Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe hit new levels of popularity last night - without even realising.
The Toon boss sparked memories of Sir Bobby Robson when conducting his media interviews pitchside when he had to pause the interview to oblige the thousands of fans. Sir Bobby had enjoyed the same warm reception back in 2002 after beating Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
This wasn't a derby win but just as important as the Magpies took another step towards a trip to Wembley. But Howe can now eclipse the legendary boss by reaching a final and dare we say it going one stage further and lifting the first domestic trophy since 1955.
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Nick Pope smashing all the records between the posts
That is now an unprecedented run of clean sheets as since August 2012 when Opta started gathering data! And there are no other examples of a goalkeeper with a Premier League side keeping so many shutouts in 10 straight games in all competitions.
Pope has kept 16 clean sheets in all competitions for Newcastle, with only Leyton Orient's Lawrence Vigouroux managing more with 17! But it's 900 minutes and counting since Pope conceded goal.
After the game Bruno Guimaraes said: "I'd like to say thank you to Nick Pope - he has been brilliant for us. He is the best goalkeeper in the world." He wasn't wrong was he?
Magpies march on as more fans book hotels for final day
Newcastle players operated calmly after the 1-0 win over Southampton and refused to get carried away with the tie only at half-time. But United fans already have an eye on the February 26 final and hotels being booked in anticipation. The Magpies did not go overboard with the celebrations at St Mary's and simply thanked fans for their back on what was a tough night.
Yet there is a massive belief that Newcastle will be celebrating reaching the Wembley showpiece next month. And the supporters have underlined that by getting their preparations ready for the big day.
Hotels in London, especially the Brent area, are already struggling to cope with demand with a Geordie invasion planned at Wembley fo the first time since the year 2000 when they lost in the FA Cup semi-finals.
Of course, Geordies always find a way to get their hotels on away days but Booking.com say that 74% of 2,403 properties are unavailable at this stage. The pricey Hilton at Wembley is also sold out!
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