As a football fan you can, naturally, have very different feelings about a player when they leave your football club.
It is something, as a long time fan of Newcastle United, that I have had to get used to over the years.
During the Mike Ashley era, you knew that any half decent player we had, would soon be on their way. And given the lack of ambition by the ownership it was very difficult to blame anyone who sought out pastures new.
While the last five years have been the best of my time supporting the club I love, the last 12 months have seen the squad that ended Newcastle’s 70 year trophy drought, break up in quite spectacular fashion.
We’ve seen Alexander Isak go to Liverpool. Anthony Gordon head to Barcelona. Sandro Tonali swap the fog on the Tyne for the bright lights of London ( he’s in for a shock). And finally Bruno Guimaraes, our captain, someone who gave absolutely everything for the cause, decided he had seen enough and headed to the red and white side of North London.
As I said at the start of the article you can have very different feelings about players when they leave your club.
Isak destroyed any legacy he had at this football club with the disgraceful way he engineered his transfer to Liverpool and I took great delight in his struggles during his first season at Anfield. Long may they continue.
Gordon and Tonali? I feel complete indifference towards. Gordon in particular was dreadful during his last two seasons at the club, aside from some impressive performances in the Champions League. I don’t think the team will miss him and I won’t either. We all know that Tonali never really wanted to leave Italy in the first place and hankered for a move back there from the moment he arrived on Tyneside. He said as much in his first major interview after joining Spurs. I bear neither player ill will in the same way I do Isak.
And then there’s Bruno Guimaraes. A player that was so crucial to our team. Someone who was a symbol of everything we stood for. He could be world class, but it was his passion and commitment to the cause that made him a darling of the Geordie faithful. But after a disappointing 12th place finish and having seen so many of his team-mates leave it became increasingly hard to blame our brilliant Brazilian for seeking pastures new.
It’s a shame he’s gone to Arsenal. I can’t stand Mikel Arteta but there is no doubt they are building something special in North London, and look set to challenge for trophies for years to come. At 28 years old and in his prime I can’t bring myself to blame our captain for wanting to win trophies, when our ‘project’ is in such a transitional phase.
And so the first game of the season arrived with Bruno in the starting line up for the Community Shield as Arsenal blew aside Manchester City.
For many it’s just a glorified friendly but it’s the English version of a Supercup and it’s a beautiful trophy to lift.
Bruno looked in fine form during the first half, already looking to have an excellent understanding with Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard.
When I saw pictures on social media of Bruno holding the trophy, my overwhelming emotion was that I felt pleased for him. That I would like this player who left our club to go and achieve everything he wants to in the game.
However, what I think Bruno will come to understand over the next few years, is that whatever he goes on to achieve in the next few years, nothing will top the experience he felt that day at Wembley when he ended our long wait for a trophy and became the first Newcastle United captain to lift a major domestic trophy in 70 years.
‘We go to the pitch as players. We leave as f…ing legends.’
That was the famous Bruno Guimaraes rallying cry ahead of that match against Liverpool. Despite leaving, to me he will be a legend. Far more than Tonali, Gordon and Isak. Good luck Skip.