There is only one word that is perfect to use by ourselves for Alexander Isak | OneFootball

Alexander Isak and Newcastle United fans.

Can you believe it?

Is it really only just less than five months ago that the 2024/25 season ended, a season that was the best in living memory for almost every Newcastle United fan that experienced it.

Winning a trophy and qualifying for the Champions League via a top five finish in the Premier League.

When last season ended on 25 May 2025 at St James’ Park, who could have predicted what would come next with Alexander Isak?

The run in to the end of the Champions League qualifying, had seen Alexander Isak score with a late penalty at Brighton to get United a point. The Sweden striker then playing ok in the 2-0 home win over Chelsea, before injury prevented him appearing in the matchday squad at Arsenal, when United lost 1-0.

The final day of the season, Alexander Isak contributed pretty much nothing as Newcastle went down 1-0 to Everton, though he was far from alone in being anonymous that day, as Man U saved our bacon and ensured ourselves, not Villa, finished fifth and would play Champions League football.

Last night, Alexander Isak played in the Champions League.

This is what his manager, Arne Slot NOT Eddie Howe, had to say after the 5-1 away victory over Eintracht Frankfurt:

“Hugo Ekitike got a big chance and he scored it.

“Alexander Isak got a few. Unfortunately, he didn’t score.

“He (Alexander Isak) had to go off at half-time because he felt his groin a little bit. That’s a pity.

“I’ve said it many times, it’s such a difficult balance to find with a player who missed out three months. You bring him slow, you bring him slowly. People also maybe sometimes argue with me if you cannot play him more or more often, no longer. Now we’ve played him for the second time in three days, and unfortunately, he had to go off, so let’s hope for the best. But it’s it’s not an easy balance to find if a player has been out for so long.”

Alexander Isak not scoring a goal (again) and picking up a groin injury (again).

As Arne Slot said, that’s a pity.

Yes, what a pity indeed.

I see countless people, especially glory hunting Liverpool fans online who no doubt would struggle to find Merseyside on a map…, challenging Newcastle United fans for keep talking about Alexander Isak now he is no longer our player. Indeed, alongside pundits and journalists as well, I also see many Newcastle United fans saying we should forget about Alexander Isak, we should all move on.

Well we have moved on, we have moved on to adore Big Nick Woltemade, who has made a stunning start to live with Newcastle United.

Scoring five goals in seven starts so far AND looking an absolute class act when it comes to being a TEAM player. As the saying goes, there is no I in TEAM. The Big Nick link-up play and unselfish work, has been outstanding, the flowing team moves that led to Anthony Gordon goals against Barcelona and Benfica, saw Woltemade at the heart of those moves with beautiful one touch lay-offs.

There is just one word for Alexander Isak

However, part of moving on from Alexander Isak, has many facets.

There certainly is no forgiveness for how he behaved and why should we forget?

That one word for Alexander Isak, that all Newcastle United fans should have in mind is…

Schadenfreude

As Nick Woltemade, or indeed Malick Thiaw, would be able to tell you, schadenfreude is the ‘Pleasure derived by someone from another person’s misfortune.’

This is where we are at with Alexander Isak.

I would argue that it is the duty of all Newcastle United fans to take the greatest of pleasure from Alexander Isak’s ‘misfortune’.

Misfortune that he has absolutely brought upon himself.

If Alexander Isak had kept on training and playing for Newcastle United throughout the summer and the early weeks of the season and quietly informed the NUFC hierarchy behind the scenes of his wish/intention, then insisted on a move in the very final stages of the summer transfer window, Newcastle United fans would have been gutted with losing one of their best players but would have come to terms with. Accepting that he had been at St James’ Park for three seasons, did well for us, helped get so many wins on the pitch and had continued doing that right up to his departure.

However, he instead lit a bonfire and threw his three seasons at Newcastle United on it, then stood by and watched it burn for a couple of months.

The thing is, when people light fires, there can be unintended consequences. Such as the wind changing direction and the flames heading in the direction of the one who lit that bonfire.

How I have loved these schadenfreude flames blowing back on Alexander Isak.

Bonfire night is just around the corner and it looks like it could be well beyond that, before they see their £130m record signing start a match again.

I fell about laughing when hearing Arne Slot talk last night, who knows whether this is a real physical groin injury that the Liverpool player has suffered, or more of a groin injury in the mental sense, where Alexander Isak just might not be fancying going out on the pitch for some time, as we possibly experienced when he was at Newcastle United.

Either way, we can enjoy looking at what has occurred so far, since Alexander Isak lit that original bonfire back in July.

Liverpool and Sweden have played 17 competitive games (including Liverpool’s Community Shield loss to Palace, another Wembley defeat for them…) since then.

Maybe surprisingly, Alexander Isak has featured in 11 of those 17 games this season for club and country, starting seven and off the bench four times. Indeed, since 4 May 2025, Alexander Isak has scored one goal and that was against second tier Southampton.

If you can’t be revelling in the schadenfreude of now Alexander Isak set to go way beyond six months with only that one goal vs Southampton, then when can you revel in somebody else’s misfortune.

We shouldn’t forgive or forget that Alexander Isak deliberately sabotaged Newcastle United’s start to the season, causing so much stress and problems for Eddie Howe, his former NUFC teammates, as well as his former fans.

Isak’s selfish actions have directly helped burn Sweden’s 2026 World Cup finals hopes to a crisp, whilst Liverpool’s recent run of four defeats in a row don’t exactly see him carry no blame.

I could even almost laugh that Liverpool ended up winning 5-1 last night against Eintracht Frankfurt, as numerous other Liverpool players were able to find the net, unlike the fire starter.

The truth is that Liverpool have got an excellent striker who has hit the ground running and is scoring plenty of goals.

After having left him out to accommodate Alexander Isak, Arne Slot did try playing Isak and a recalled Hugo Ekitike in the same team, but difficult to see that continuing, as Salah will surely play most matches.

By the time Alexander Isak is over this latest groin injury, every chance that Ekitike will have made himself undroppable.

Interesting then to see what Arne Slot and Liverpool then do with a £130m Premier League record signing on a very lengthy contract that sees him receive £15m+ a year (£300,000+ a week). The fickle Liverpool fans already appear to have turned against their record signing, the days when they gloried about stealing away Alexander Isak from Newcastle United fans, are now becoming a distant memory.

Or maybe not, because our duty as Newcastle United fans, is not only to remind Alexander Isak about his behaviour and how it has impacted on him, but also to remind Liverpool fans that they should be careful what they wish for, when it comes to their own entitled behaviour.