Sam Allardyce is backing summer signing Joey Barton to thrive on Tyneside after finally tasting the atmosphere which took him to St James' Park.
Barton Set For Skipper's Armband!
And the 25-year-old midfielder, a £5.8million acquisition from Manchester City, is set to be the captain to lead us to glory.
Barton emerged from the dug-out on Monday night to replace Emre, and the Toon Army were delighted to see him in a black and white shirt.
Allardyce: "That reception is why he came here.
"It's a tremendous lift for any player to walk out on the pitch and get a massive cheer which makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck.
"It gets your adrenaline flowing and gets you into the game.
"We were just losing our heads a little bit when he came on, and Emre was tiring a little bit. It was a good change-over tactically.
"It was good to see him back, and I hope he goes a long time before anything like that happens to him again."
Geremi was played out of position on the right of midfield, and he did tend to push inside too much for the fans' liking.
Perhaps he was told to do that by Allardyce, who knows, but there was always a threat down that right wing.
Thankfully Spurs bos Martin Jol didn't have the brain cells to exploit it.
But Geremi is not guaranteed a place now that Barton is on the scene, and that armband will be on Barton's arm when we FINALLY lift silverware.