If, like my 96-year-old mother, you don’t bother reading headlines but instead go straight to the first sentence of an article, you might be unsure of the answer to this question: Who is the longest-serving member of Newcastle United’s first-team squad?
Those who do appreciate the craft of the sub-editor (unlike Mum, regardless of this being my job for more than 30 years) will already know. With the departure of Jamaal Lascelles last month, Jacob Murphy became the proud holder of that title.
I make no secret of my admiration for Murphy, a late-flowering talent who took what could charitably be called a circuitous route to the top tier of English football.
His various stops and starts since his debut for Norwich City in January 2014 were documented in a tribute I wrote to Wor Jacob 13 months ago.
This is not a rehash of that article, it is a personal appreciation of a man who took his time to excel. Perhaps his progress would have been faster if, having been signed by Rafa Benitez for £12m in the summer of 2017, his first manager at St James’ Park had shown more faith in the wide man.
Murphy made 28 appearances for Newcastle in his first season, many as a sub. My first glimpse, apart from televised matches, was at Wembley, the temporary home of Spurs while the Naming Rights Here Stadium was being built. Last time I checked, those rights were still available . . .
That Wembley game had few highlights for away fans. We lost 1-0 (Harry Kane, inevitably) and a check of the starting line-up shows why that was no surprise. Mo Diame, Ayoze Perez and Dwight Gayle were nominally the front three.
Murphy replaced Kenedy after 71 minutes and produced one memorable moment, cutting in from the left flank at pace and firing a powerful shot towards the far corner. Sadly for him and the Toon Army, it flew maybe two feet over the postage stamp.
I turned to Jean, my Spurs-supporting friend, and pointed out that effort was a lot better than anything we had managed up till then. Good; but not quite good enough. It could have summarised his senior career eight years ago.
There was just the one goal for him that season, in a losing cause at the Etihad. He then spent half a season on loan at West Brom, followed by a full season at Sheffield Wednesday after Steve Bruce had “taken charge”.
The departure of the Cabbage and his replacement by Eddie Howe in late 2021 were pivotal to everything Murphy has achieved since. His current manager would never take any of the credit, so let the player spell it out. He was quoted by the Chronicle on Friday: “Sir Edward came in and you see what I became. Everyone’s always in the debt of Eddie because he’s just fantastic, brilliant and he’s squeezed all the juice out of everybody. I’ve always had a keen attention to detail and he helped that evolution of me. I thought I saw the game pretty well, but then pictures became even clearer under his guidance.”
Read between the lines. Murphy is happy to deflect the praise that has rightly come his way in recent seasons. He is a team player, unlike a certain Swedish striker, the main beneficiary of Murphy’s hard work until the man who shall not be named decided to jump ship.
The winger, whose parents hail from the North-East, is an infectious character in the best sense of the word, always quick to smile, even when setbacks come his way. Has he ever rocked the boat? No. Thrown his toys out of the pram?
Inconceivable! Complained when new recruits have taken his place? Not to my knowledge.
Positivity is a priceless quality, especially in a team environment. It generates energy, while negativity drains it. We all know our supreme leader has a massive workload. I suspect it would be eased if every member of the squad was as low-maintenance as Murphy.
For years he was labelled “a Championship player at best”, often by regulars at St James’ Park.
You don’t hear that claim nowadays. Two League Cup finals, with his perfectly placed back-post header laying on the second goal on March 16 last year for you-know-who. Plenty of Champions League games, capped by his first goal in the elite European club tournament last Wednesday.
Last night marked his 250th competitive appearance for Newcastle United. Again, it was in a losing cause at the Etihad. On Tuesday he will turn 31, when we face Qarabag. Nothing would please me more than to see him make or score another Champions League goal while I am in the stadium. Actually, two would be better than one . . .
Happy birthday, Jacob. You’re a credit to yourself, to your family and to the Toon.