In our hands
Plus: Momentous. Historic. Incredible
A bonus newsletter this week after Thursday’s match. First, some thoughts from me on the Villa game, then I’m delighted we have NNN co-founder Kevin Robinson writing about Blackpool player Jake Daniels coming out - and what it means.
In our hands
It would have been great to win last night, but it was more important we didn’t lose.
Having our fate in our hands is the key and while I don’t think anybody expects Eddie Howe’s Newcastle to roll over on Sunday, being at home gives us a clear advantage.
Leeds go to Brentford. That’s a tough game. The Bees have been very good at home lately, winning three of their last four and keeping five clean sheets out of six. We can’t assume Brentford will do us a favour, but the form guide suggests they can.
We played well at Villa Park, but unfortunately a series of refereeing decisions again helped to decide the game. I’m still not ready to join the ranks of Clarets decrying the entire league as “corrupt”, especially as Ashley Barnes could have easily been sent off.
But for the second game in a row, the goal we conceded should not have happened.
Replays showed there was the clearest foul throw you will ever see in the build up to an unmarked Emi Buendia beating Nick Pope with a powerfully struck volley.
By the way, as harsh as it might be to criticise Pope given some of the other unreal saves he made at Villa - and he has been in supreme form of late - I’m sure he probably feels he should have kept the shot out, especially as he got a hand to it.
Burnley also should have been given a second penalty (can’t believe I’m writing this!)
If anyone can explain to me the difference between the handball Barnes was penalised for at Spurs, when the ball brushed against his bicep amid a melee, and the one Villa got away with last night, please do let me know. I am completely mystified.
The red card for Matt Lowton at the end of the game is a joke too. Lowton is stretching after taking a loose touch but he gets a clean contact on the ball before catching Calum Chambers with the follow-through. It’s not high - it was boot on boot - and not particularly forceful or reckless. It’s arguably not a foul, let alone a red.
As always, it looks worse in slow motion but the last I heard, tackling was allowed.
While we were again grateful to Pope for a string of stunning saves, Burnley contrived to miss a golden chance to snatch all three points at the end, which may yet be costly.
Connor Roberts forced an incredible reaction stop from Emi Martinez in the Villa goal then teed up Wout Weghorst, who somehow saw a shot blocked by Tyrone Mings.
Fair play - it’s a great block by Mings. But any striker just has to put that chance away.
Weghorst doesn’t attack the ball with any urgency in the first place, which gives Mings the time he needs to race out. Then, he hits the shot in literally the only place that Mings can block it. If the shot is lower, he scores. If he lifts it, he also scores.
Some eyebrows have been raised at Barnes keeping Weghorst out of the team but let me ask this: does Barnes score in that situation? He definitely does. Not a doubt.
It doesn’t have to be binary: it’s a brilliant block and a terrible miss at the same time.
The back three/five worked well again and Mike Jackson now has to decide whether to stick with it for the last game, which Ben Mee may have an outside chance to play in.
The 3-5-2 suits a number of our players. Both full-backs can attack more due to the extra cover, as we saw with Roberts for the Weghorst chance, while Dwight McNeil’s long-term future might well be in central midfield. Jack Cork’s legs will be grateful for the additional help in there and Nathan Collins can bring the ball out from the back.
Like Villa, Newcastle pose serious pace in attack with Callum Wilson and Allan Saint-Maximin, who always seems to save his two good performances of a season for when he plays us. We will be in the sticky situation of needing to force the issue in front of a nervous crowd while still remaining solid at the back and knowing that a 0-0 draw might be enough to save us by the skin of our teeth (a very healthy goal difference).
Sunday will be be horrendous. But at least it’s in our hands - that’s what we needed.
Momentous. Historic. Incredible.
Kevin Robinson
When Jamie and I published our special LGBT episode of the NNN podcast in 2016, a professional footballer coming out publicly felt a million miles away.
In response to Andre Gray’s historic homophobic tweets emerging, we spoke to fans, campaign groups, and people within football about the lack of representation for people like me in the mens game.
I hoped to come out of it with optimism and hope for a brighter future just on the horizen. Instead, despite some encouraging stories the overall outlook felt bleak.
Which is why Jake Daniels of Blackpool revealing that he is gay was such a big deal.
Hot on the heels of Josh Cavallo down in Australia last year, we now have two young players heading out of the tunnel as openly gay men for years to come. That’s huge.
Momentous. Historic. Incredible.
Daniels’ statement makes Cavallo’s even more significant, and there’s a very real possibility that a breakthrough is happening.
Each coming out makes somebody else’s that bit easier. I wouldn’t be surprised to see more Jakes and Joshes in the next few years.
Those pros being so open and positive about their sexuality will be genuinely life-changing for so many people. If I had that representation when I was in my teens, I might not have spent my whole 20s wishing I could play football but not feeling safe enough to do so.
I since found gay and inclusive club Village Manchester - and am jetting off to Dublin next week to play in the final of the Gay Football Supporters Network Cup. Wish us luck!!!
But for me I think the conversation is even more powerful than the coming outs themselves. We’ve seen incredible and loud responses from throughout the football and LGBT communities. We’ve allowed gay people within football - from fans to Sunday league players like me - to speak about their own stories online, and across local, national, and international media. It’s impossible to overstate how important it is for young people struggling with their identity, to see these stories being discussed so widely. It will deliver indescribable encouragement, comfort, and belief.
So thanks Jamie, for allowing me to do that here.
It’s a pleasure. Representation has always been important to us at No Nay Never!
That’s it for this Friday newsletter. Back to normal on Monday. Everything crossed…