Newcastle make open-top bus decision years after ’embarrassing’ parades

On Feb 23, 2023

Newcastle United have made their stance clear on whether the club will hold an open-top bus parade following the League Cup final on Sunday.

The flying Magpies are set to go in search of silverware for the first time since 1955 after besting Southampton 3-1 on aggregate to book a spot in the Wembley showdown. But, upon taking advice from supporters and former players, the club will not be holding a parade should Eddie Howe’s side fail to bring the trophy back to Tyneside.

That has been the tradition in years gone by with Toon supporters lining the streets following defeats in the FA Cup to Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool.

According to the Daily Mail, a route is being planned should the Magpies end their 54-year hunt for a major honour, but these plans will be axed should Man Utd go on to bag the first trophy of the season. The decision will come as a welcome one to Newcastle stars dreading a meaningless parade, with Alan Shearer previously blasting empty-handed events as “f***ing stupid”.

“It was like, ‘Do we really have to do a parade the next day?’ Just cancel it, we haven’t got an FA Cup to show off,” he told the BBC. “We did an open-top bus parade after being beaten twice in the cup finals and you think, ‘How f***ing stupid is this?’

“But it just shows how desperate Newcastle fans are for success because there were hundreds of thousands of fans from Gosforth Park to the Civic Centre. It was unbelievable. Absolutely outrageous. Then we had to say thanks at the Civic Centre. It was embarrassing.”

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Man Utd’s 1999 FA Cup victory was the first trophy on their way to a historic treble
(Image: Getty Images)

Alan Shearer slated the open-top parade as “f***ing stupid”
(Image: PA)

Shearer was speaking specifically on the Magpies’ open-top parade following defeat to Manchester United in 1999, when the Red Devils picked up the trophy on the way to a historic treble. Coincidentally, this season’s League Cup final once again pits Newcastle against the Old Trafford outfit, with Eddie Howe facing a goalkeeping dilemma.

Regular shot-stopper Nick Pope is serving the first of a three-match suspension having been sent for an early bath during Saturday’s Premier League clash with Liverpool, after the England international denied a clear goalscoring opportunity when handling the ball outside the area.

With Pope suspended, Howe has been forced into handing third-choice Loris Karius an unlikely debut under the famous Wembley arch. Deputy goalkeeper Martin Dubravka spent the first half of the campaign on loan at Old Trafford and is cup-tied after playing in wins over Aston Villa and Burnley for the Red Devils this season.