Newcastle can now plan ahead as Blackpool complete Premier League line-up.

Posted on May 22nd, 2010 | 96 Comments |

The line up is complete.
The line up is complete.
Many of you will have been watching as a neutral this afternoon as events unfolded during the Championship play-off final at Wembley Stadium.

Despite the intense heat it was Ian Holloway’s Blackpool outfit who came out on top against Cardiff to earn the final Premier League place that was up for grabs. It was a richly deserved win in which Blackpool had the best of the game, and despite falling behind twice they eventually won 3-2.

Congratulations to Blackpool will be doing the rounds for some time now, but from a purely selfish, Newcastle United perspective it now means we know just what we are up against in the fight for survival, and hopefully means that some media focus could be shifted from us and onto them, allowing us to go about our business ‘under the radar’ so to speak. Lets not forget the defeat we suffered at the hands of Blackpool way back in September, which was branded as an embarrassment by a very large proportion of fans, will now look a little bit more acceptable now they themselves have managed to gain promotion with us.

Attention will now turn to the fixture relese date where all clubs will be waiting to see just who will be the first team they pit their wits against. Just off the top of my head and without any research, June 17th is the date we should be writing in our diary, or alternatively you can be rest assured that our fixtures will be covered and discussed here on NUFCblog.org.

All this talk of fixtures gets me thinking though, where would you prefer to start? I mean we have to play each team twice, so does it matter where we start? Or should we be hopeful of getting an opening day fixture against a team that we stand a chance of beating? Like a recently promoted team for example.

My own personal preference would be trying to get points on the board as early as possible. On that basis I would prefer to avoid any of the top eight teams for the first few weeks of the season. If we can do that, get decent results and build up some confidence then who knows? Staying up may just be achieved sooner rather than later. Conversely, if we start off playing the top teams and take a whipping, will we be able to recover? Or will we be able to use our newly found team-spirit and togetherness to pull us out of a rut?

We have just over a month to wait and find out where we start, as do the rest of the teams we will be competing against next season. That isn’t the final word on this article however, that surely has to go to Blackpool. I know that this is a ‘blog about all things Newcastle, but I simply have to make a slight exception to pass on my congratulations for what is a wonderful achievement for them. Ian Holloway has done a superb job for the Seasiders, and such a character of the game deserves the accolades that will be forthcoming for the forseeable future.

They are living the tangerine dream.

NUFCBlog Author: toonsy toonsy has written 643 articles on this blog.

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Comment on this post

96 Responses

  1. No no, lets hope we dont meet the other promoted teams till their confidence have taken a knock after meeting the big teams… A start against last years 17-10 at home would be perfect imo.

  2. Toonsy another good article mate I would agree that I would like to get a few points on the board as soon as possible but knowing our luck we will maybe have the top 4 in our 1st 6 games :) .
    As for Ian Holloway I love listening to his weird interviews at time he can be real funny without really trying to be, and I was reading a story today about his interview for the B’pool job it was interesting.

  3. Yeah congrats to Blackpool,I was at the away game and didn’t think I’d ever have to go back….oh well,well done the seasiders……….and Inter 2 up now should be game over I think.

  5. Agree in principal…get some points on the board but would be nice to put in a good performance & get point(s) from a bottom of the top half team within the first few games to build up some confidence & beating the mackems will be (is) amazing at any point of the season but good to do it early & avoid a thrashing from a top team!

  6. Quality interview there Toonsy,I just told Wor Lass that I want a better win next week…She just looked at me like I’m daft :-)

  8. Dave – Couple of daus ago I think. I hear he is in batty’s bunker ;)

    I also haven’t seen Chuck or Stuart today?

  11. I would rather play any of these 5 in any order because we don’t want them when we need to scrap for points at the end of the season: Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester City.

  12. I think I should get an award as Championship Supporter of the Year as I am a season ticket holder at SJP and was brought up in Blackpool where I hardly missed a home game for about 12 years till I moved to Newcastle. And I once went through West Bromwich on a train. So – 3 promoted teams on my CV. Blackpool’s achievement is astonishing. The players were due to be paid £90 per week over this summer. Just a few years ago they were a complete Mickey Mouse outfit and look at them now: still a bit of Mickey Mouse outfit but in the Premiership!

