‘It was unbelievable’ – Gary Neville cannot believe what Newcastle United supporters did at Wembley

The echoes of Newcastle United’s long-awaited Carabao Cup victory still reverberate through English football, with Manchester United legend Gary Neville offering heartfelt praise for the Magpies’ supporters following their emotional Wembley triumph.

Two weeks after Eddie Howe’s side ended their 70-year wait for domestic silverware with a commanding 2-1 victory over Liverpool, the football world continues to reflect on the significance of this watershed moment for a club that had become synonymous with unfulfilled potential.

Neville, who witnessed the scenes firsthand while commentating for Sky Sports, described the atmosphere as nothing short of electrifying.

The former England defender, no stranger to crushing Newcastle’s dreams during his playing days – having been part of the Manchester United sides that pipped them to the 1995-96 Premier League title and defeated them in the 1999 FA Cup final – found himself genuinely moved by the raw emotion displayed by the Toon Army.

“It was unbelievable,” Neville confessed on The Overlap. “The fans behind me… if you could see their faces, the screaming, the veins in their necks… They’d never felt like that in their lives.”

His words capture the cathartic release experienced by a generation of supporters who endured the barren Mike Ashley era, when reaching Wembley seemed an impossible dream.

The victory’s importance transcends Newcastle’s resurgence under their Saudi-backed ownership. As Liverpool icon Jamie Carragher astutely observed, the result represents a positive shift in English football’s competitive landscape.

With Manchester City remaining as the only traditional “big six” club in this season’s FA Cup, Carragher highlighted how Newcastle’s triumph – coupled with Aston Villa’s continued presence in the competition – challenges the established order in ways that benefit the sport as a whole.

“Teams go too long without winning things,” Carragher noted. “It’s not good for the game.” His comments underscore a growing sentiment that English football thrives when its trophies are distributed more equitably, rather than being monopolized by an elite few.

What makes Newcastle’s achievement particularly poignant is the stark contrast between their current success and recent history. The Ashley years saw the club become a byword for stagnation, with even cup semi-finals appearing beyond reach.

Now, under Howe’s transformative leadership, they’ve not only reached Wembley but conquered it – and done so by outplaying one of English football’s most decorated clubs in a performance that arguably deserved a more emphatic scoreline than the 2-1 result suggests.

Neville’s and Carragher’s perspectives as former rivals turned pundits lend weight to the notion that Newcastle’s victory represents more than just a club triumph – it’s a win for football romantics everywhere.

Their acknowledgment of the Magpies’ suffering and subsequent joy speaks volumes about how the sport’s narrative thrives on these moments of redemption.

As the FA Cup prepares to resume with an unusually open field, Newcastle’s Carabao Cup success stands as both inspiration and evidence that English football’s hierarchy remains fluid enough for determined challengers to crash the party.

For a club and fanbase that waited seven decades for this moment, the praise from former adversaries may be the sweetest validation of all.