans seemed particularly pleased when Kai Havertz scored late on to confirm their place in the final twenty four hours before we lost at the Emptihad.
I’m calling the former home of the Manchester Commonwealth Games the Emptihad for a reason, slang for the fact they cannot fill it.
And yet, this is such a big club…their revenues outstripping their not so noisy neighbours; the two Manchester clubs separated by only around £30m in the 2024/25 accounts but both more than twice the Newcastle United revenues last season.
How those levels of Manchester City revenue are generated is another matter and to that end, the 115 Premier League charges that this club with their odious manager are staring down the barrel of, still remain hopelessly outstanding, bogged down in legal manoeuvrings, with no sense of this coming to any conclusion any time soon.
Meantime, they continue to acquire top players with impunity.
Last summer, Manchester City splashed out on two talented keepers, also obtaining the services of Tijjani Reidjners, Rayan Cherki and Rayan Ait-Nouri in the same summer 2025 window. Not content with that, Pep Guardiola did ‘good business’ in the January window that’s just closed, signing two of the top performers in the Premier League, Semenyo and Guehi.
If this comes across as sour grapes, because of the semi final defeat, then fair enough.
But I’m not directing all my ire at Manchester City.
Everyone knows that the gap between the so called big six and the rest continues to widen, a financial disparity that shapes everything from transfer spending to wage bills to the ability to retain and at the appropriate juncture, even ship out top talent, the money generated from that gleefully recycled and reinforcing the status quo.
It might be said that breaking this cycle requires extraordinary performances from both management and players alike, as well as significant investment.
It’s arguable that Newcastle United has benefited from both since 2021 and yet, when it comes down to it, we find ourselves overstretched and in need of a pick-me-up in the form of a Semenyo and a Ghuei that simply isn’t possible.
So what will become of Newcastle United, mired in a system that is designed to stifle projects like the one the new Newcastle United owners had in mind when they arrived on the scene in October 2021?
Without significant change, not a lot.
Can Newcastle United win another trophy in my lifetime? I would think so. If it’s to be this season, we need to win at Villa Park in ten days time.
If and whenever it happens, then realistically, it would likely be one of the domestic cup competitions or one of the lesser UEFA trophies.
Is that such a bad thing? To some of us, probably not, but it doesn’t change the fact that the whole system is unjust.