For the ninth consecutive time, Newcastle leave Wembley beaten

Sixty-eight years and counting. Despite the high hopes of the tens of thousands of optimistic Geordies who converged on London over the weekend, Newcastle’s long wait to win a major domestic trophy goes on. And while that Inter-Cities Fairs Cup triumph in 1969 helped take the bare look off the trophy cabinet in the interim, the second leg of that particular final was played in Budapest at a time when even the most devoted of Mags would have struggled to get a peek behind the iron curtain to see and celebrate the trophy-lift.

While the investment of their sportswashing Saudi overlords ought to ensure Newcastle fans aren’t forced to wait another 24 years for their next final appearance, hopes of using this season’s Rumbelows Cup as a springboard to greater glories were unceremoniously dashed at Wembley yesterday. The travelling hordes from the north-east had come for a party, which was pooped by a Manchester United side that barely had to come out of second gear and upon whom Eddie Howe’s side rarely threatened to land a glove. For the ninth consecutive time, Newcastle left Wembley a beaten team.

“It hurts immensely because you feel like you’ve failed,” said Howe, as the players of Manchester United popped the champagne corks. “You feel like you’ve not achieved what you wanted to do so, naturally, a negative sea of emotion hits you. That’s how it should be in that moment.” Howe went on to hint at another summer trolley dash in the transfer market by pointing out that his current squad contains “some players that might not get back to Wembley”. Of course most of the players in question will know exactly who they are and Howe now finds himself in the unenviable position of having to rally them for a final push for next