00:00Is Alexander Isak a snake in the grass, or should Newcastle fans thank him for his duties and wish him all the very best?
00:07Papa Pinker's here with 442. Let's talk about it.
00:13Let's start with a reaction that's already bubbling on social media. Betrayal.
00:18The word snake gets chucked around left, right and centre in football,
00:21usually when a player moves from a beloved club to a rival, or worse, abandons a project midway through.
00:27What about your situation, Sol? Will you be staying at Tottenham?
00:31I'm staying.
00:36To Newcastle fans, Alexander Isak is a hero. The first real superstar to arrive in the new era.
00:43A record-breaking signing under the Saudi-led ownership.
00:46It was a sign of ambition. He came in young, relatively unknown to the average Premier League fan.
00:51Most knew his name, but few truly knew what to expect from this lanky Swede.
00:56And since then, he has, without question, established himself as one of the most technically gifted strikers in the league.
01:03He's got it absolutely all. I personally think he's the best number nine in the world. Shoot me.
01:09Isak's journey at Newcastle is very personal to the fans, because they invested in him emotionally, financially.
01:16They backed him through the injuries. They stood by him when he was still adapting to the league.
01:20And when he started dropping defenders all over the gaff and showing shades of prime Thierry Henry, they reaped their rewards.
01:27So when a player like that, who you helped build, who you believed in before the rest of the footballing world caught on, chooses to leave,
01:34it obviously hurts, especially when the timing feels a little bit off.
01:39Newcastle haven't completed the project yet.
01:41They haven't won the league. They haven't exactly made a deep run in the Champions League.
01:45So yeah, to some, this is a betrayal, especially when it's not to a club abroad or a childhood dream, but to Liverpool.
01:52Liverpool. Not a bitter rival, no, but it is still a Mike Tyson-esque punch in the gut.
01:58Because Liverpool are a club that Newcastle are trying to catch.
02:02And it feels like being told, once again, that your best isn't good enough to keep.
02:06And to some fans, it won't matter that Isak never booted off, never disrespected the club or whatever.
02:12They'll see it as abandoning the project, as taking the unconditional love that's been built over the past three years
02:18and trading it all in the moment something a bit shinier came along.
02:23But let's flip the coin because there's always another side.
02:27Since the day Alexander Isak arrived in Newcastle, he's handled himself properly.
02:32No drama, no noise, just football. Really good football, by the way.
02:37And in a league that eats strikers alive, he found his feet relatively quickly, stood up to it and delivered.
02:43And more than goals or assists or whatever stat you want to pull out, Isak gave Newcastle fans something more important,
02:50which is belief. The sense that this team, this club, could compete.
02:54And then came the cup. 25th of March, 2025, a day Newcastle United fans will never forget their first trophy in 56 years.
03:05Everyone on the pitch that day wearing black and white instantly became a legend of the club.
03:10And central to that was Alexander Isak.
03:13That goal that shook Wembley, putting them 2-0 up, he became a god amongst his people that day.
03:35Those are the days us football fans live for.
03:38We talk about loyalty all the time in football, but very rarely do we ask what clubs owe players in return.
03:45Because God forbid Isak tells his ACL tomorrow, Newcastle move on.
03:49That's just the game.
03:51So when a player has the chance to elevate, to go from star to superstar, to compete for the league title,
03:57to compete for the Champions League and earn more money, can you really fool him?
04:02And it's not like he's jumping ship after a year.
04:04He's stayed through the injuries, adapted to how a system, became a god like I just mentioned,
04:09and gave the club their most successful period in generations.
04:13Now let's zoom out a little bit, because this isn't just a Newcastle problem, or a Liverpool problem,
04:18or even an Alexander Isak problem.
04:20This is a football problem, a hierarchy, a pyramid.
04:24At the top are just two clubs, Real Madrid and Barcelona.
04:27You could throw Bayern in there historically, but even they lost Lewandowski to Barca,
04:32and struggled to keep some top players from heading to Spain or the Premier League.
04:36Madrid and Barca sit in a tier of their own.
04:39They are the apex predators of the football ecosystem.
04:43Think Hazard from Chelsea, Ronaldo from United, Suarez from Liverpool, more recently Trent of course.
04:50Clubs that are absolutely humongous in their own right, have and continue to lose players to these two.
