Nobody should describe Kieran Trippier’s time at St James’ Park as plain sailing.
He gained, then lost the captaincy. He endured a rotten few weeks in the 2023/24 season.
Two years after becoming the first Eddie Howe signing on January 7, 2022, Kieran Trippier was on the verge of leaving for Bayern Munich.
Many black-and-white fans would have been happy to see the pocket battleship sail away in early 2024, while wishing him well. Eddie Howe said “no” and Kieran Trippier stayed. As usual, the manager was right. As usual, I was far from alone in being wrong.
Little more than a year after that move to the German juggernauts was blocked, the full-back with the full-on attitude set the tone for the greatest day in his club’s history since the summer of ’69.
Our supporters dreaded one scenario above all others in the weeks, days and hours leading up to last season’s League Cup final. “I just want us to play to our ability,” was the common sentiment. Please, no more repeats of 1974, 1998, 1999 and 2023, when opponents well below their best cruised to victory as we fell woefully short.
Those of us lucky to be there breathed a collective sigh of relief on March 16, 2025 within seconds of the first whistle. We were up for it. This was clearly not going to be another no-show.
Leading by example was Trippier: winning tackles and surging forward, cajoling teammates and organising the defence. United refused to be overawed by the runaway Premier League leaders.
Would we have beaten Liverpool without the experience, skill and nous of the man born in Bury 34 years earlier? I doubt it. We looked destined to finish the first half goalless despite dominating proceedings. Surely, Liverpool would be better after the interval, wouldn’t they? And we all know what happens when a team on top fails to score.
Hopes rose when we won a corner on the left. Trippier struck it, perfectly. Big Dan Burn did the rest, emphatically. Joy unconfined for the 32,000-plus at the other end of the stadium and the millions watching around the world. Time to forget all those innocuous corners that were underhit, overhit or played short to no good effect in the previous four years. He was just lulling opponents into a false sense of security . . .
Without doubt, that Wembley triumph, with Tripps playing an influential role, was the highlight of his time with the Mags.
His debut, one day after being recruited by Howe for the second time in his career, was one of the lows. United were beaten at home by Cambridge despite dominating an FA Cup third-round tie. We all know what happens when a team on top fails to score . . .
Trippier might have been forgiven for sitting in the losers’ dressing room afterwards and thinking: “I swapped Atletico Madrid for this.”
The cup exit was probably a blessing in disguise. It allowed Eddie Howe, his assistants and the players to focus all their resources on an improbable fight to escape the drop.
Trippier played only six Premier League games that season because of injury from mid-February to early May but his importance was considerable on and off the field. A draw and three wins followed the loss to Cambridge. He scored the clinching third against Everton and the only goal against Aston Villa five days later. Momentum was everything. Until he was recruited, we had managed only one win in 2021/22.
Having helped United to finish 11th in that campaign, Trippier played 46 club games in the next as Eddie Howe’s team qualified to play in the Champions League for the first time in a generation. As if that workload were not enough, England called seven times between June 2022 and June 2023, employing him as a left-back more than once.
A total of 53 appearances was asking a lot of any player. For one who turned 33 as we returned to Europe’s elite tournament, the demands were almost intolerable.
We all know what happened in the 2023/24 season. An absurd number of injuries, the 10-month suspension of Sandro Tonali and the added challenge of European matches comprised a perfect storm. Not even pocket battleships are unsinkable.
Defeat in Dortmund in early November was followed four days later by another 2-0 loss, this time in Dorset. When the players approached the travelling Toon Army to thank them for their support against Bournemouth, at least one fan voiced his displeasure.
Trippier asked him rhetorically: “Have you seen how many injuries we’ve got?” Mobile phone footage did the rest, though the player later said: “The fans are emotional, they have travelled a long way. I had a chat with one of them, saying we are giving everything and there’s no need to panic. We got beat and we apologise for that result.”
The defeat by Bournemouth ended a seven-game unbeaten run in the Premier League but worse was to come in December. Elimination from the Champions League, having taken the lead against Milan, was gut-wrenching for players and supporters. Three days later, Fulham were despatched at St James’ Park and three days after that win we were heading for victory at Stamford Bridge in the League Cup quarter-final, having beaten Manchester City and Manchester United in earlier rounds.
Hopes were high of a second consecutive Wembley final. In stoppage time, however, Trippier failed to control a cross at the back post and Mykhailo Mudryk pounced on the mistake to equalise. The fifth-round tie went to penalties. Trippier, never one to shirk a challenge, stepped up and missed the target. When Matt Ritchie’s penalty was saved, Chelsea were through.
He continued to play for and captain the team throughout January and February until succumbing to injury against Wolves in early March. He returned to action in May and in all clocked up 51 appearances for club and country that season.
As for his nemesis at Stamford Bridge, the Ukrainian winger failed a drug test a few months later and has not played a minute for Chelsea since November 2024.
At the start of last season Trippier was replaced as club captain by Bruno Guimaraes. The right-back was no longer one of the first names on Howe’s team-sheet, with Tino Livramento becoming increasingly important. Fate then intervened.
When Lewis Hall was injured weeks before the cup final, Livramento switched flanks and Trippier stepped back into the team.
He not only provided invaluable experience at Wembley, he also enjoyed a renaissance that helped United to qualify against for the Champions League. Having called time on his England career after eight years, 54 caps and one goal, he made “only” 31 club appearances but he gave the supporters some brilliant memories.
My favourite was his persistent and repeated attempt to call forward Jamaal Lascelles for the trophy presentation at Wembley, which eventually succeeded. Trippier is difficult to refuse. The unforgettable sight of three Newcastle United captains lifting the cup in unison was enough to make a grown man cry. Make that men, actually. A lot of them.
Another image that always brings a smile is the pre-match photo, with Tripps standing next to Burn and Nick Pope. A few football websites give Trippier’s height as 5ft 10in, which is almost as ridiculous as the number of tattoos he has managed to acquire over the years.
Do not expect Kieran Trippier to go gentle in that good night, in the words of Dylan Thomas. I’m not saying he will rage, rage against the dying of the light but anyone who assumes the story will end with his departure from St James’ Park is likely to be wrong. He has already played 34 times this season.
In my opinion he has contributed as much as any teammate to what Newcastle United have achieved since January 2022.
Would we have avoided relegation without him? I doubt it. Would we have qualified twice for the Champions League? Almost certainly not. Would we have outplayed, outfought and outgunned Liverpool at Wembley? No.
Good luck in whatever you do, Tripps. You’ve earned it.