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Punk rockers IDLES scored a number one album a year ago with Ultra Mono while their latest body of work, CRAWLER, was released to further critical acclaim just a few weeks back. There’s been plenty to celebrate, then, for bass guitarist ADAM DEVONSHIRE, who’s hoping he’ll have even more to shout about as his beloved Newcastle United enter a new era…

I grew up in Devon. Which, in footballing terms, could not be further away from St. James’ Park if it tried.

I was around nine or ten years old when I was searching for which team to support. Everyone else was choosing the usual suspects, shown by the various shades of reds of Liverpool, Man Utd and Arsenal around the playground. However, watching the Sunday morning highlights show, I saw the black and white stripes with the bold blue star, and the countless stream of goals being knocked in by Andy Cole in the old Second Division, and was transfixed. I knew then that they were my team for life.

As we all know, it’s not exactly easy being a Toon fan. However, the rollercoaster of emotions makes my love and adulation for the club feel more human and real. I looked at the other kids gloating over yet another Man Utd Premier League title win and just thought to myself: ‘Yeah, but you don’t REALLY love your club. You only support them because they’re winning.’ For some reason I used to firmly believe that the struggle and near-misses littered throughout my love for Newcastle United was what real love and passion for your team entailed. The flirtation with Premier League title wins, the FA Cup final defeats and the incredible Champions League adventures felt more real because we were the underdog against the establishment. I was David Batty, and I was battling against the bigger boys with blood gushing from my eyebrow.

It was truly a glorious time. The attacking, free-flowing and almost gung-ho approach on the pitch filled my heart with joy and my stomach with knots. Even at 2-0 up in the 75th minute, you were never fully confident of a win. I loved every white-knuckled minute of it.

A lot of pundits have recently said that we expect too much. That we are living in a dream world and we aren’t as big a club as we see ourselves. As we all know, that couldn’t be further from the truth. We are starting to see the team play decent, attractive football and long may that continue. Watching the first game of Eddie Howe’s reign, you really sensed that there was a new philosophy being embraced by the players. Watching them take those first tentative steps onto the front foot and have a go at the opposition harkens back to the heady days of the late 1990s and early 2000s – and for that I applaud Eddie Howe and the management team we now have in place.

Finally the takeover has happened, and almost overnight our collective ambitions for our beloved club have shifted from being relegation scrappers to potential world-beaters.

I am hoping and praying we stay true to the roots of what we love about this club and that is, firstly, playing football with a team that cares and a team that tries. The footballing world has evolved from owners of clubs being millionaires to now being multi-billionaires. However, if we can keep the free-flowing, attractive, forward-thinking DNA of the club that we all love intact, then I for one will be a very happy Toon fan.

Seeing us linked with the world’s greatest players in the gossip columns gives a giddy rush, and teenage me loves getting a little carried away about seeing the Mbappés and the Haalands of the footballing world strut their stuff at St. James’ Park; the realistic, slightly worn-around-the-edges me understands that it’s going to take a lot of work and a good number of years before we are at that level. But Rome wasn’t built in a day, and we have to start somewhere. I am truly excited to see where Eddie and his team can take us.

Fundamentally, it’s not ALL about the size of the bank account. I know that it’s easy to say, but it’s true. Money can’t buy you love and it is already fantastic to see some love and care put into the club from the very top. The club deserved so much more than was previously given by those in charge, but we must remember that turning the last 14 years around won’t happen overnight, and that’s okay. I personally would much prefer to see us get our infrastructure in place and compete for years to come, rather than burn brightly and fade away.

First things first though, we need to start winning some games. A quarter of the season has gone by and, as I write, we still haven’t had a single win yet. It’s imperative we get some more points on the board before we start to get too carried away with what superstars we’re going to be signing in the summer. Let’s get some stability after the turbulence of the past few months. Saying that though, dear God, it would be great to finally win a trophy at some point soon though, wouldn’t it?!

Thank you to Pooneh Ghana for providing the picture of Adam.