John Herbert.

A Reality Check: Remember Where We’ve Come From ​If you’re one of the few seriously calling for Eddie Howe’s head or complaining after tonight, you need a massive reality check. It is time to remember exactly where we’ve come from and how fast we’ve traveled to get here, we are loyal and passionate to the end. ​Look, we have to be honest—yes, Eddie got things wrong tonight and other nights, and yes, players have made individual mistakes. But everyone makes mistakes, from the dugout to the pitch to everyday life. This season hasn't gone exactly to plan in every department, but we should be incredibly proud of how far this club has come in such a relatively short period of time. When you factor in the constraints of FFP and everything else that has been thrown into the mix, what this squad and manager have achieved is nothing short of a miracle. ​Not too long ago, our reality was Mike Ashley as an owner and the soul-destroying grind of the Championship. We were playing away to the likes of Rotherham on a cold Tuesday night, praying for a scrap of ambition. Fast forward to tonight: we’ve just been knocked out in the Last 16 of the Champions League against five-time winners Barcelona. ​ ​The scoreline hurts, but there are levels to this sport. We’ve gone from the doldrums of English football to competing in the knockout stages of the greatest club competition on Earth. We’ve taken the Toon Army from Qarabag in Baku to Marseille, Leverkusen, and PSG, giving a brilliant account of ourselves every step of the way. Tonight, we simply ran out of gas against a world-class machine. There is no shame in that, and anyone suggesting otherwise has a very short memory. ​Now is the time to stay 100% behind the team. The best way to ensure we have a strong finish to the season is to get behind the lads right now. Starting from this weekend, we need to have a really, really good go between now and the end of the season to see if we can get back into Europe and salvage something massive from this campaign. ​The European lights are off for now, and the Tyne-Wear Derby is calling. We lick our wounds, we get back to Tyneside, and we get ready to roar the boys on against Sunderland. Forget the chatter—support the team, back the manager, and let’s win the derby! #NUFC #NUFCNews #Newcastle #EPL #ChampionsLeague