Big club syndrome | OneFootball

I was born exactly nine months after Newcastle United lifted their last piece of major silverware on 11th June 1969, safe to say the auld man over celebrated that night.

I have waited 55 years to celebrate the next piece. This could be the week it changes.

Like most Newcastle United fans I have tried to get through the last few working weeks without being fully consumed by the upcoming Carabao Cup Final.

The office went eerily quiet for Pot 1/Pot 2, heads went down only to emerge with smiling faces and seat numbers/sections being announced triumphantly.

Pots 3, 4 and 5 went almost unnoticed, then the excitement grew again amongst the remaining season ticket holders and members around Pot 6.

Once the dust settled and gripes were aired, my thoughts started turning to the actual reality of a 6th return (for me) to Wembley and the disappointment I have suffered down the years.

I can honestly say I hate the place.

I hated the old Wembley; I hate the new Wembley and will probably hate any future Wembleys.

The fact I have only seen one goal scored and walked away from that stadium dejected every time, is the major factor over the actual arena.

Conversations sprung up over train plans, hotels, Trafalgar square being closed and pre match drinking venues, finally landing on the opposition.

The token Mackem in the office smugly reminding us that Liverpool are a much bigger club than ourselves, thus rendering the whole weekend “a waste of money for us” in his opinion.

This got me thinking about the age old question of what makes a big club.

I have heard numerous arguments.

Some say fan base, some say trophies won, some say history, while all of these may be a reasonable qualification, recent events in our Carabao Cup run have led me to start believing there is one outstanding criteria to be a big club in this country.

Hear me out over this one, in my opinion there are three big clubs in this country, they are, in no particular order, Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal.

The reason is quite simply the press that are associated with these clubs, the bias in the press, related to the three mentioned clubs, is absolutely staggering in the mainstream media.

Case in point, our semi-final with Arsenal, the whole affair was overshadowed with the opinion it was only a matter of time before Isak was in an Arsenal shirt, this continued after the first leg, only stopping after we humiliated them over two legs (it must be the ball).

Following that, our lead up to the Liverpool away Premier League tie at Anfield, all the press was full of Hall to Liverpool, that game lost and now it’s Isak to Liverpool prior to next Sunday’s showpiece.

The amount of headlines designed to unsettle our players prior to the game has been nothing short of scandalous, if you believe what the papers are saying we will see, Hall, Tino, Isak, Botman and Gordon as readymade replacements for outgoing and ageing scousers.

Even though they are struggling at the moment, the amount of ex-players and media related to the club overwhelm everything when playing them. After the recent win at Old Trafford, 95% of the match reports focused on how bad Man Utd were and a token few sentences at the end giving us a slight pat on the back.

I am not saying this is the only qualification in the big club league, but these members of the press have a massive say in the pre-match sway of a game and the way people relate to certain clubs.

Anyway, despite everything, I still head south with enthusiasm, mainly down to the fact I am going with my 21-year-old son who is yet to be tarnished with my 55 years of disappointment. For once, I don’t want to trudge away disappointed into the London night.

I want to stand and celebrate a trophy being passed around a jubilant black and white horde….please, just once.