With the ground still sweeping with love for Kevin and hate for Alex…

Tumultuous. That’s the word I decided on to describe today. It’s not just that it’s been a while since Newcastle United embarked on a new era, it’s the fact that for so long it’s felt like an inconceivable prospect.

Eddie Howe was so entrenched in the role and had delivered so much that there was an undercurrent of hope that he could oversee a Ferguson-esque dynasty at the club. This unravelled somewhat over the past year, but it still feels like startling new beginnings to be attacking a PL season with a new man in the dugout and a team that has undergone some transition to say the least.

Pre-match, it was difficult to know what to think.

Pre-season had fluctuated from the underwhelming to the alarming but had Jaissle really established his settled first XI in that time?

Liverpool also have a look of uncertainty around their new era, but the loss of the talismanic Salah is easier to swallow when the likes of Szoboszlai, Wirtz and the man who kickstarted the unravelling of the Howe era are still there to lean on. More on him later.

Before any of these considerations though, there was the emotional coming together of the supporters in recognition of a great man. There are many similarities between Liverpool and Newcastle as places. Head there for a match and you’ll get similar good craic and warm welcomes as I’d hope we afford visitors here. Two working class northern port cities who have had similar highs and lows socially and economically also share a debt to the character of Kevin Keegan.

It may surprise people to hear this but Newcastle United actually had more trophies on the honour roll when KK joined Liverpool and became the key figure in the dominance of the Shankly team, with his final match for the club securing their maiden European Cup. I don’t need to tell anyone of the double transformation the great man performed here in the 80s and 90s but I don’t think there’s any argument that this club (and consequently this city) would have the profile, the prospects or the very stadium it plays in were it not for his incredible contributions.

Wor Flags have put in some incredible displays over the years. The cup final, the Champions League returns and, poignantly, the resonating quote from the great man himself, reminding us we would get our club back from the miserable depths of the Ashley era. However, this may well have been their finest effort yet. The involvement of the Liverpool fans (with due recognition to their own Spirit of Shankly group) made the Leazes End display a thing of beauty, but the Tifo of Kevin draped from the East stand was the clincher that had me on the verge of tears, protecting my bloated face with the conveniently placed sheet of white card. Thank you for both the magnificent display and the modesty sheet.

I would have preferred the intensity of a minute’s silence (Kevin Keegan was nothing if not intense) but applause it was and the uplifting, emotional atmosphere drifted off into a chorus of full-throated abuse as Alexander Isak stepped up to take the kick off.

I wonder if there will be disagreements in future as to whether our cup winning goalscorer deserved this unanimous disdain. If there are, they were a long way from the minds of a modern day record 52,600 crowd as Isak was routinely heckled, barracked and abused every time he dared go near the ball. This may have been up to twelve occasions in total as the Swedish striker phoned in a pathetic performance that makes £125 million feel like highway robbery. I’d be laughing if I didn’t know things could have been so different and maybe for the better for all involved if he had stayed.

Anyway, it was another Swede who was to take the early headlines. With the ground still sweeping with love for Kevin and hate for Alex, a Liverpool attack was snuffed out by a thumping interception clearance from Amar Dedic (magnificent by the way) which released Will Osula on the break. He played a perfectly weighted pass in behind for Anthony Elanga to scamper on to and finish expertly across Alisson. After a good World Cup and a solid pre-season, this is an incredibly positive sign for Elanga as he registered his first Premier League goal in black and white.

This is where the new broom effect kicked in. The Miserable Mag next to me made his usual deduction that we had scored too early and everyone had that sense that we were only going to make them angry and suffering was ahoy. There was absolutely none of this as a display of resolute defending was complemented by vigorous counter attacks and direct play that warmed my little heart. Thiaw had uncovered a piston of a clearance that created havoc with the legs of Osula and Elanga, Sven Botman was actual vintage Sven Botman instead of the disintegrating Inspector Clouseau tribute seen in pre-season and Lewis Hall was as good as last season, with the added bonus of those around him being decent as well. On the one occasion Liverpool slithered through, Hornicek showed his quality in saving Wirtz’s effort, while his assured and powerful kicking was something of a novelty to our crowd.

