January 11, 2024. A dark and damp Thursday. The day that dreams turned to reality for Newcastle United. The music did not die, but the record changed.
'Every player has their price' screamed the headlines, and the horror was felt as much in the dressing-room as it was the terraces. The mood has not been the same since at St James' Park.
Senior players were 'p****d off' by the admission of chief executive Darren Eales that, if the money was right, any one of them could be sold. Eales, on reflection, was being honest. It was intended to soften the landing of a summer scramble to sell stars and so avoid a points deduction which, privately, the club knew was down the track.