“We’d been trying to move to the coast for ages. It’s just the best place to live, in my opinion. You wake up every day and see the sea, and these amazing views,” says Rob Elliot, looking out across the vast, glistening expanse of water beyond the grassy verge in front of him. “In the winter as well, it’s magnificent watching the waves come in, and in the summer it’s beautiful and hot. There’s just a lot of character about it.
“It helps you throw yourself into the community. You meet people, you go and do things. There’s nothing better than stepping outside your door and going for a walk to your local coffee shop, or wherever it might be. It’s great for the kids – there’s a playpark, there’s the beach, there’s loads going on.
“In hindsight, if I’d have known, I’d have moved here a lot earlier. It’s great to be where we are now. We really enjoy it.”
Elliot and his young family moved to the coast in January of this year. Sat on a bench overlooking Tynemouth Beach on the right and Cullercoats Bay on the left, it’s easy to see the appeal on a warm, sunny afternoon. The calming effect of living there, he says, is particularly settling after a bad day at the office.
“It wasn’t a great feeling, you’re down and you’re annoyed,” says Elliot, with the defeat at Huddersfield fresh in his mind. “But you go for a walk on the beach and it clears your head, makes you feel positive and you sort of think that actually, you can go and do something about it. It gives you that good, positive vibe to go into training, work harder, to get yourself going.
“There’s definitely something soothing about living by the water. I lived by the river when I was back home at Charlton. I don’t think, now I’ve done it, I could live without seeing the sea every day.”
This coming Wednesday marks six years to the day since the 31-year-old joined the Magpies, making the switch from boyhood club Charlton Athletic. Since then, he’s been dealt the full gamut of emotions, both professionally and personally.
On the pitch, there’s been relegation, promotion, an international breakthrough, ding-dong battles for the number one shirt. Away from it, Elliot has got married, become a parent and dealt admirably with the physical and mental torment brought on by serious injury.
“I didn’t know what to expect, if I’m being honest,” recalls Elliot, now one of United’s longest-serving players along with Tim Krul and Paul Dummett. “I was very young, came from the lower leagues, but it’s been amazing how it’s gone. It took a lot longer than I wanted to get to where I want to be, but that’s life sometimes – you have to just keep working, keep going and keep improving, which I hope I’ve done.
“I’ve been here six years now – I don’t know where it’s gone. I’ve got two kids, I’ve got married, I’ve got dogs, animals galore. I can’t believe how lucky I am in that sense, and how happy I am to be here. I mean that genuinely.
“I don’t think we’ll ever leave Newcastle. I think this is where we’ll settle, regardless of what happens in my career. You know what football’s like – I hope to be here for a long time, but you never say never – but even if we did move away, we’ve had the discussion, that we’d settle here.
“When you have kids, you start looking at the wider picture. Growing up where I grew up wasn’t bad, but it’s definitely much safer up here. There’s more of a community, people look out for each other, and it’s something I want my kids to be brought up around. You feel settled, and I think that helps with football.”
Republic of Ireland international Elliot was 25 when he signed for the club, and had no prior top flight experience. Man-making loans away from The Valley had taken him to Bishop’s Stortford, Notts County and Accrington Stanley in some of English football’s less celebrated reaches, before he became part of a Magpies dressing room brimming with character.
“This is probably where I’ve become an adult. It’s where I’ve settled down, got married, had more responsibilities,” says the father of two. “I was really lucky with the group we had when I first came in, it was unbelievable – big Shola, Willo, Perchy, Ryan Taylor, Gosling, Tim, Steven Taylor. We had a big core group and it helped when settling in. Looking back, I think I was quite lucky in those circumstances.
“Now I’m 31 – 32 at the end of the season – you’re at the other end of the spectrum, where younger kids are coming in and you’re the one who’s been there a long time. People ask you questions – ‘what’s this like, what’s that like’ – so it’s a full swing round, really.
“It’s nice to have been here so long that you feel like you know the club – not as much as the supporters who’ve been here for years, and some of the staff members, like Derek (Wright), Thommo (Ray Thompson) and Tony Toward, but long enough so that you know the place and its recent history.”
Elliot is intelligent, perceptive and open when discussing his own findings from his time at St. James’ Park. He possesses a sense of perspective which is not always common in a sport with a traditionally short-term outlook.
“I think that the trouble some players, younger players maybe, have is that they get caught up on what happened two or three weeks ago. Football is so fast moving – I think if you keep thinking about it and worrying about it, that’s when you get into difficulty,” he says.
“That’s just experience. I think that’s what playing for Newcastle, a big club, teaches you. There have been times when we’ve had criticism which we’ve deserved – we weren’t good enough the year we went down.
