On Sunday afternoon, Newcastle United recorded a 2-1 victory over Liverpool at Wembley in the Carabao Cup. While the League Cup is often derided by many, the victory meant the world to those associated with the north east club.
Newcastle won the game courtesy of goals from local boy Dan Burn and Swedish striker Alexander Isak. A stoppage-time strike from Federico Chiesa made things nervous for Eddie Howe’s team, but they hung on to record a memorable victory.
The Magpies making history
If ever a club was in need of a trophy win, it was Newcastle. The north east team’s last trophy victory came all the way back in 1969 when they beat Hungarian outfit Ujpesti Dozsa in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.
However, their last domestic trophy came in 1955, when the Magpies recorded a victory over Manchester City in the FA Cup final. For a club the size of Newcastle, that is a lifetime.
Some generations of the Toon Army have never seen United lift silverware. The closest Newcastle have got is making it to finals. In fact, they had lost their previous nine major domestic finals.
Of course, under Kevin Keegan, Newcastle was a genuine title contender in the 1990s. However, their glorious failure ended with Manchester United beating them to the crown.
Times have changed at Newcastle
Apart from that, until recently, Newcastle fans didn’t have much to shout about. However, since the takeover of the club by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia in 2021 after the miserable spell under London-based businessman Mike Ashley.
The club was not progressing under Ashley. In fact, they were treading water or even going backwards at times, even suffering relegation from the Premier League. Everybody knows about Ashley’s tenure as Newcastle owner, so we won’t go into that too much.
However, under the new owners, Newcastle United have finally started fulfilling the potential that most people believed they had. The club was waiting to be revived by the right owners, a sleeping giant to quite the cliché.
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The new owners have performed an incredible transformation over their short tenure. There is no more worrying about suffering relegation from the Premier League for the north east outfit. Now, the ambition is to thrive instead of just surviving.
The team finished fourth place in season 2022/23, qualifying for the Champions League in the process. A seventh-place finish the following season wasn’t as impressive, but it was still a higher position than they had finished in for much of Ashley’s reign.
Newcastle are once again in the race for the Champions League this season and could very well be playing in European football’s elite competition. Courtesy of their Carabao Cup victory, the Magpies have already assured European football next season, albeit qualification for European football’s third competition, the Europa Conference League.
The Magpies will definitely have more ambitious plans than qualifying for the Europa Conference League, with qualification for European football’s elite competition still within touching distance. Everybody connected with the club will believe that is the team’s current level and where they belong in the grand scheme of things.
It should just be the start of trophies for Newcastle
The fact that a club like Newcastle United, with its immense and passionate support, has not won a major domestic trophy in seven decades is quite frankly criminal.
Winning any trophy in the English game is difficult, as many of the so-called ‘Big Six’ seem to have a monopoly on claiming silverware. Even winning the much-derided League Cup is a massive achievement, which is why those of the Newcastle persuasion are delighted with lifting silverware.
From a relegation battle to Champions League to Cup winners 🏆
What an incredible job Eddie Howe has done in the last 4 years as Newcastle United’s manager 🫡 pic.twitter.com/5S7T6raNPQ
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 16, 2025
This must be the start of a successful spell for Newcastle United. Head coach Eddie Howe has done an excellent job, helping the team to up the levels of performance over the last few seasons.
As hard as it is to become a major force in the English game, many clubs, including Newcastle, have broken into the league’s top four, which is where every club with big ambition wants to play.
While challenging at the top of the Premier League may be the Magpies’ main focus over the next few years, as proven by Sunday’s victory, silverware is undoubtedly not out of reach for United.
In the team’s current healthy state, it would be a big surprise if it was another 70 years until Newcastle won another domestic trophy. If it is, then something has gone horribly wrong at the highly ambitious north east club.