Newcastle United face huge transfer decisions over England stars who have given their all for cause

The last hurrah comes to everyone. It is called age and is as inevitable as the tide running down to the sea. Footballers however great are caught up by rust and retirement. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi once fought season by season for the Ballon d'Or as the finest player on the planet but are now walking gently down the wrong side of the hill.

Nearer home Kieran Trippier has battled so valiantly to get fit for the Euros because he knows this is his last major tournament with England. It has already proved one too far for a son of the North East Jordan Henderson who served both Liverpool and England well until age took the edge off his game.

It is hard to watch great servants and great players reach the moment of no return. I hated seeing George Best struggle after being not only a footballing genius but the fifth Beatle better looking than Paul and John, George and Ringo. It wasn't wonderful to witness the decline of Gazza, to watch Ian Rush in a Newcastle shirt remembering the ferocious goal king of Liverpool.

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I was relieved to see Alan Shearer smash the Newcastle goalscoring record of Wor Jackie just before he was engulfed by aches and pains.

Now as we prepare to face what next season will bring Newcastle United and contemplate the side Eddie Howe might put out on the opening day after the anticipation of a transfer window I am contemplating the possibility of harsh changes.

One that is possible is the much talked about sale of Callum Wilson, a wonderful servant for our club since he arrived here from Bournemouth way ahead of Howe. He has been an elegant goalscorer regularly topping our charts, a model professional with a wonderful positive attitude, and a deserved England international.

However football is a harsh world that waits for no man and if Callum has been blessed with ability he has been cursed by injury. There comes a time when a club rising from the limitations of a lack of ambition to aim for the stars must decide to replace a player however good and loyal with someone better and more reliable. Therefore Wilson could be sold this summer before there comes a time when there is no financial return.

Which brings me on to my next point. It might be seen by some almost sacrilege to mention it but could we be fast approaching that time with Trippier? Just as he is facing his final hurrah with England could it be that a similar situation is arising with his club too?

Let me immediately nail my colours to the Trippier mast. What he has done for Geordies must never be forgotten. He committed himself to this club when all we were facing was a relegation fight at a time when he had just won La Liga with Atletico Madrid seeing off Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona.

He set the tone for others to follow, as did Bruno in all fairness, and the way he has conducted himself on and off the field has been exemplary. Have we had a better ambassador? A better free-kick expert? A better captain because that is effectively what he has been with Jamaal Lascelles spending so much time out of the side?

However as I have said age waits for no man and Tripps is 34 in September. By his sky high standards he has had a poor 2024 which with hindsight might have been flagged up by his mistakes in December as we approached Christmas. First at Everton when two clangers formed the bedrock for an awful 3-0 defeat at Everton and he then gifted Chelsea their last minute equaliser at Stamford Bridge which led to Newcastle's elimination from the League Cup.

What does not help his cause is the fact that he has a young buck, Tino Livramento, standing behind him who looks a silky smooth quality operator capable of playing regular PL football now never mind in the future. Tino is ready and that is bad news for Kieran.

Of course ask Howe publicly about allowing Wilson and Trippier to go and he is passionately against it. He is a players' manager and will loyally stand by those who have served him well, who have been quality players, and who contribute greatly to the dressing-room togetherness. .

However if United are to be forced to sell senior players this summer because of financial regulations I would like to ask you one question: would you prefer it to be Wilson, Trippier, and Miggy Almiron rather than Alexander Isak, Antony Gordon and Bruno Guimaraes?

Of course I would be happy for Wilson and Trippier to stay even as understudies if it didn't affect United's buying but remember both seriously considered moves away in the last transfer market when United were also happy to unload Miggy to Saudi so inevitably the question will arise again this summer.

This season has produced more twists and turns than Hampton Court Maze and, oh dear, did it hit a low over the weekend. Not only did Newcastle lose their hoped for European place when Manchester United raised their standards beyond belief to win the FA Cup final against four times champions from across their own city but the Magpies returned home having hardly covered themselves in glory or gratitude on the completion of their two-match stay in Oz.

This trip was supposed to be a PR exercise to win fans and hearts globally while building up the club's image and financial clout. However to put out a team without a single player having a PL start to his name and predictably getting thrashed 8-0 by the A-League All Stars could be seen as not only humiliating but massively disrespectful to their Aussie hosts and Newcastle fans Down Under.

I know none of the senior players or Howe wanted the mini tour after a long sapping season which is thoroughly understandable but if the club take the financial inducement you must play by the rules of decency. United fielded a team consisting of their fourth choice keeper and a bunch of bairns including a couple who are actually now released. Ritchie and Dummett travelled to the other side of the world and never kicked a single ball. So why take them?

Boss and board on different pages. A PR trip totally backfired. Add in a simmering player revolt behind the scenes and somebody got it horribly wrong - either the directors for accepting the invitation or the manager for then picking the team he did inviting Aussie offence. More likely both goofed!

A terrible ending with Europe ripped from Geordie hands but United must gird their loins, get on the front foot in the transfer market to restore hope and faith, then come again better than before.