· 9 July 2025, 09:00
If there was one player I was particularly happy for at the Carabao Cup final whistle, it was Callum Wilson.
The injury-plagued veteran only entered the field in the 81st minute, when Newcastle were 2-0 up and the mission was simple; J_ust Hang On_…
And that we did… _just_. Wilson rolled back the years and belied his perceived fitness issues as he chased down every defender, fought every lost cause, and held off a torrent of Liverpool players at the corner flag; allowing them to kick lumps out of him the whole time. For a player with legs often believed to be made of Weetabix, it was heartwarming seeing the 33-year old put his much-punished body on the line one last time for one of the Black and White army’s biggest occasions in decades.
Callum Wilson: the striker played his part in the climactic moments of the Carabao Cup win
_‘Just Hang On’_ is a phrase that encapsulates much of Wilson’s life and career.
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In a recent interview with the High Performance Podcast, Wilson spoke candidly of his struggles with mental health, and the knife edge he navigated as a teenager, balancing football with the peer pressure of alcohol and partying.
Later in his career as he thought he’d made it to the big time, Wilson ruptured his ACL just weeks after scoring a Premier League hat-trick against West Ham. These two moments would accurately summarise Wilson’s ten seasons in the Premier League; goals galore when he played… yet he didn’t play enough. Of those ten seasons, he only made 30+ Premier League appearances in three of them.
But in a career where his mental and physical health was always pushed to limits, Wilson always did hang on in there. The poignant moment when he looks down at the medal around his neck and speaks the line quoted above; it felt like a perfect ending to Wilson’s time at Newcastle United; and his time as custodian of the immortal number 9 shirt that chartered an incredible rise from the bowels of the Premier League to the Champions League places where fans dared to dream again.
A Poacher’s Instinct with a Fighter's Mentality...
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One of my favourite Callum Wilson games was one in which he didn’t actually score. He managed to do everything but… even losing a tooth for the cause. Arsenal, bright-eyed and resurgent under Mikel Arteta, were dreaming of a top 4 finish after several seasons in the wilderness. Wilson, however, had other ideas. He absolutely bullied Arsenal’s fragile backline, forcing them into a number of errors, especially Ben White’s own goal. There was a nastiness to Wilson that had been lacking in a Newcastle side for years. And we’re not talking about the nastiness of a Joey Barton or Aleksandar Mitrovic that results in a needless red card. We’re talking street-smarts from the back alleys of Coventry, a selfishness to put the ball in the net at all costs, and all with a devilish Hollywood grin.
My OCD will never be happy in the knowledge that Wilson spent an entire season sitting on 49 Premier League goals for Newcastle. And while that 50th goal eluded him, he leaves with a League Cup winner’s medal, a 19-goal season that propelled us into the Champions League after 20 years, and the respect of a Geordie nation that above all, demands a team that tries.
Just hang on in there, Cal. We have the feeling your footballing story isn’t over yet. And when it is, there’ll always be a seat for you at St James’ Park.
_\*salutes\*_.