Back on track

By Eccy Thump
September 20 2005

Blackburn Rovers 0 Newcastle United 3. It has to be said it is not often that a game six games into the season, starts taking on make or break connotations, but that is how this one felt.

We needed a win, we needed hope, we needed belief, but mostly we needed a midfield. Really the curse of Newcastle United hits again, we buy three world class midfielders during the summer and here we are 6 games in and have none of them, due to Injuries and Suspensions.

I will be honest and say my hopes were not high, as I contemplated the journey to Lancashire.

The journey itself became suddenly complicated, early in the week, when there were rumours of a fuel blockade, so I decided to seek alternative modes of transport, and duly rang to see about trains.

“Hello I am looking to get to Blackburn on Sunday morning,” I said fairly brightly for ten o’clock on a Tuesday morning.

“Where is that then?”, came the rather alarming reply.

“Er Lancashire, its where they found all those holes in the Beatles song,” I added encouragingly.

“What holes?”

“Look the holes do not matter, is there a train or not?”

She went away to check, and I contemplated the fact that not only was I dealing with someone with the IQ of a daffodil; I had forgot to mention there were in fact 7 of us.

In any event it didn’t matter as my mobile went during the several hours I was on hold, with a message saying we were taking the van after all, as one of the lads had the foresight to fill it up, and by the way I owed him 17 quid.

So off to Blackburn we were, I bought a cloth cap and a length of black pudding and practiced my best eccy thump, but stayed just short of buying a whippet as the smell in the van may have finished it off, and I was off to blend in with the good people of Blackburn.

For various reasons, it’s been a few years since I was last at Blackburn, in fact the last time I was there Shearer was still playing for them, so I was quite looking forward to it.

And my how loud were the Toon Army?

The highlight of the first half for Blackburn was probably Robbie Savage’s free kick the highlight of the first half for a Newcastle Viewpoint was probably not conceding from the Robbie Savage free kick, it really was a boring half.

Second half and we have lift off, a trade mark Shearer free kick and we are in business, a few minutes later and Owen sends us into the stratosphere with his opening gaol in a black and white top.

2-0 up and we are cruising then suddenly, Houston we have a problem.

Taylor is given a second yellow for harsh looks towards Bellamy and it’s a general feeling of, Oh god here we go again.

But we had not counting on yonder warrior from the planet Zog, with one of the coolest finishes of the season.

We had done it, and oh how the ride home is sweeter for a victory.

And well done to the Blackburn fans (the ones that turned up anyway, the rest having falling down those holes the Beatles warned us about) for there applause for Shearer.