Sorry if I’ve killed anyone’s excitement | OneFootball

Ahead of Liverpool v Newcastle in the Carabao Cup Final, we are looking to gauge the thoughts of Newcastle United fans ahead of that 4.30pm kick-off at Wembley on Sunday.

So we have asked a number of regular and irregular contributors to The Mag a range of questions.

How they think things are looking ahead of this massive match.

Whether or not they have a ticket for this Carabao Cup Final and what they expect to see happen when Newcastle United meet Liverpool.

Next up we have Oden Hudson:

Ticketed or ticketless for Sunday?

Aye, I’ve got a ticket. I was in pot 2, made sure to enter the cup scheme at the start of the season because I wasn’t on it when we got to Wembley the last time. I’d have been gutted if I couldn’t go again, especially if we end up performing a miracle on Sunday.

What are your plans around the match this weekend?

Going to London the night before on the Caledonian deal, coach back basically straight after the game.

If we lose, I’ll be glad I’m going straight home, but if we win, god knows what I’ll end up doing.

Haven’t planned very far ahead around what I’m doing the day before, I just know its going to be an even more expensive weekend than it has already proven to be.

The old favourite, would you rather win this Cup Final on Sunday or qualify for the Champions League via the Premier League (Obviously bearing in mind the PSR/money side of things as well)?

Win the cup – obviously.

As a Newcastle/England fan, I’ve known nothing but failure on the trophy front my whole life (I’m 22), seeing the mags win a trophy means far more.

Maybe a bit more difficult, would you rather win on Sunday but have no Champions League qualification these next five seasons, or lose on Sunday and have Champions League qualification guaranteed for each of the next five seasons. (Obviously bearing in mind the PSR/money side of things as well)?

If we were still in with a chance of winning another cup within those 5 years, I’d accept defeat with guaranteed Champions League. If it meant no further trophies in that time for certain, definitely not. Newcastle United as a club needs a trophy above anything else.

What would be your starting eleven in the Carabao Cup Final?

Dubravka

Livramento. Schar. Burn. Trippier

Bruno. Tonali. Joelinton

Murphy. Isak. Barnes

I think Trippier is more comfortable on his weaker side than Tino, so I’d start Trippier on the left. He’s played a good few games at left back for England.

As for Dubravka over Pope, Dubravka has been in better form all season, but Pope on his day is one of the best shot stoppers around – bit of a toss up in goal.

Given current injuries and our lack of squad depth, there isn’t much room to be creative with the starting line-up. Part of me wanted to go 343, with Krafth in the back line alongside Schar and Burn, but I think I rate Krafth higher than a lot of the fanbase. I think he’s solid almost every time he plays. Botman is a huge miss.

What would have been your starting eleven if everybody had been available?

Dubravka

Tino. Burn. Botman. Hall

Bruno. Tonali. Joelinton

Murphy. Isak. Gordon

I would have still considered going with the 3-4-3, but with Gordon and Hall available, I wouldn’t have space for Joelinton in that formation. Joelinton is too key a member of our midfield to leave out in a game like this, we need his work rate and energy on a pitch like Wembley.

Toss up between Trippier and Tino, with Trippier more experienced in big games, yet Tino more defensively solid. Trippier would likely come on later in the game if we were needing a goal.

What chance do Newcastle United have of lifting the trophy (rating it between 0 and 10)?

Unfortunately, around a 2.

I got my hopes up the last time we were in the final and it only made the defeat more heartbreaking. Not only is the occasion far greater for our lads than theirs, we are also playing the best team in the country. Even if we turn up at our best, it’s going to take a miracle against this Liverpool side. It’s the hope that kills you, so right now I’m choosing to have none of it. Not trying to be a Debbie downer, but its hard not to be one.

How important was the West Ham match to our chances in the final? Has defeating the Hammers gave us a better (or worse?!!) chance, compared to if NUFC had lost on Monday?

Its probably what shifted the chances of winning from 1/10 to 2/10 – the confidence can only help. Still, we looked far from our best despite the victory, and we will have to play a hell of a lot better than that if we want anything at Wembley.

Similarly, what impact do you think it will have on Newcastle’s chances, what happened at Anfield on Tuesday night against PSG?

