Leeds’ bizarre Newcastle United taunt, Dan Burn’s Sunderland jibe and fresh injury blow – moments missed

Dan Burn’s Sunderland jibe

Newcastle fans signed off 2022 with another impressive Wor Flags display at St James’s Park. Part of the display included a design submitted by Magpies defender Dan Burn.

Ahead of the match, Burn – along with fellow Geordies Sean Longstaff and Paul Dummett – was tasked to design a new flag in 20 minutes with the brief ‘what does Newcastle mean to you?’ And fans voted for their favourite design on social media.

While Longstaff and Dummett’s designs focused on a medley of landmarks, words and former players, Burn’s winning effort kept things simple and to the point with a tribute to former United striker Shola Ameobi.

Burn’s flag depicted Ameobi wearing knight’s armour along with the caption ‘The Mackem Slayer’ in reference to the player’s goalscoring exploits against bitter rivals Sunderland. The flag was waved in the Gallowgate Stand ahead of the match as the players made their way onto the pitch.

Bruno Guimaraes’ Pele tribute

It was hard to miss Bruno Guimaraes wearing a bright yellow signed ‘Pele 10’ Brazil top prior to kick-off at St James’s Park. The Brazilian was keen to make a tribute to the footballing icon who sadly passed away earlier in the week, aged 82.

While Guimaraes’ on field tribute was a classy one, it was his comments after the match that summed things up perfectly as the 25-year-old described Pele as: “A God of football.

“I wanted to do something for him, he did a lot for us Brazilians. He got three World Cups by himself so it’s amazing and everyone in Brazil is sad about the news. I wanted to do something for him, he was my Grandfather’s favourite player so I’m sad to speak about him in this way because he made Brazilians very happy.

"When football exists, Pele exists and he is the King of football for me.”

An obscure former Newcastle United player spotted in the press box

The press box at St James’s Park often features many notable former Newcastle players. Club legend Malcolm Macdonald is a regular, as is John Anderson with BBC Newcastle, while several other well known faces also pop up from time-to-time.

But there was a surprise visitor for the Leeds United match as former Greek international George Georgiadis returned to Tyneside. The winger signed from Panathinaikos in the summer of 1998 and spent a season at Newcastle before returning to his native Greece.

He made 12 appearances for United in total, scoring once in a 4-1 FA Cup win over Everton. Georgiadis is currently sporting director at PAOK Academy.

And despite his short stay, Georgiadis admits his time in England had a lasting impact.

“It was a great experience,” he previously admitted. “Newcastle’s a great club with great supporters, and it’s a nice city. My family – my children – are Newcastle fans now. It was great.”

Leeds United fans taunt Newcastle

With Sunderland and Middlesbrough in the Championship, a match against Leeds is as close to a local derby as Newcastle get to experience in the league these days. And the packed St James’s Park crowd didn’t disappoint on that front.

Even before the game the travelling Whites fans were attempting to mock the Wor Flags display, and the taunting would continue into the match.

Although Newcastle had the majority of possession and shots, there was little to cheer in the match itself as Leeds frustrated the home side.

The Magpies were 11 games unbeaten and had won their last six league matches going into the game, sitting third in the Premier League table with just one league defeat at St James’s Park in 2022. This saw a section of the Leeds fans take a somewhat misguided swipe at the Toon Army as they briefly chanted: “Where were you when you were s***?”

As many know, the chant is often reserved for clubs who have achieved a disproportionate amount of success following substantial investment and could even be taken as somewhat of a backhanded compliment. But the loyalty of Newcastle fans can’t really be called into question in this case.

Back when the sides met at St James’s Park in the Championship in 2017, the stadium was a sell-out. And the last time Newcastle were in the second tier, they averaged a Championship record attendance of 51,106.

The reaction from the stands following the full-time whistle was also indicative of just how much things have changed at St James’s Park in 2022 as the subdued groans from the home end were drowned out by the cheers from the Leeds supporters celebrating a point. Given the chances Eddie Howe’s side had as well as their form, Leeds had every right to celebrate a point at a ground that has become a fortress in 2022.

A fresh injury blow as Matt Targett spotted wearing protective boot

Left-back Matt Targett was a notable absentee from the bench as Jamal Lewis was given the nod ahead of him. After the match, Howe confirmed a ‘nasty’ injury blow for the defender.

"Matt Targett has a heel problem,” Howe said. “He's been managing it for a couple of months, and it’s got to the point where it’s too painful for him to carry on. When I say a couple of months, I’m including the [World Cup] break in that as well.

"So, yes, disappointing. I think he’s going to be out for a period of time, I’m not 100% sure how long at the moment. It’s a nasty injury.”

Targett was in attendance at St James’s Park for the match as he was spotted wearing a protective boot on his left foot to help aid his recovery.