Last night was rotten for Newcastle United but there was one massive positive to take away from Manchester
No matter how you look at it, last night was a low point for Newcastle United under Eddie Howe.
Nobody expected Newcastle to overturn the two-goal deficit, not really, but we didn't expect our lads to go there and plant the white flag on the centre spot either.
In fairness, Newcastle had to go for it; they had no choice, but in doing so, they left themselves so exposed at the back and doing that against Manchester City is only going to end one way.
Going in at the break, 3-0 down (5-0) on aggregate, was not on anybody's bingo card, surely. But it wasn't all negative for Newcastle United.
Newcastle United fans continue to be the best in the world
Man City arguably had the tie wrapped up before kick-off, but at the end of the day, this game was the last one before a trip to Wembley on the way to a potential trophy, and yet you'd think, looking around the stadium and listening to the crowd, that it was just a training session.
Newcastle's travelling fans never stopped singing all game; they were the only fans you could hear at any given time. They sang for the players, the manager, and each other. They were incredible.
Meanwhile, City's own fans couldn't even be arsed to turn up, and those who did couldn't care less.
You can win too much, it seems
So maybe it is 'just' the Carabao Cup, the lowest on the totem pole, and yeah, maybe Man City are used to winning bigger and better trophies, but if you don't celebrate every piece of silverware, why even bother?
The Community Shield is a glorified friendly, but if Newcastle were in it and won it, you'd see a fanbase going absolutely wild.
One Man City fan addressed the criticism of the empty stadium last night, and this was his excuse:
"I couldn’t give two ***** what people say about City’s attendance. City are in 4 cup competitions every season, been to Wembley at least 30 times in the last 15 years, what normal football going fan has got the money to go every single game???"
If you only have enough fans to fill the stadium once over, you've got bigger problems. Where are the fans who can't get to league games? Why aren't they scooping up the cup tickets? There's no logic behind that argument.
If this is what perpetual glory does to the fanbase, you might as well just wind the club up. Football is for the fans, and when they stop caring, your club is dead. I pray that this doesn't happen to Newcastle if we ever get into that kind of position.