Its great that Liverpool were pushed to extra time, the more fatigued they are the better, but I think it will only make them more desperate to rectify the situation, and they’ll be even more hungry to get a trophy under their belt now if anything.

Hopefully its caused a dip in confidence in some of their players, as they were certainly the poorer side on Tuesday.

Who do you think are the three most important players on Sunday and in what order and why?

Alexander Isak Nick Pope Tino Livramento

If Isak doesn’t play well, there’s little to no chance we grab anything. Our goalscoring threat without him is minor, he’s involved in almost every goal we score to some extent and were already missing our 2nd biggest threat in Gordon. Isak is our best player by a mile these days, and has often masked how poor we have been at times this season, so we need him to show at his absolute best if we want something Sunday

As for Pope, as much as I wouldn’t choose to start him, its clear that Howe favours him over Dubravka. Although Pope’s distribution is certainly poor, his shot stopping in some games has been outstanding, and that’s exactly what we need Sunday. We’re going to have to ride out luck and brave some storms if we want to get a result, and a big game from Pope could easily be the difference between defeat and victory.

As for Tino, he will likely have the job of defending up against the best player in the world right now on his weaker side. He has one hell of a job on his hands and Salah is certainly Liverpool greatest threat. Similar to how we are with Isak, they are not the same attacking threat without him, although they’re still less reliant on Salah than we are on Isak.

Looking back at your time supporting Newcastle United, which are the times when you thought NUFC were potentially going to win something?

There haven’t been many (I’m only 22…) but I remember the Europa League run in 2012/13 gave me a bit of hope. Had we nicked a goal late on against Benfica, we certainly could have got a result in the semis against Fenerbahce and gave Chelsea a good game in the final. The League Cup last season too, if we hadn’t conceded late to Chelsea. We would have had a favourable draw against Middlesborough in the semis and Liverpool had a tonne of injuries that final, and they certainly looked beatable. Of course, the final against Manchester United too, but we simply didn’t rise to the occasion.

Would this automatically be the highlight of your time supporting NUFC if they beat Liverpool on Sunday?

Yes, with no contest. My highlights thus far are individual moments and results which ultimately didn’t lead to much. This would trump all of them.

Anything special planned if/when we win this Cup Final?

I have no idea what I will do but I doubt I’ll make it for the coach back to Newcastle shortly after the game.

I’d likely stay out in London and deal with all the problems that may arise the next morning.

Do you think if Newcastle United win this trophy it will live up to what you ever hoped it feel like, or do you think maybe a bit of an anti-climax, as in…is that it?

I honestly can’t even imagine how I’m going to feel and I pray its not feeling like an anti-climax. I can’t imagine it would be, given the joys I’ve felt seeing us win games that mean far, far less.

How would you describe how you feel ahead of this match – excited, terrified, can’t wait, dreading it…?

I’ve subdued myself by basically accepting defeat ahead of time, but as the game draws closer, I grow more and more anxious and terrified. I’m growing more and more hopeful, or deluded, depending on how you see it.

Do you think Eddie Howe and his team have got enough recognition for even getting to the final, considering the fact that in this cup run Newcastle have defeated current top four sides Chelsea, Forest and Arsenal (twice!) just to get to Wembley?

I think we would get a lot more recognition if we were doing a bit better in the league, but overall, I certainly think we deserve a bit more credit. We’ve had a more difficult run to the final than last time and have definitely pulled off some shocks. I think we won’t really get the deserved credit unless we win the whole thing.

In your optimistic moments do you think back to our first game in the competition this season, behind in the penalty shootout at Forest, then think maybe this was all meant to be…?

We had similar moments the last time round, had Pope not saved three penalties in the shootout against Crystal Palace we wouldn’t have got to Wembley last time either. That’s football, you get lucky sometimes. I pray I’m just a pessimist, but every year a team must live the dream round by round only to lose in a final. Tottenham and the Champions League run where they made it to the final arguably the greatest example, given the fairytale run they went on to get there.

How do you feel compared to two years ago before the Man U final?

Much worse – we were a better side at the time, playing against a weaker opponent. The only positive I can really take from that game is that hopefully having some experience in a final under their belt, many of our boys know more so what not to do this time around.

PS Sorry if I’ve killed anyone’s excitement, I truly hope I’m just being a Scrooge and if was written in the stars all along.