04:56So let's be real, no club is safe, and players aren't loyal the way they used to be.
05:01Not because they're selfish, but because the game isn't built that way anymore.
05:05Gone are the days of your Totties and Gerrards and Maldinis.
05:09The modern player is a brand.
05:11They go where the lights are brightest, where the contracts are the longest,
05:15and where the trophies are more than hypothetical.
05:18And Newcastle, despite the money and the ongoing project they've got going on,
05:22just aren't at that level yet.
05:24So what does ESAC's move, if it happens, actually mean?
05:27Well, it's a massive loss, no doubt.
05:30But it's also a test, a moment of truth for the ownership, for Eddie Howe and for the fans.
05:36This is where you find out what kind of club you are.
05:39Do you spiral like Spurs did after losing Kane?
05:42Or do you reinvest like Liverpool did post-Coutinho?
05:45Do you find a system over a star, like Brighton seem to do mostly every year?
05:50The blueprint exists, and maybe, just maybe, the sale itself is a part of the process.
05:56Because if Liverpool are offering £150 million for ESAC,
06:00you can turn that into two, or three, even four elite prospects,
06:05and build a squad with world-class depth.
06:07Sometimes that's how you evolve.
06:09Newcastle aren't used to being raided, but they'll have to get used to it,
06:14because this is what climbing the ladder looks like.
06:16The moment you're good enough to have elite players, you're at risk of losing them.
06:20It's simply the price of ambition.
06:23So, is Alexander ESAC a snake?
06:26I know it's not entirely for me to say I'm not a Newcastle fan,
06:30I don't carry the same emotional weight,
06:32and I can't sit here and pretend to feel it the way that they do.
06:35But still, for me, the answer is no.
06:38Let me explain why, and I'm going to go a little bit deep here.
06:43Football is something a lot of us use as an escape.
06:47Life is hard.
06:48Work, stress, family, bills, the lot.
06:52So we turn to the game for something else.
06:54We pay our hard-earned money to watch them.
06:56We follow them, support them, defend them.
06:59And when one of them truly delivers and connects with the club,
07:02the people, it just means so much to us.
07:06That's what ESAC has done at Newcastle.
07:08It gave the fans unbelievable memories that will live with them until the day they die.
07:13But here's the truth.
07:14Footballers aren't yours forever.
07:16They never were.
07:17Some get sold, some retire, some chase trophies.
07:21And some, like ESAC, might just outgrow what you're building at the moment.
07:25That doesn't make them villains.
07:27That makes them professionals.
07:28Humans.
07:29People trying to make the most out of a very short, high-pressure career.
07:34So when ESAC eventually leaves, if he does, it won't be because he doesn't care.
07:38It won't be because he disrespected the club or the fans.
07:42It will be because this is football and that's just how it works.
07:45He's given you his best so far.
07:47He gave you a trophy.
07:48He played with class.
07:50He made it fun again.
07:52You don't have to love it.
07:53You don't have to smile and applaud.
07:55But it's okay to let someone go with a bit of respect.
07:58Especially someone who gave you moments you will never forget.
08:02Life is way too short to hate on someone for leaving your football club,
08:06having given everything they've got.
08:08That's just my opinion.
08:09I'm open to hearing yours in the comments below.
08:12Is ESAC a snake?
08:13Or should he be remembered as a legend?
08:15Let us know.
08:16Thanks for watching.
08:17Till next week.
08:18Good work.
08:19Good work.
08:20Well, yeah.
08:22is so true.
08:24Hey,
08:24hey,
08:24hi.
08:26Hey,
08:27hi,
08:27go.
08:28Hi.
08:28Hey,
08:29hi,
08:29are ELs.
08:30No!
08:31I'm sorry.
08:32So there's no doubt they're not welcome.
08:33And you think,
08:34respect the odds.
08:35No doubt they're easy.
08:36It's veryılı and hard to bear socializing sign,
08:38and walking around in front of the honors mark.
08:40But I'm sorry.
08:41And I'm sorry.
08:41Yes.
08:42I'm sorry.
08:43I'm sorry.
08:44I'm sorry.
08:44Don't laugh at all.
08:45Be right.
08:45I'm sorry.
08:46I'm broke.
08:46definitely onlytó pet love.
08:47I'm sorry.
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