Muchas gracias Jonas Gutierrez
Well that was a little to close too comfort wasn't it? Of course it's easy to see the lighter side of it now that the dust has settled and we can look forward to Premier League football again next season.
An intriguing and anguishing day featuring rare words in the form of a seemingly scripted yet somehow surprising TV interview from the much maligned Mike Ashley has threatened to dominate things, but I'll dissect that on another occasion.
What I want to do now, more than anything else, is to pay homage to a guy who has faced all the odds and been dealt some of the toughest deals a person will ever likely face - a guy who has turned all of that negativity, all of that uncertainty into a positive and has become a legend in his own right. Step forward Jonas Gutierrez.
Whatever your thoughts on him as a player it can't be denied that in our hour of need he came up trumps and delivered. A man who often struggled with producing an end product on the pitch stepped up to the plate and mustered a goal and an assist in amongst the hard graft for which Jonas has become synonymous with.
This is a guy who faced his own personal battle with cancer not less than 18 months ago, and there he was giving everything on the field when a less fortunate roll of the dice may have meant he might not have even been on it at all. That in itself speaks volumes of the man.
I, for one, will be sad to see him to go. IN actual fact I'd give him another contract even if it was just for a year because he's seldom let us down and, if we're being honest, there are players on our books who we could lose way before him.
This isn't just about yesterday. The challenges for Jonas have been greater than that, and I think that deep down that is why this remarkable, almost fairytale, story has touched the hearts of many. Because I'm sure that many of us have been touched in our lives by someone who has never had the opportunity to return from cancer.
This is about a good news story.
A season that started off with the tragic loss of John Alder and Liam Sweeney, tainted by the poor performances on the pitch and antics, or lack of them, in the boardroom which plummeted us towards relegation, has signed off with a heartwarming, romantic tale.
I personally wish to thank Jonas Gutierrez, and I'm sure you guys do to. Whatever happens now from here on in I can bet your bottom dollar that Jonas will find himself in friendly company on Tyneside, wether he and the club decide to continue their partnership or not.
Muchas gracias Jonas Gutierrez
