‘I’m suspicious’ - Confusion as pundit famed for criticising Newcastle United eulogises over club

Newcastle United fan couldn't believe their ears as ex-Aston Villa star and talkSPORT pundit Gabriel Agbonlahor eulogised over St James' Park and the side's chances in the Champions League next season.

The ex-Premier League striker has made a name for himself as somewhat of a Newcastle United critic since making the move into punditry. That was so much the case that in March Agbonlahor joked that he might not be 'safe' to visit Tyneside on a friend's stag do this summer.

The rocky relationship between Agbonlahor and Newcastle United supporters reached a new level in November 2021 when the 36-year-old gave a ridiculous opinion that players would have no interest in living in the city of Newcastle.

He said: “Players will go there for the money let’s be honest. When I was playing in the Premier League, Newcastle was the place where you wasn’t sure. I didn’t want to go, it’s far up north, the weather.

“Players want to be close to London, closer to London was the attraction. If you offered a player £40,000 a week at Newcastle, or £30,000 a week at Brentford, they would go to Brentford even on less money.

“Players don’t want to live in Newcastle. They’re going to want clauses in their contracts if they go down they can leave for this amount of money.”

Fast-forward a little more than a year and a half and suddenly Agbonlahor can't get enough of life in the North East, praising Newcastle fans for the fortress they make St James' Park.

This week he said: "I think a lot of teams are going to find it difficult at St James' Park. Even European teams will. I think they've made that place a fortress.

"Imagine European nights on a Tuesday and Wednesday at St James' Park - that fanbase, the atmosphere they generate there. I think all teams will find it very difficult there. I fancy them to get out the Group Stage. I never had one good game there, hard place to play."

Magpies supporters were confused if the pundit who had so much negativity to throw the North East's way could possibly mean what he was saying. One fan wrote: "Blimey. He's changed his tune!"

Another said: "Gab, you’ve talked a lot of nonsense about NUFC over the years, finally starting to see some sense? Took you long enough. The NUFC Army is in overdrive, and there is not a pundit on TV or radio that can deny what is the new superpower of football."