Newcastle United

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Former Newcastle defender John Anderson still believes Nick Pope is better than England's current goalkeepers Aaron Ramsdale, Dean Henderson and James Trafford.

Pope, who has 10 international caps, was not one of the four keepers included in Thomas Tuchel's squad for March's 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia.

Henderson, Trafford and Ramsdale were called up along with Jordan Pickford.

"Pickford is obviously England's number one and rightly so, but I would say Nick Pope is definitely better than the rest of them," said Anderson on BBC Radio Newcastle.

Trafford, who has been linked with a move to Newcastle on multiple occasions, has kept 27 clean sheets in 38 matches for Championship outfit Burnley.

"He is up and coming and has had an exceptional season with Burnley," said Anderson on the possibility of signing the 22-year-old this summer.

"He is young and can only get better."

The Total Sport have also been discussing links with Dean Huijsen and Jack Grealish and you can get that here

With the Premier League top two fairly set in stone and the relegation places all but decided, we asked former England midfielder Fara Williams to pick her final table from third down to 10th.

Nottingham Forest will hang on to third based on what they have built this season in terms of being defensively hard to break down and playing in transitions very well. They are finding ways to win games by playing to their strengths.

I do not think Chelsea are good enough to secure fourth. I have put Manchester City there because they have enough firepower and always seem to finish Premier League seasons really well. They have not been in good form but they have that know-how and still a bit of a fear factor against some of the teams they play.

I have Chelsea in fifth because if Cole Palmer can refind his form they will have a good run of games. Newcastle in sixth - where they currently sit - as I think they will continue on the same trajectory with their run of fixtures.

The rest is really difficult. I have put Bournemouth seventh as their pressing and high-intensity play will see them pick up form again and rise a few places.

I have Aston Villa eighth as their focus will be on the Champions League, then Brighton ninth and Fulham 10th as I do not think their form will improve significantly. They are still impressive finishes.

Having said this, it has never been so close in this area of the table from what I can remember. These teams are likely to finish within one win of each other so much can change on one result.

Fara Williams was speaking to BBC Sport's Nat Hayward

Newcastle have made Bournemouth and Spain international Dean Huijsen, 19, their number one defensive target this summer. (Sun), external

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Anth Young from the Total Sport Newcastle United podcast says his first thought was for his dad when the Magpies won the Carabao Cup at Wembley.

He said: "My first thought was to my dad and how he followed this team home and away. I would have loved to give him a kiss and a cuddle and say 'this is what we've done dad'.

"We are such a big city with one club. You grow up supporting Newcastle - you have nothing else. My dad couldn't afford to take me to games so he took me to reserve games.

"I thought of all of that in that moment. It was a lot to take in and I'm not ashamed to say I absolutely cried when that full-time whistle went."

Take in all the BBC Radio Newcastle audio on the Magpies here

Matty Renton
Fan writer

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Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

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Unless you support a particular team involved, there are some cup finals that can soon be forgotten. The Carabao Cup final at the weekend will not be one of those.

This was instant history that will endure. There was folklore being written and magic being created in front of our eyes.

I wrote in my newsletter last week that this would be the most important week in Newcastle's history for many decades. A win in the league, which was delivered on Monday at West Ham and the defeat of Liverpool at Wembley could lead to a statue of Eddie Howe outside St James' Park one day.

Well, go out and buy that chisel now.

• Not a Newcastle fan? Find and follow your club here

The story was special because of those long years when they had waited and suffered in that football-mad town. There was also the fact that they were huge underdogs against Liverpool and of course there was the local hero Dan Burn scoring an unforgettable header. This will forever be the iconic moment, even though it was not the winner. All this helped crystallise this into a unique occasion.

In reality, it was something else less tangible that made this extra special. It is the Newcastle supporters past and present and how they follow their team. That Geordie army stayed passionate and dedicated to the club after all those years of desperate, unrequited longing for a trophy.

Even when they heartbreakingly lost finals over the years, the fans stayed post-match to cheer the team on and share their sorrow. If you had a look at the other end of Wembley, seconds after the final whistle, the red sea had departed already. The vast majority of supporters for other 'big' teams supporters would have done the same. Newcastle fans are different.

The club may have new wealthy Middle Eastern owners but the celebrations in the wider football world have been for Newcastle United's true 'owners', the fans who have followed them and who represent the best of what supporting a football club should be.

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Former Newcastle defender Steve Howey spoke to BBC Radio Newcastle about the prospect of Dan Burn making England's 2026 World Cup squad:

"He's got every chance. If he gets his opportunity and does well, and I'm sure he will, how many times do we see players get picked when their club form hasn't been the best?

I'm not saying that it hasn't been good [for Newcastle], but managers tend to pick players who do well for England.

"If he can be consistent for England, which he certainly has been for Newcastle, then why not? Yes he's going to be 34, but why not?"

Newcastle United are readying a new contract offer which would mean Sweden striker Alexander Isak, 25, nearly doubling his salary. (GiveMeSport), external

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Charlotte Robson
Fan writer

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Forgive me - I'm not feeling terribly well at the time of writing.