“But you have to realise that if you do things right, take it on board, work hard and get a good group together, you can turn it round. You can make a difference.”
Player of the Year in the ill-fated 2015/16 season, Elliot knows what’s required of players, in that they are accountable to fans. He recognises the importance of maintaining the growing connection between those on the pitch and those on the terraces, which developed last term.
“I was a Charlton fan when I was a kid and I ended up playing for them, so I always felt like that gave me a good understanding of what fans want to see from players,” he explains. “No fans like anything more than a home-grown player – you want to see people that you can say you know, or you know someone who knows them – but you also want to see people you can relate to.
“I think with the group we had, with Jonjo, Dwight, Matt, Jamaal, home-grown players who understand who Newcastle are and understand the passion, I think the fans felt there was a bit more of a connection coming back after a tough couple of years.
“We’re trying to carry that on this year, adding quality, and it hasn’t gone as well as we’d like yet.
“But the one thing that I can honestly say about the core group of players here is that you can’t fault their commitment – they always give everything. OK, sometimes we might have to hold our hands up and say we weren’t good enough. You always have to do that as a footballer.
“I had to say that after the Huddersfield game. I wasn’t good enough – but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t mean to try and do everything I possibly could. You carry on, you work to be better for the next game, for West Ham. That’s the mentality we’ve got.”
Elliot’s own connection with the supporters is well established. His public image is that of an approachable, amiable guy, and it stands up. He is friendly, affable and self-effacing, keen to point out that footballers – contrary to misguided popular belief – are just normal people, like all of us.
“One of the most amazing experiences of being a footballer is that you can make someone’s day just by having a conversation, and I still find that really surreal,” he offers.
“I went to the RVI the other day (to unveil their new MRI scanners), and people were happy I’d gone, saying ‘thank you very much’. I was like, ‘well, you’re saving people’s lives every day, and you’re saying thanks for coming?’ I was really embarrassed by that.
“If you can do anything to give something back, that doesn’t involve money, that doesn’t involve publicity or anything like that, then you should do it. I think that stems from being a Charlton fan, and playing for my club, understanding what it means.
“When I came up here to probably the most passionate club you could ask to be at, you understand. You know what the fans expect. It’s not like they expect you to go out and baptise children or anything like that – they just want you to be part of the community and to understand what it means, not just to play for Newcastle but to live in Newcastle and be part of the city.”
As someone who has immersed himself in the local community, and who patently does comprehend all it means to wear the black and white stripes, Elliot’s thoughts on the intense spotlight reserved for all top-level players, and the pressures that comes with that, are compelling.
“I think a lot of players now are out of touch in the sense that from such a young age, they’re not quite kept away from the fans, but because of the high profile of the Premier League now, they almost feel like they’re not allowed to interact, or it’s not right,” he says.
“Maybe that’s the barrier that needs to come down, and maybe the next step is getting that bond between players and fans back. Especially at a club like this, it’s really important.”
The foundations of such a bond, though, are often based on results. United face West Ham this afternoon, with both teams yet to get off the mark in the league.
Elliot has started both of the Magpies’ league games this season – the first time he has begun a season as first choice in his time with the club, his status confirmed by a squad number switch from 21 to one in the close season.
“The whole number one shirt thing was nice. I’m sure it’ll probably mean more to me when I look back in a few years, and hopefully have it up on my wall, to say that out of all the things I’ve done, regardless of what happened, I had that,” he says. “It’s a massive honour, especially with the keepers that had it before me – Tim, who I get on with very well with, Harps the same, Shay who I know from the Ireland connection.
“To get the nod at the start of the season is great, but you can’t sit back on that. You have to cement it and keep pushing on from there.”
If he does that, there could be a further reward to come next summer. The Republic of Ireland are currently joint top of qualifying Group D, as they bid to reach a first World Cup since 2002.
Elliot – part of Eire’s provisional squad for the upcoming round of international fixtures – missed out on last year’s European Championships with a cruciate ligament injury suffered in March 2016.
Aware of the transient, unpredictable nature of a game which can hit you for six at any moment, Elliot isn’t looking too far ahead, but the prospect of going to a first major tournament would be an honour few would begrudge the popular goalkeeper who has taken Tyneside to his heart.
“It would be fantastic to go to a World Cup. I missed out on going to the Euros so to go to a major tournament – especially a World Cup – on a personal level from where I came from to where I am, would be an unbelievable achievement,” he says.
“But it goes hand in hand – if you do well for Newcastle, then hopefully that will lead to things for Ireland. You can’t take too many things for granted.”
