Troy Deeney has touch of the Gabby Agbonlahors about him - Disrespecting Newcastle Upon Tyne

I must admit, I see it as a good thing when someone like Troy Deeney shows disrespect towards Newcastle United and the city of Newcastle Upon Tyne.

If he were a clever, exceptional person with strong principles whom everyone respected and admired, the situation would be different.

But when it comes to Troy Deeney, who is often regarded as not the brightest and is viewed as a bit of a laughingstock by many, why bother getting frustrated with his nonsensical comments?

Nonetheless, I believe it's important to question his statements regarding Newcastle United and Newcastle Upon Tyne.

Troy Deeney spoke with CBS Sports Golazo about Newcastle United in anticipation of the upcoming cup match against Brentford on December 18, 2024.

"It is located at the northernmost part of the country."

"I mean no offense, but it's really not an appealing place to live since it's so distant from London."

"It takes about four to five hours."

Attracting both people and investment to that location is challenging.

"However, the owners of Newcastle United will need to take action."

"They likely had some awareness of it before making the purchase since these individuals are quite intelligent."

To start with, when someone claims, "I don't want to be disrespectful," we can be certain of one thing: they are definitely planning to be disrespectful.

Additionally, Troy Deeney has had stints with Walsall, Birmingham, Forest Green, and Watford. If the opportunity to join Newcastle United had come his way, he would have jumped at the chance without hesitation, without any need to consider whether he would agree to sign with NUFC.

It’s quite amusing that someone from Birmingham would dare to question why anyone would want to live in Newcastle Upon Tyne. I don't know a single person from Newcastle who has ever visited Birmingham and remarked that it would be their ideal place to live. In fact, I've never encountered anyone from anywhere else who has expressed a desire to move to Birmingham. Yet, that's exactly where Troy Deeney comes from and where he currently resides. Interestingly, Troy Deeney has never actually lived in Tyneside, and I’m not sure if he’s even been there aside from the occasional game at St James’ Park.

Fourthly, the notion that all skilled football players, or anyone else for that matter, assess everything based on how close it is to London is quite amusing. Most footballers are primarily focused on maximizing their brief careers rather than whether they can visit Harrods daily for groceries. Players don’t decide to join clubs in Manchester, Liverpool, or even Birmingham because of London’s convenience.

Fifthly, it's rather entertaining that Troy Deeney is sharing this silly talk with an audience in the United States. Given the immense distances people travel even within the same state in America, anyone who learns that there’s only 280 miles of road (less than 250 miles straight) between Newcastle and London will soon recognize what a fool Troy Deeney is. If they hadn’t figured it out already, they certainly will after hearing him speak.

It's rather amusing when Deeney mentions it taking "four or five hours" to travel from Newcastle to London. Are we stuck in a time warp? It feels like we're back in the 1970s when top players for Newcastle United would have to load their families into a Ford Cortina for the trip. Deeney clearly doesn't understand the modern travel options available, and his statements make little sense. These days, when Newcastle United players take a break, they often share on social media that they've jet-setted to places like Paris, Barcelona, Rome, or New York. Does Deeney really believe that if they wanted to go to London for a couple of days, players like Bruno or Sandro would be driving for four or five hours? Most likely, they'd catch a train, which can get you to London in just two and a half hours when everything's running smoothly. In fact, many NUFC players live just a short distance from Newcastle Airport, making air travel even more convenient. With their salaries, they can easily afford private planes or helicopters to get to any UK destination or abroad, just like players at clubs in Manchester, Liverpool, or London.

There seems to be something unique in the atmosphere of Birmingham, as Troy Deeney definitely shares some similarities with Gabby Agbonlahor. Both are Birmingham natives with limited experience outside of their time at Watford and other local clubs.

Agbonlahor and Deeney have a tendency to attract attention and aren't the sharpest tools in the shed. Three years ago, right after the Newcastle United takeover, Gabby (not Gobby!) ironically gave a significant mention to Brentford.

Gabby Agbonlahor addressed Talksport on November 28, 2021:

"Players will choose to join Newcastle United solely for the financial benefits."

“When I played, Newcastle was one of those places that made you hesitate. You’d think to yourself, ‘Hmm, I’m not so sure about this. I don’t really want to move that far up north, especially with the weather being what it is. I’m uncertain…’”

"Players prefer to be near London."

You see, being nearer to London was quite appealing.

"You would need to spend extra..."

"If you were to present a player with a salary of forty thousand pounds a week at Newcastle and thirty thousand pounds at Brentford, he would choose to play for Brentford."

"Even with a smaller budget."

"(Smirking) Let's be real, players aren't exactly eager to move to Newcastle."

I won't bother listing all the many reasons why Newcastle Upon Tyne is such a fantastic place to live and visit. You're already aware of them.

Without a doubt, every Premier League supporter will give a similar answer when asked about the top weekend getaway for an away game.

I’ve never come across anyone mentioning Aston Villa or Birmingham City.

Surprisingly, both Newcastle United and the city of Newcastle Upon Tyne appear to have quite a following.