I seem to have come down with a bad case of CUP FEVER. Because after SEVENTY YEARS, Newcastle United, the love of my life, have won a domestic trophy.

We did it and I can still hardly believe it. My voice is gone and I cannot stop smiling (but my head hurts a bit).

The story of this cup win is one that I do not have enough words to tell. It's about Eddie Howe, it's about Bruno Guimaraes, it's about fans and family and community. It is long and romantic and in parts deeply frustrating.

But it has a happy, champagne-drenched ending.

The part of the story I want to tell today is about Dan Burn. Player of the match, opening goalscorer, local lad. England's Dan Burn! What a week he is having. What a season!

We have all said we wanted this group of players to win something because the majority have managed to turn Newcastle's fortunes around under Eddie Howe's leadership. This group just understand fans and give us their all. Nobody typifies that more than Burn.

He is a player who takes his role very seriously. He seems to take nothing for granted. He works so, so hard, even in positions that are not necessarily his strongest and he supports the club.

He thought his England chances were over, but he has played out of his skin this season and Thomas Tuchel has noticed.

When he leapt to head in our first goal on Sunday, I burst into tears. That it was him was pure poetry for me - it is what football is all about.

This player gets to go down in our history as the local lad who helped us break our trophy drought.

I could not be more proud.

I love this club.

Find more from Charlotte Robson at the True Faith: Newcastle United Podcast, external

On the latest BBC Radio Newcastle Total Sport podcast, the team have been reliving the Magpies' historic Carabao Cup win against Liverpool at Wembley on Sunday.

Special guest comedian Anth Young asked Newcastle United commentator Matthew Raisbeck just what it felt like to commentate on the moment when the club won their first domestic trophy in 70 years...

Listen to the full episode with host Raul Kohli on BBC Sounds

We often want to be a fly on the wall in dressing rooms at half-time to hear what managers and coaches are telling the players.

From motivational speeches to stern conversations, every manager has their own style.

On Sunday, Eddie Howe opted to give a presentation to his team that showed their drop-off this season in second-half performances.

And it seemed to work because Newcastle came flying out of the traps again with full intensity and did not let up until the final whistle.

"They were so powerful, sharp and dynamic when they did attack with the ball," said former Premier League striker Chris Sutton on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club. "The energy they had was the way I have always viewed an Eddie Howe team."

Listen to the Monday Night Club on BBC Sounds

Newcastle defender Dan Burn says he has "had worse weeks" after being called up to the England squad for the first time and winning the Carabao Cup in the space of three days.

The 32-year-old was included in Thomas Tuchel's first England squad on Friday, before going on to score the opening goal at Wembley in the Magpies' 2-1 League Cup final win over Liverpool on Sunday.

"I'd definitely say I've had worse weeks," Burn said in his news conference on Tuesday. "I've waited a long time for this opportunity and I didn't want to spoil it.

"He [Thomas Tuchel] said I've been playing well for a long time. I'm not just coming in to be a cheerleader - I want to play.

"You need to be given those opportunities. Now I want to make the most of it and get on the pitch as much as possible.

"I feel like I'm a leader on and off the pitch. I fit into that role. It is going to be tough coming with all the international players, but that's how I feel I can best help the team. I feel I deserve to be here."

Having played in a number of positions through his career, it is still not clear where he might play under Tuchel.

"I feel comfortable [in different positions in defence]," Burn added. "I feel over my career I have played in all those positions. [Under] Graham Potter at Brighton, I played a hybrid role. I have done the same at Newcastle.

"I want to contribute - I don't care where I play. I will play right wing if it gets me on the pitch."

Former Premier League midfielder Michael Brown says Dan Burn's rise from non-league Darlington to winning the League Cup "is an unbelievable story about never giving up no matter how late you start your football journey".

Burn, who also received his first England call-up last week from Thomas Tuchel, cemented his place in Newcastle history by scoring the first goal in Sunday's 2-1 win over Liverpool at Wembley.

"It is a lesson to keep believing in yourself to know that you will get the opportunity," Brown said on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club. "His attitude is fantastic and I am delighted for him."

Watch the full episode on BBC iPlayer or listen on BBC Sounds

We asked for your views on whether Newcastle United's Carabao Cup win has been "tainted by the ownership of the club", after the Newcastle United Fans Against Sportswashing group raised their concerns given the club's Saudi Arabian takeover.

Here are some of your thoughts:

Sty: What a load of rubbish. Newcastle have had the same investment as many other clubs and nobody asks where that money has come from, do they?

Al: I wholeheartedly agree with the sportswashing comment.

Marc: This cup win will not be tainted. A minority non-Newcastle group will not spoil it for the majority. We love Saudi Arabia and Newcastle United.

Rory: Unfortunately everything will be tainted for as long as the Toon are backed by such a brutal regime. I will be celebrating, but it is bittersweet.

Katie: This is being questioned just because someone else is winning. We aren't the only team with questionable ownership. There are other teams owned by Chinese consortiums and other countries with questionable human rights laws. Allow a team that has waited over half a century for success to enjoy it before you start this nonsense!

