By European Football
March 27 2006

There is a great Zen saying that runs: before enlightenment chop wood, carry water, after enlightenment chop wood, carry water. In other words life goes on, regardless of your personal take on it, tomorrow is going to come around, you may not want it, you may not even be ready for it, but it’s coming.

Being a Newcastle Supporter gives you a lot of time for spiritual reflection, it’s amazing how much thinking you can do travelling back 350 miles after yet another display of attrition.

The pivotal age in human spirituality was the period between 900 and 200BC or at least according to Karl Jaspers it was, in India, China, Israel and Greece, the great traditions were born that still dominate the human world, monotheism, Hinduism, Confucianism and rationalism. But it is the Buddhist that is most at home on the footballing terraces.

You can’t help but feel a Newcastle away trip made up of Buddha, Confucius, Laozi and Socrates, might be a little light on pre match banter, but it would be Buddha who would be smiling through the pain of a trip back from London with nothing to show for it yet again.

And Newcastle fans are perfectly placed to embrace Zen, with it rejection of all material processions, we have a head start, have we not formally rejected any sort of trophy since Moses was a bairn?

A fourth defeat in a row is a period for sober reflection (or drunken reflection should you prefer) Roeder has done a good job, but his brief was limited and he was never really expected to take us on the road to Shangri-La.

The true question, to the meaning of life the universe and everything (42 in case you’re wondering what the answer is) is who should be the next messiah of the Geordie nation?

O’Neil appears to be bandied about a lot, but I have a problem with the Celtic religions, oh they are very good on the old clogging the ball up and down, but I have my doubts whether it will be any real great improvement on the short lived religion of Souness-ism.

I honestly think we should all pick up our medative broon ale bottles and wor herbal ciggies and turn towards the rising sun that is Hitzfeld.

We need to make a big change, and as we all know big changes come with small steps, but it has to be the right first step.

We have to ask ourselves the question, if a Geordie falls in the trophy cabinet, will he make a noise?

We have to change this, Europe would be a start, but its time for the club to change direction, stop employing managers as a short term fix, bring in a tactician, give him time, be patient, and truly the rewards of the pitch of earthly delights will be once again ours.

And the Geordie will make a noise in the trophy cabinet whether there is anyone there to see him or not.