  13. Holloway seems like a good lad. I’d put my Mam’s house on him getting fined next season for slagging off officials and other libel-like scenarios.

    Passion is good. Blackpool played with plenty of it, but the blood rushed to their heads. They’ll take a pumelling in the EPL where there’s no time for nosebleeds.

    Well done anarl that. Good to see Cardiff not getting promoted. Everyone loves the novelty factor.

    ….and a guaranteed 6 points for us anyway.

    WEY!!!

    :D

  15. NCtoon, that’s ahl this like computer graphics man. They can dee owt these days. Divnt believe the hype.

    Div
    Div
    Divnt believe the hype

    ..wikiwikiwah

  17. Glad to see Ian Holloway is now a premier league manager i realy rate him as a a person some of his press conferences and interviews are hillarious.

  20. summerof69, indeed mate, he’s gona drop some proper bloopers this season :D

    ….the Warnock Factor here we come!

  21. valle-I think whomever made it has taken one of the African templates maybe, it does seem to be quite tight and fitted, but i like it alot. I’d maybe add another patch of black underneath the arms, there’s alot of white on there but it’s 100% better than the new leaked pictures. If the new pictures do turn out to be our new kit, it will be the first time ever i’ll consider not bothering buying the new home shirt.

  22. Got to agree Ross mate, nice and simple. I would however prefer the badge in the center. Gives it more balance.

  24. Rosco-The new pictures if genuine just make it look like we were the last on Puma’s to do list.

    “Sh!t…is Newcastle this season!?…ehh, they play in black and white stripes. As long as its black and white stripes. What do you mean the sewing machine is broken?..Get the iron, we’ll just use billy stampers for their badge, they’ll never notice!!”

  25. Aye Ross :D

    “Shit, we forgot the badges. Divvn’t panic though, we just need to start chewing the bub-a-loo and we’ll come up trumps in the end. They’ll never know man”

    ;)

  26. bacon , egg , sausage , beans , black pudding , fried bread & a pot of tea.

    £2.95…two pounds & 95 pence.

  29. last yrs had a cartoushe on the back ffs, so owts gotta be better than that 8o

  30. Fair play to ollie. Well done. Love to see him enjoying some success.

    As far as who to face early on… I kinda like the idea of facing a tough side early on before they can gain some momentum, a bit like we did @ old trafford 2 seasons ago. OTOH, a home stand against softer opposition could be just what we need to settle into life in the prem. I suppose we should just face it head on, whatever comes.

  33. Craig – Because it is a headline aimed at being dramatic.

    The £90 million is prize money from the PL, PLUS 4 years parachute payment if they get relegated and don’t come back up, all conveniently lumped together by the press.

  35. ah toonsy, so its still just worth 60 million, same as us then.
    oh i agree too, the new shirt looks pretty wank, its that god awful collar, wtf is going on with that!!?

  38. this headline is a bit daft really dont you think? we have been able to plan ahead or ages and ages, regardless of the playoffs. we were the first team in the british isles to know they were either safe or promoted… this being the case, we do seem – as usual under ashley – to be moving at a snails pace in the market. i dont mean after big buys or anything, just generaly speaking ashleys whole system is shite when it comes to being swift in bringing in players. we have had the prefect chance to get our deals done asap and let the whole thing settle down and enjoy a full pre season. you know what will happen dont you….. it will go to the last day of the window. joke man.

  39. What a great weekend of sport! I backed Blackpool, Inter, The Bulls (rugby), The Stormers (rugby), South Africa (cricket), and WITS (in our local football cup final).

    All of them won :)

  40. Hitman

    I don’t think we’ll get Wilshere – although I’d love us to.

    I think he may well be seen as good enough for a start at Arsenal next season, and if he goes anywhere on loan, I think it’ll be back to Bolton with Owen Coyle.