The standout performer though, was Yoane Wissa, playing in behind Osula and looking every bit the man possessed. Wissa was industrious, gutsy and constantly available as he linked attacks and battled for possession in an unlikely withdrawn role. I wonder what this means for the unused Woltemade but if this is the season we have from Wissa then at least some of the fee from the statue stood at the other end has not been as wastefully chucked as some might have us believe.

Having survived until half time, there was the first of two unwelcome flashbacks to past failings as United started sluggishly and it felt inevitable when Liverpool equalised. Sean Steur was once again great on his PL debut but it may have been his job to close down the space Cody Gakpo found to set, think and pick his spot into the bottom corner. The response to this was another positive as a dynamic substitution saw Ramsey come on and add impetus to midfield, while Joe Willock’s appearance will go down in the history books.

I am not convinced Willock had touched the ball when Thiaw’s clearance released Wissa on the counter, from which he produced a run of dazzling brilliance, shrugging off three Liverpool players in driving from his own half to the edge of the area. There was still plenty to do when he played in Willock, but the surging run, touch and finish into the corner from the edge of the box brought flashbacks of an unplayable, exciting young talent saving our bacon in the times of Covid, so many injuries back. The end of the game saw Willock stay out for an extended applause that suggest Turkey may well be beckoning. You did a job for us Joe, in good times and bad. Good luck if it comes to pass, we’ll always have Paris.

There were moments that screamed promise for the season ahead but bring a wince with hindsight. Wissa got clean through but shot against Alisson, with the rebound falling safely instead of neatly for 3-1. Hall played a sweet cross in that Wissa again couldn’t connect properly with, then moments later Jacob Murphy smashed in the most inviting, stick-yer-foot-out-lads ball into the six yard box only for it to escape untouched. Of course it cost us.

Maybe we’d have seen out the five minutes of added time if Jaissle hadn’t slowed it down to make an extra sub, or if someone had just put their foot through it at some point. As always happens in these situations, Liverpool reacted for that final chance and Lewis Hall’s challenge on Munoz brought a penalty. Of course it did.

Roy Keane came roaring to our defence apparently about how this was a disgraceful, soft decision that the officials want rounding up and flogged for. The reality is that Hall made the sort of contact in the box that we have profited from repeatedly down the years with Gordon in attack and Bruno in midfield. Munoz went down ridiculously but he’d done enough. At least we were spared you-know-who adding to his considerable tally at Gallowgate (well, Leazes) as Szoboszlai knocked in a lethal penna despite Hornicek going the right way.

This was a sickener in itself, but howay. We’d all have taken a point before kick off and if we had any concerns about being dragged into a relegation fight they were surely obliterated by the organised, dynamic and competent display Jaissle was clearly saving up for the serious business. The fact that so many of our erstwhile rivals seem to resemble rolling bin fires across this weekend adds additional hope that this season might be better than a transitional one, especially given the likelihood that this side is still to be boosted by the acquisition of at least one key man.

The week ahead offers the prospect of a useful run out (and a vital win in a competition we are a bit in love with) before visiting one of said aforementioned dumpster combustions, where strong defence and effective countering could prove very useful indeed.

I declare the Jaissle era officially open. I hope he will be inspired by the surely imminent and non-negotiable announcement that one of our greatest managers ever will be getting the statue his time here demands. KK’s presence will always be felt here, so we might as well give it a physical manifestation. Thanks for building the place Kevin, I bloody love you.

Newcastle 2 Liverpool 2 – Sunday 23 August 2026 4.30pm

Match Stats

Goals:

Newcastle United:

Elanga 5, Willock 57

Liverpool:

Gakpo 55, Szoboszlai 90+9 pen

Possession was Newcastle 39% Liverpool 61%

Total shots were Newcastle 13 Liverpool 27

Shots on target were Newcastle 4 Liverpool 7

Corners were Newcastle 2 Liverpool 6

Touches in the opposition box Newcastle 16 Liverpool 36

Newcastle United team v Liverpool:

Hornicek, Dedic, Thiaw, Botman, Hall, Lewis Miley (Bamba 76), Steur (Ramsey 56), Elanga (Murphy 76), Barnes, Osula (Willock 56), Wissa (Schar 95)

Subs:

Jaouen, Toure, Woltemade, Shahar

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