Stu: As much as I loved watching Newcastle win the Carabao Cup, and something being ticked off the old bucket list, one thing I can't ignore is the Saudi's links to the club and the awful human rights violations. It is probably why I don't buy any of the Newcastle merchandise - I'd be wondering if my money was going towards human rights violations.

Paul: Newcastle have done everything by the book. They have stayed in the guidelines of PSR. How can it be sportswashing when you have the likes of Chelsea spending £1bn on players and Manchester City who are sat on 115 charges for breaking the regulations?

John: Pure and simple, politics needs to be kept out of sport. The only reason this is an issue is because it Newcastle United and not one of the big six.

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Seventy years. That is how long Newcastle United had waited to win another domestic trophy.

And their fans have made up for the seven-decade drought with the way they have celebrated their Carabao Cup final victory over Liverpool.

There has been jubilation, tears, relief, pride - and most of all just happiness.

But for some - and it does not appear to be a view shared widely amongst Newcastle fans - there is a regret to the win.

And that relates back to the club's £305m Saudi Arabian takeover three years and five months ago.

One of the voices raising concerns is the Newcastle United Fans Against Sportswashing (NUFCFAS) group.

"Newcastle United's victory will also be seen as a victory for the human rights abusing regime and their sportswashing project", the group said in a statement.

"We know that it should be a great day for the city of Newcastle, and many will feel that way, but for us it is unfortunately tainted by the ownership of the club.

"Silence on human rights is complicity in the crimes of the regime which owns our club. This is what sportswashing is all about."

Critics points to Saudi Arabia facing years of criticism over subjects such as:

• Human rights violations

• The repression of women

• The criminalisation of homosexuality

• The restriction of free speech

• The continued use of the death penalty

• The 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi

• The imprisonment of activists for online dissent

• The country's involvement in the bloody conflict in Yemen

What do you think Newcastle fans? Do you share these views? Are you bothered by this criticism? Tell us here

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Newcastle United's chief executive Darren Eales has announced the club will celebrate their Carabao Cup win with the fans on Saturday 29 March, with more details to follow.

Reflecting on the triumphant win at Wembley on BBC Radio Newcastle, Eales said: "It was so wonderful for all of the supporters and the whole occasion was wonderful with the scarves and flags and the way the players played from the first minute.

"They were incredible, but at the end you could see what it meant to all of the supporters and this is why we're in the game and involved in football.

"It is all just so exciting and Eddie Howe is just an amazing manager."

Listen to the full interview on BBC Sounds

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Former Newcastle midfielder Rob Lee says Eddie Howe is a "legend" in the city, like all the players in their trophy-winning side.

Lee told BBC Radio 5 Live after Sunday's Carabao Cup win: "Howe has been magnificent. There are not many English managers around at the moment that have won trophies and lots of people have tried.

"In a short space of time he has saved us from relegation, took us to the Champions League, got us to a final two years ago and then got us to a final again and now he has won a trophy. He'll be an absolute legend in Newcastle as all the players will be now."

On the England manager's job Lee added: "As much as I would have hated him to have left Newcastle, if you're thinking of an English manager to manage England there is nobody else but Eddie."

Gary Rose
BBC Sport journalist

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It is 6 November 2021 and a 1-1 draw at Brighton leaves Newcastle second bottom of the Premier League and facing the very-real prospect of a return to the Championship.

Weeks earlier, the club had been taken over by a Saudi Arabian-backed consortium, who talked up the idea of Champions League football and winning trophies.

Despite the optimism among fans about entering a new era, such thoughts seemed a million miles away.

But watching on in the stands that day against the Seagulls was Eddie Howe, Newcastle's soon-to-be-appointed manager who, in just 18 months, would oversee a return to Europe and has now ended their 70-year-wait for a major trophy after Sunday's 2-1 win against Liverpool at Wembley to win the Carabao Cup.

The peak of Newcastle's transformation during Howe's time at the club was to come on Wednesday, 4 October 2023.

That night St James' Park hosted Champions League football for the first time in more than 20 years and a Paris St-Germain team led by Kylian Mbappe was beaten 4-1.

"This was Newcastle United at their best," BBC Radio Newcastle reporter Matthew Raisbeck said. "It will be talked about forever.

"It showed what they were capable of at that moment but also, hopefully, a glimpse of what can be their reality for years to come."

Ultimately, they struggled to compete in both Europe and the Premier League while also dealing with an injury crisis that saw them without 20 players at some points.

A run of one win in seven games from 7 December until 13 January 2024 even saw some talk of Howe being under pressure but their form improved enough to secure a respectable seventh-place finish.

Inconsistency and injuries were an issue again this season but Newcastle have overcome those to end their long wait for a trophy.

"There is a statue at St James' Park of Bobby Robson," former Newcastle goalkeeper Shay Given said on Sky Sports after Sunday's final.

"Maybe they will build one of Eddie Howe."

Read more from Gary about Howe's Newcastle