‘The party’s not over yet’ – inside Newcastle’s celebrations

I don’t even know what time I left Wembley after Sunday’s Carabao Cup final, it was that kind of night.

We left the stadium with my son Will and daughter Chloe to celebrate with the Newcastle players and hundreds of fans in Boxpark on Wembley Way.

Everyone enjoyed the evening’s entertainment, which you just don’t want to end. No-one wanted to go home and, for the first time, I didn’t mind waking up the next day with a hangover either.

Everyone was so excited, and I still can’t stop thinking about the reaction that followed as I watch Newcastle finally win a significant trophy.

As you can see from the photos taken that night, I received Mark Gillespie’s winners’ medal and the team took the trophy, but it’s the feeling that makes everything so special because so many of us had never experienced it before.

Maybe some older people have had it in 1969 when Newcastle won the Fairs Cup but I am 54 and anyone under my age has not had a moment like this.

It was brilliant, new, and it is still not over.

Because I haven’t finished celebrating, I’ll be on a high for a few more days because I haven’t had time to work in a few days due to my international break. The party is going to continue for me – the same as it will back in Newcastle too.

Everybody’s life revolves around football, and every weekend you get a good or a bad week based on the outcome.

Over the past few hours, my phone has been completely crazy, but in a good way. I much prefer having people texting me to say ‘ congratulations ‘ rather than everyone saying ‘ unlucky ‘ which is what happened in 2023 when they lost the Carabao Cup final to Manchester United.

When Newcastle won the game against Liverpool at the end of the final whistle, I had to wait a long to see them win some silverware.

I was lost in the moment, and even when I was doing it, I was unsure of what I was doing. I got that carried away, and it was fantastic.

It was fantastic to attend with my family and friends, to enjoy the occasion, soak up the atmosphere, and of course, enjoy the outcome.

Those supporters have been to Wembley so many times and come away on the wrong side, and I have too.

When we lost the FA Cup finals in 1998 and 1999, both as a fan and as a player, I experienced defeat there.

I adored it this time, and it was different. I can tell you from experience that Wembley is only a place for winners – it’s not a nice place when you lose but we have sampled that and it made Sunday’s victory even sweeter.

Only the final four minutes of stoppage time, which Newcastle had won, caused agony.

Because of who they were playing, it was never going to be easy, but Newcastle managed to handle it very well even when they were under some pressure. They were protecting the ball in the corners, and wasting a bit of time – all that stuff.

At the conclusion of the game, I was left with a few tears in my eyes, and I also experienced some emotional suffering.

At the last minute, I had a few thoughts on my dad, who passed away last year. That was probably what got me emotional because he was a lifelong Newcastle supporter.

I’m pretty sure he would have been staring down while also having a pint of his beer. He would have adored it in every way.

We all ended up sinking a few pints afterwards, joined by some of the Newcastle players, who deserve all the plaudits they are getting. Let’s hope there is more success to come from them because they have only recently etched themselves into the club’s history.

What comes next? Well first I would love to see big Dan Burn make his England debut this week and maybe he can find the Wembley net for his country as well as his club.

When I spoke to him on Sunday night, I had forgotten about his call-up for England because “it won’t get any better than this.”

For him, it’s dreamland to be called up by England and then score at Wembley to win the cup for Newcastle. He is a Geordie hero, as I may have mentioned on social media on Sunday evening. He is from Blyth. You know what, if anyone deserves it, it is him, because he is such a great lad.

Every Newcastle player has his moment, just like he does every other player. By the way, I retired 19 years ago and am still a fan like everyone else, so I have no idea why I’m even remotely jealous of them.

I want Newcastle to win trophies because of where I am from, and it is my club. I told some of the boys on Sunday night that I couldn’t be happier and prouder of all the boys because I am so happy for them all.

Eddie Howe, the party’s boss, and I didn’t speak to him at the party. I just texted him to wish him a wonderful night and a wonderful few days, and to be happy with what you are up to.

Eddie deserves all the plaudits he is getting, because he has been unbelievable for Newcastle. First of all, when you consider where they are in comparison to when he took over in November 2021, when he was 19th in the Premier League and five points adrift of safety after 11 games, and now that he has won the club’s first trophy, which has been a mystery for a while.

He is currently a legend in the Geordie community, and he will be on a legend’s radar right now.

His achievement deserves wider praise, too. Before Sunday, Harry Redknapp was the last player to win a trophy, the 2008 FA Cup, and English managers have not won much in our own game during the Premier League era.

We now have a lot of big clubs, which are demanding success and are spending a lot of money; they also need to win prizes.

Newcastle are one of them, but in under four years they have had to go from being a team fighting relegation to battling it out at the top for silverware, while complying with the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules.

He is regarded as the best English manager in the past 30 years, despite the evidence. People look back on Sir Bobby Robson and Kevin Keegan as two legendary players of the game even when they only think about the people who have led Newcastle during that time, but Eddie has just standing out among those two for his accomplishments at St James’ Park.

Kevin and Sir Bobby were both fantastic for the club and both brought different things, but they didn’t bring a trophy. Fans of Newcastle have long desired that, and Eddie has succeeded in doing it.

Of course, we now desire more of the same. I look at what happened at Chelsea after they won their first trophy under Jose Mourinho, the 2005 League Cup, and at Manchester City when they ended their long wait for a trophy with the 2011 FA Cup.

We don’t know what will happen next, so we can’t say for sure, and there are no guarantees, but I’m really hoping this is the start of something very special for Newcastle in the years to come, and that this trophy will be the first of many.