Eddie Howe thought the atmosphere inside St James’ Park was a big help to his team when they completed their emphatic Carabao Cup semi-final win over Arsenal. He might have had a point and it was certainly not a hindrance.

More decisive factors might have been Martin Odegaard missing a sitter before Jacob Murphy opened the scoring, Howe’s tactical excellence, Arsenal’s fatigue and, of course, the first-leg advantage claimed by Newcastle.

But whether or not the Gunners were negatively affected by the passion and the home side positively affected, one thing is for sure... it was spine-tingling stuff. It really was.

You could not hear the person next to you, never mind referee Simon Hooper when he tried to announce that early VAR decision against Alexander Isak. Microphone or no microphone.

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

The first thing to declare when discussing the passion of Newcastle United supporters is that it is not unique. In fact, it is commonplace.

There had been, for example, a cracking atmosphere at the Emirates for Arsenal’s previous game, the Premier League romp against Manchester City. And another thing that needs mentioning is that, for all the vibrancy of St James’ Park, it has seen plenty of disappointing times.

Even this season, they have won only six of their 12 Premier League games at St James’ Park. Think of long-standing, famous stadiums such as Anfield or Old Trafford and you still think of success (at least you did until recently with the latter) but that is not the case when you think of Newcastle’s home.

But somehow, it feels like even rebuilding St James' Park on adjacent ground - as had been suggested in the days before the win over Arsenal - would be the biggest stadium crime in modern football. And there have been a few of those, haven’t there West Ham?

There were over 52,000 fans inside St James’ Park for the Arsenal game, the surrounding areas were rocking, the noise was sensational. But the prospective move/redevelopment, it seems, would be born from the need to increase revenue, so that more investment can be made in players while still complying with the Premier League’s financial regulations.

And regardless of your views of the nature of Newcastle’s ownership - and I still think it is wrong - that means those financial regulations are not fit for purpose. The current St James’ Park is a great, fit-for-purpose stadium that should not be a ball and chain on their ambitions of competing at the very highest level.

The chances are that, regardless of compliance with Profit and Sustainability Regulations, the owners would want a bigger, more modern, more commercially productive stadium anyway. And one of the almost unique attractions of St James’ Park is its elevated location in the centre of the city. A cathedral on the hill.

It seems a favoured option could be to build a new stadium in the very immediate vicinity. I am sure people will soon get used to it. But on a febrile night when the place shook with excitement at the thought of finally parading a trophy there, it was hard to think they would touch the splendid St James’ Park.

and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our