Contrasting 50-year paths lead Liverpool and Newcastle to Wembley reunion
The Magpies have not won a major domestic trophy since 1955.
Newcastle and Liverpool will meet in a major final for the first time in 51 years on Sunday having embarked upon very different trajectories since then.
On May 4, 1974, the teams went head to head in the shadow of the famous Twin Towers with the FA Cup at stake, and it was the Reds – inspired by Kevin Keegan, who would later establish himself as a hero on Tyneside too – who prevailed.
The trophy held aloft by skipper Emlyn Hughes that day was the 11th piece of major silverware in his club’s history, following eight league titles, a previous FA Cup and a UEFA Cup.
The sides will reconvene at English football’s headquarters in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final with their fortunes having taken starkly contrasting paths during the intervening period.
Liverpool’s trophy cabinet has since been unlocked on no fewer than 40 occasions to accept major prizes, including 11 English titles and six European Cups, the most recent two in its current guise of the Champions League.
Newcastle’s has remained undisturbed.
Not since Bob Moncur was handed the Fairs Cup have they claimed a major trophy, and their most recent domestic success came in the 1955 FA Cup final.
That yawning chasm has extended to very nearly 70 years and the hunger to end the wait is almost tangible in a city which lives and breathes football but has had to learn to live without success.
Where Liverpool have managed to remain relevant as Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City have dominated for significant periods on the pitch, Newcastle have spent 12 seasons since 1974 outside the top flight and have only fleetingly threatened to end their drought.
Twice Premier League runners-up in the 1990s following Sir John Hall’s takeover, they reached League Cup finals in 1976 and 2023 and FA Cup finals in 1998 and 1999, but on each occasion came away empty-handed.
But while the bond between club and fans remained solid on the red half of Merseyside – significantly galvanised during Jurgen Klopp’s nine-year reign of success – the toxic relationship between Ashley and his club’s supporters left deep wounds.
There were wild celebrations on Tyneside when Amanda Staveley’s Saudi-backed consortium successfully completed its takeover at St James’ Park and the investment they have made in the squad since has helped to close the gap on Liverpool and their ilk.
That gap, however, remains sizeable.
Howe was without key defender Sven Botman, combative midfielder Joelinton and in-form striker Alexander Isak – one of the few men to have troubled the imperious Virgil van Dijk in previous meetings – that night and while Joelinton and Isak have since returned, full-back Lewis Hall has joined Botman on the sidelines and Liverpool-born forward Anthony Gordon will miss out at Wembley through suspension.
That said, Mohamed Salah’s absence from the scoresheet was something of a rarity and the fact Newcastle have not beaten Liverpool anywhere in 17 attempts dating back to December 2015 will weigh heavily on Geordie minds.
At the beginning of the season, the Carabao Cup was the least of Liverpool’s priorities and despite their shock FA Cup exit at the hands of Championship strugglers Plymouth, the champions elect have bigger fish to fry.
For opposite number Howe, it would be a first too – but its impact on his club would be much more significant.
