Were you devastated with Newcastle United throwing away what could still prove to be the most precious of points against Manchester United on Wednesday? Don't be, because you witnessed a miracle. Yes the 90 minutes that played out on the pitch was ugly and stop start. Yes two men spat each other. And yes the atmosphere inside the stadium hit an all new low for Newcastle United fans. But Jonas Gutierrez stepped foot on a professional football pitch again. That's all that matters. Newcastle needed someone to step up to the plate. Ryan Taylor, bless him, was a few steps off the pace and was being tortured at times by the quick interplay down the visitor's right hand side. He looked drained as he trudged off the pitch. But cometh the hour, cometh the man. The roar that greeted the Argentine's entrance to the pitch physically shook the stands. The almost primeval sound of that most Geordie of rapturous choruses, which hasn't been heard for so long, caused around fifty-thousands throats to become 'lumped' and around 100,000 eyes to well up. It was the beautiful game at it's finest. A moment that very few sports other than football, and very few clubs other than Newcastle United, could produce. Let it all sink in for a second. Jonas was a player not only contemplating the end of his playing career when doctors discovered he had testicular cancer, but also faced the end of his life when he needed chemotherapy as the cancerous cells spread. On Wednesday, he returned to the pitch and didn't miss a step. He showed a couple of flashes of his brilliant best as he tried to haul his side into the Manchester United penalty area. He produced a couple of trademark dribbles that took three or four Red Devils our of the game at a time, a quality this Newcastle side have missed over the last 18 months. Let's face it, with 35 points and 10 games to go, Wednesday's game wasn't the be all and end all for The Magpies. But the return to action of an adopted Geordie should stay with all of us for the rest of our days.
