Wor Flags and Sky Sports are among my personal heroes and villains

Who are your Newcastle United heroes and villains?

We asked some contributors to The Mag if they’d like to talk about theirs, our thanks to The Armchair Fan for taking up this challenge.

He has focused on the Newcastle United heroes and villains of the 2020s in this piece.

Newcastle United hero of the 2020s

One man has achieved something that generations of Toon fans had dreamed of. To guide the club to a first major trophy in fifty-six years was a phenomenal achievement and Eddie Howe will always be an absolute hero for accomplishing something, that deep down many of us never thought we’d see.

It wasn’t just the final (which was absolutely magical), the entire cup run was incredible – knocking out Forest, Chelsea and Arsenal along the way to Wembley glory. On top of this, he’d avoided relegation from a seemingly impossible situation in his first campaign, taken us to a first major final for twenty-four years in 2023 and qualified for two Champions League campaigns where we enjoyed some unbelievable nights, the highlight being a 4-1 hammering of PSG.

Thank you Eddie Howe, my hero of the 2020s and also one of my heroes of all time.

Newcastle United cult hero of the 2020s

We are lucky enough to be blessed with some very selfless individuals in the North East. Volunteers who quietly go about their business, giving up their time for free to help others without expecting anything in return.

My Cult heroes of this decade are the people who go out of their way to help our amazing charities such as the foodbank, Wor Flags, the Sir Bobby Robson foundation that helps fight cancer and the Alan Shearer foundation that provides specialist care and activities for those with complex disabilities. If you are one of the wonderful people who works, volunteers, fundraises or donates to any of the above, then count yourself as one of my cult heroes of the decade.

Newcastle United villain of the 2020s

Someone who should have been a hero of mine having scored the winning goal in a Cup Final.

Going on strike a few months later however, to force through a move away from the club, is unforgivable. Alexander Isak is my villain of the 2020s.

Newcastle United not so obvious villain of the 2020s

As The Armchair Fan, you’d think I’d be delighted with TV companies chopping and changing the fixtures so I can settle in and watch my favourite team on TV, but Sky Sports are my villain of the decade, not necessarily for the reasons you might expect.

Yes, their total disregard for away fans is maddening, yes their pundits and commentators are often substandard, but the thing that really got to so many fans happened in the middle of Covid.

During the pandemic, all of us were suffering through a bleak, uncertain and difficult time. Being able to watch the match on TV (with no fans being allowed in the stadium) was one of the only opportunities some of us had to take our minds off the predicament and allowed a brief respite from the doom and worry surrounding us. TV companies disgracefully tried to exploit our love of the beautiful game by announcing a £14.95 charge per match during a time where many people were up to their eyes in anxiety about whether or not they could afford to pay bills and continue to put food on the table. It was Toon fans who started a national boycott of this scheme by refusing to pay to watch our home match against Man United and donating the fee to a foodbank instead. Other fanbases followed suit and soon £300,000 was being raised nationally for good causes. Sky Sports’ reputation took a battering and all pay-per-view was quickly dropped. When Mike Ashley speaks out about something, claiming it is greedy, then you know you have badly overstepped the mark! Well done to everyone who joined the boycott which gave my villains of the decade a right kicking!

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