Manchester United will aim to end their six-year trophy drought when Erik ten Haag’s side face Newcastle in Sunday’s League Cup final, while the Magpies’ Saudi-funded revolution will provide the club’s first major prize since 1969. Can do
As underachieving members of English football’s elite in recent years, United hope the showpiece at Wembley can serve as a long-awaited rebirth.
Although enjoying their role as newly wealthy irritants to the Premier League’s established powers, Newcastle believe the final can serve as concrete proof they are now a force to be reckoned with.
United have not won a major trophy since the 2017 Europa League, an award they most recently achieved when they beat Southampton in the League Cup final.
As if their longest trophy drought for 40 years wasn’t bad enough, United also faced the ire of bitter rivals Manchester City as England’s dominant footballing force.
United, who last won the title in 2013, finished a disappointing sixth in the Premier League last term.
But after a decade in the wilderness, he has been revived by Ten Haag since his arrival from Ajax last year.
Crucially, Ten Haag’s handling of Cristiano Ronaldo showed he would not be intimidated by player power, marking the end of the Portugal star’s second spell at United.
“He arrived earlier and the training sessions we had, he demanded ‘you do it or you’re out’. You don’t play,” said United midfielder Bruno Fernandes.
“Everyone was a little bit like ‘If a big player doesn’t do what he wants, will he tear it down or not?’ And he did it many times, he did it with Cristiano, with Jadon (Sancho), with Marcus (Rashford).
There is no surer sign of Ten Haag’s influence than the blistering form of United forward Rashford, who is battling to be fit for Wembley after suffering an injury in Thursday’s Europa League win against Barcelona.
Ten Haag has tried to play down expectations in his debut season but he knows a win this weekend would be a meaningful moment for a club to break out of the doldrums.
“It’s a good opportunity to get the silverware. The fans are really looking forward to it and so we are doing everything possible to give them the respect they deserve.”
‘rewrite the story’
Fueled by the astute management of Eddie Howe and the financial strength of their Saudi-backed owners, Newcastle are unlikely to be a pushover.
Once the laughing stock of the Premier League, Newcastle are emerging as a real force for the first time since Kevin Keegan’s ‘Entertainers’ came so close to winning the title in the 1990s.
It is a surprisingly rapid rise for a team that was stuck in the relegation zone after Howe was hired shortly after his £305 million ($376 million) takeover from unpopular former boss Mike Ashley at the end of 2021.
Saudi’s Public Investment Fund owns 80 per cent of the club, but Howe is the public face of Newcastle’s renaissance.
Despite a recent drop in form, Newcastle are fifth in the Premier League, just two places behind United.
For this weekend, they are focused on winning the club’s first major trophy since the 1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.
Newcastle’s last major domestic prize came in 1955 when they won the FA Cup.
For such a football-obsessed city to go decades without a trophy is cruel punishment for the long-suffering ‘toon army’, who will see Newcastle’s first home final since losing to United in the 1999 FA Cup.
Lastly offering potential catharsis to both clubs, Newcastle look set to start the much-maligned goalkeeper Loris Karius.
Nick Pope’s suspension has given Karius an opportunity to capitalize in his first competitive match in nearly two years.
Karius is best known for his costly howlers in Liverpool’s 2018 Champions League final defeat against Real Madrid.
“It would be a great opportunity for him to rewrite his career story,” Howe said.
“That’s the beauty of football. We never know what’s going to happen. It’s the unpredictability that makes it such a wonderful thing to watch.”
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)