The sound of DJ Otzi boomed out of St James’ Park on Saturday evening, as Newcastle fans came together to toast Callum Wilson.
He had scored twice in the Magpies’ 4-0 win over Aston Villa, and got an assist too. It should have been a hat-trick for the number nine, but he was denied by the bar.
While Wilson was disappointed he didn’t get a third goal of the afternoon, he must have been very happy with his performance. And he will have been even more pleased when he found out that England manager Gareth Southgate was watching on from the stands.
It’s an important week for the 30-year-old, who will soon find out whether or not he’s going to the World Cup in Qatar. That is his dream, and he certainly hasn’t been quiet about it.
Wilson has been very vocal about wanting to play for England again, and the past few weeks has let his football do the talking.
The £20million man now has six goals in nine appearances this season, with a goals-to-minutes ratio that could win him a place on the plane.
Newcastle fans are pining for him to go to the tournament, and have been roaring him on in recent weeks. And they had a little nudge in the right direction from the Newcastle PA system after the full time whistle on Saturday.
Wilson ‘taken aback’ by Newcastle fans after beating Villa
After Paul Tierney called time on Newcastle vs Aston Villa, music began to boom out of the stadium speakers. But rather than the usual sound of Primal Scream’s Movin’ On Up, it was 2000 pop anthem Hey Baby.
It was the song adapted to toast Alan Shearer back in the day, and now it belongs to Wilson. ‘Hey Callum Wilson, ooh ah, I wanna know how you scored that goal’.
Everyone was singing it, and Wilson has reacted to the scenes inside St James’ Park after the full time whistle.
“I was taken aback when the song came on,” he told the Daily Mail.
“This place is unbelievable. When I first joined, it was lockdown. It was empty, it was eerie. I was just craving that first opportunity to score in front of the fans. There is no better place than playing here.”
St James’ Park really is unbelievable when it’s rocking. It must have been so difficult to play in an empty stadium when Wilson first arrived.
But the noise is back now, and the atmosphere has massively shifted since the arrival of Eddie Howe. While the football on the pitch is a million times better, there have also been subtle changes before and after the games.
Whether it was Howe’s decision or not, the pre and post-match music is much more calculated. The use of Hey Jude gets fans singing loud and proud, while in recent weeks we’ve seen songs directed towards individual players.
There was Hey Baby for Callum Wilson, while Miguel Almiron was recently serenaded too by KC And The Sunshine Band.
And of course, symbolic of where the club is going, after every win we hear Movin’ On Up. With Howe’s guidance and Wilson’s goals, we certainly are.
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