Newcastle United fans have been handed an award by Sam Matterface, one of the UK’s leading football commentators.
While the opening half of the 2025/26 Premier League season has often been a struggle for Newcastle United, there’s little doubt that 2025 was a remarkable year on Tyneside.
Though turbulent at times, the club enjoyed their best 12 months in the modern era.
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Indeed, Newcastle won a major domestic honour for the first time in 70 by lifting the Carabao Cup in March, before they followed that up by qualifying for the Champions League.
A fantastic year began with a two-legged Carabao Cup semi-final against Arsenal and Matterface believes one game at St James’ Park stood out more than most.
Newcastle United fans told that Arsenal couldn’t cope with the atmosphere at St James’ Park
On New Year’s Eve, talkSPORT released their 2025 awards.
Matterface, who they noted attended more than 110 live matches for them over the course of the year, was asked for his ‘Atmosphere of the Year’.
Of all the games he attended, Matterface chose Newcastle’s win over Arsenal on Tyneside back in February.
He believes that the Arsenal players simply couldn’t deal with the intensity of the crowd.
“St. James’ Park, a special place anyway,” he said.
“It is visceral, it is raw, it is intense, and it is intimidating. And Arsenal actually felt the weight of that that night.”
Eddie Howe’s side were already 2-0 up from the first leg of the semi-final following a victory at the Emirates Stadium in January.
Goals from Jacob Murphy and Anthony Gordon saw off the Gunners and booked Newcastle’s trip to Wembley.
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Much has been made about the atmosphere at St James’ Park this season.
At its best, St James’ is a hostile environment from any opposing team and the crowd is powerful enough to help blow visitors away.
Indeed, Howe has admitted that Newcastle fans are so loud that he can’t hear what his players are saying.
In September, he said: “You look at the game the other day against Liverpool where I’m trying to communicate with the players on the pitch but it’s virtually impossible due to the atmosphere created by the supporters.”
Some may suggest that there has been a downturn in the atmosphere in recent years and that is of course a personal view. No one should be telling fans how to feel.
Nights like the one against Arsenal prove the strength Newcastle can take from their home support.
Hopefully, 2026 gives fans on Tyneside and beyond plenty to shout about.
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