Chris Sutton has now shared what he really thought about Newcastle United’s secret message on their match report after a derby victory against Sunderland.
After the game, Newcastle posted their match report with each paragraph starting with a different letter that spelled out three Geordie phrases, including ‘UTM’ and ‘HWTL’.
Speaking on the It’s All Kicking Off podcast, Sutton claimed that what Newcastle did was ‘brilliant’ and felt that they had added to the rivalry with Sunderland without crossing any lines.
Sutton thought Newcastle’s hidden message was great
After what had gone all week with Sunderland redecorating their own bar to suit the Newcastle fans, they left themselves open for some criticism after losing the game 3-0.
Newcastle, however, took it to the next level with a brilliant secret message in the report which was just such a clever way of poking fun at their rivals, but as Sutton says, wasn’t crossing any boundaries.
It wasn’t anything incredibly harsh or cruel, but a light-hearted bit of fun that would have only been picked up by those who were looking for something there.
If it wasn’t for social media, the joke likely would have gone over a lot of people’s heads, but thankfully it’s now been spread across the fanbase and topped off a brilliant day for the Magpies.
On the podcast, Sutton said: “This is brilliant, isn’t it? You know I really like petty, I think it’s great. There is a line and they haven’t crossed the line at all. It’s all a bit of good fun. It’s a nice rivalry, ferocious rivalry at times, but nice for both clubs to see there is a funny side. I quite like it.”
Newcastle have been reenergised after derby victory
After what was such a terrible month for football in December, there was an air of negativity around Newcastle and a certain feeling of pessimism that was creeping in again after such a positive two years.
Beating Sunderland in the FA Cup, however, has suddenly given the whole club this huge boost of morale, and it was definitely needed from Eddie Howe’s perspective.
Though it does nothing for them in terms of Premier League position, in which they still sit ninth, it will do the players the world of good just to have that bit of confidence back and remember what it feels like to win such a big game.
They’re certainly going to need all the help they can get when they take on Manchester City this weekend, but with the St James’ Park crowd behind them and at their best then they can be capable of anything.
Receive a digest of our best Newcastle content each week direct to your mailbox
