Before the gates of Mordor! | OneFootball

My favourite book of all time is The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien. I first read it when I was ten and have re-read it almost annually since.

When Peter Jackson directed the film trilogy, I was very dubious at first, having seen some appalling attempts to interpret the tale previously.

However, despite some disappointment over the portrayal of one or two major characters (mainly Eōmer and Faramir) I was pleasantly surprised.

(Stay with me fellow Newcastle United fans…)

In particular, I was impressed by the performance of Vigo Mortensen as Aragorn.

I thought his crowning moment in the series was his speech before the Battle of The Morannon – before the gates of Mordor – where he exhorted the “Men of the West” to stand firm, to remember their oaths and not to despair.

Hold your ground! Hold your ground!

Sons of Gondor, of Rohan, my brothers,

I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me.

A day may come when the courage of men fails,

when we forsake our friends

and break all bonds of fellowship,

but it is not this day.

An hour of wolves and shattered shields,

when the age of men comes crashing down,

but it is not this day!

This day we fight!!

By all that you hold dear on this good Earth,

I bid you stand, Men of the West!!!

As Newcastle United fans, I feel as though we need an Aragorn just now to “rally the troops” and remind us all of the need to stay true to our beliefs and show faith in the cause!

We’ve had a series of setbacks on the road and the morale of our army is flagging to some extent. I don’t think we have a problem with deserters but the faith in our commanders is quite fragile in some sections of our support.

To me, this is a natural reaction and not a cause for panic, knee-jerk reactions and the pointing of fingers – of name calling the doubters and shaming rank and file troops who are expressing their bitter disappointment at what they see as a defeat snatched from the jaws of victory.

Last night’s game in Marseille was another away defeat for the Men of the North East. A comment immediately post-match on TNT’s coverage told us that NUFC’s “poor away form” continues. Well, I would agree that it was a poor result but I would dispute that it was an example of poor form.

In his after match comments featured on The Mag last night, ‘Matt Busby Said To Joe Harvey…’ made the point (emphasised time after time by the co commentators during the game) that it was a great spectacle. An enjoyable game of football with end to end action and both teams carving out good chances – all played in a pulsating atmosphere where, for once, our away support was drowned out by a fervent home crowd.

We had the lead for most of the first half and our game plan;(after an initial but unsustainable period of high intensity pressing) was to allow Marseille to play across the park up to our penalty area and to then look to break away and catch them out. But for a decent performance by their keeper and some indifferent finishing it could well have worked out.

Unfortunately, we were undone by a five minute spell of self-inflicted mayhem initiated by what can only be described as a Kamikaze mission carried out by our keeper. Just why Nick Pope felt that he not only needed to race out of his box but also that he would be able to get to the ball before both Thiaw and Aubameyang, will remain one of the mysteries of life (along with such weighty issues as what exactly did Andrew Ridgely do in Wham?).

Whatever the answer, it gifted Marseille their equaliser – although credit has to be given to Aubameyang for a superb finish. It could well be that that equaliser was the catalyst for Marseille’s revival in the second half and possibly inspired them to create what turned out to be the winning goal. But reaction on The Mag comments section to those two goals was markedly different.

According to most critics, Pope lost us the game. I can see the argument that the goal lifted Marseille’s spirits and made things more difficult for us but it was the equaliser, not the winner. The winner came when two of our best and most reliable defenders were done by Marseille forwards.

First of all, Tino stood off the tricky and dangerous Weah just a little too much and gave him the room to get in a good cross towards the near post. Quite possibly, if that had been in Thiaw’s area it would have been cleared but Schar, marvellous player that he is, didn’t have the pace to get ahead of the 36 year old Aubameyang who was able to nip in with another top class finish.

No brickbats for Tino or the Fab one that I could see last night. Again, understandable as both players are playing their way back after absence and they were done by excellent play by the opposition. But that WAS the goal that lost Newcastle United the match if we want to be technically correct.

So, who was at fault for this result? In the aftermath of a defeat many people look to apportion blame. And where armies are concerned, the leaders will inevitably be scrutinised. Did our Commander in Chief, Eddie, pick the wrong team and tactics? Has he shown too much faith in his favourites? Has he been let down by the financial Wizards of Saudi Arabia?

Or are we allowing the bitter disappointment of an achievable three points apparently being thrown away in four minutes of mayhem to test our faith beyond its limits? These things happen but we needn’t let them define us. We lost a battle but the war continues and we will be better equipped to come out of it in good shape if we stick together and believe in our leadership.

If Aragorn was a Geordie and a Toon supporter, I’m absolutely sure he would be admonishing us to:

I see in your eyes the doubt that will take no part in me.

A day may come when the faith of toon fans fails,

when we forsake our team

and break all bonds of fellowship,