    I’d love us to sign Kallstrom as a free agent. But I got a feeling Hughton will be picking up a couple youngsters very few of us would have heard of…
    Not nessessarily a bad thing though.

  42. they have to be fake jj the badge looks like an iron on one..
    the reason i put that link up about wilshere was coz hughton says he wasnt interested last week..

  43. jj I’d say that’s gotta be the new shirt. Only photo thus far of an ACTUAL shirt. Can’t say I’m a fan of the home kit, thought there were some better amateur ones than that but there ya go! Away shirt looks classy though, will look better from far away I’d imagine!

  44. and the man utd shirts are rank! Haha, they’ve been out for a while now but they’re awful

  45. Ye, I’m a fan of plain… But it wouldn’t take a genius designer to come up with that home kit.
    I’m not sure if its genuine. The badge does look iron on and their is no puma logo on the sleeves.
    But then the collar is unique to any other Newcastle shirt I’ve seen so where would they have got the shirt from if its not real…

  46. no article on them shirts jj, I very much doubt their authentucity. The badge look like a bubble gum transfer sticker for a start.

    It might not be far off though, there is only so much that can be done with black n white stripes.

    Suffering a bit of writers block at the minute, so anly blog ideas would be appreciated ;)

  48. Toonsy

    – There is the release of the overall Premiership standings. Of which Newcastle still remain 8th despite not adding any points last year for obvious reasons.
    – All these overall, long term statistics has got me thinking about a best ever Newcastle team for the Premiership years.
    – Also, with players like Wilshere and Cleverly being suggested as potential loan signings for the first team at 18 and 20 years… What does that say for the chances of our own youngsters of the same age ever breaking into the first team. Lua Lua, Ranger, Tozer – will these players make it in the senior black and white shirt?
    – How about something like “Newcastles best 10 and worst ten signings in the Premiership”… We all know there are plenty names to discuss there. (It is silly season after all).

  50. I could always write up everything that appears on newsnow if I really struggle ;)

    That would bore the shite out of me though.

  51. JJ – Lua Lua, Ranger, Tozer – will these players make it in the senior black and white shirt?

    No :)

  52. I think Ranger has the best chance out of the lot, although he needs games somewhere else to stand a chance of improving his finishing.

  53. Only messing Fella.
    I think Lua Lua and ranger should be sent out on loan to somewhere like Leeds and see how they get on.
    Neither will improve playing in the reserves or warming the bench.
    If they don’t do the business after a year away then I would release them.

  54. Yup Ranger has pace but lacks the end product….he won’t improve if he only plays a few times for us next season as a sub that is for sure Toonsy.

  55. Just cleaned my mac…looks mint…well it should do it’s only 4 weeks old :lol;

  57. Someone mentioned that this age thing/cap at 26 is daft if it applies to loans and free transfers….I agree aren’t players meant to peak between 26 and 29 ish?

  62. Any brainwaves for a new article Toonsy?
    Draw a list up of all the players we have been linked with (should keep you busy haha)
    and we can discuss which ones would be good,not good or aint gonna happen?

  63. I though we would have made at least 1 signing by now even a loan or something just to get the ball rolling.

    Got a gut feeling Taylor will be sold though.

  66. It’s quite clever really. It shows how accurate the papers really are etc, and which ones are the most accurate.

  68. 63………..its our usual pathetic speed at signing players since cashley arrived. we have known for over a month we were promoted… and still zip man!! shite. it will go to last day of window for sure. then we will hear the usual story, a good name leaked out to press that we were after but couldnt get deal done in time, but hey look lads, we got this free shite one instead.. we managed to squeeze that one in no bother!

  70. Toonsy@50 was that a wee dig at someone ;-)
    How about an article on how the teams who got promoted with 100+ points have done the following season,You would need to leave one of them out tho for obvious reasons.
    I’ve been really looking forward to the new Toon top for ages,but if that turns out to be the real one then what a let down.

  71. Taylor may want to leave anyway if the salary cap is to be believed as he’s almost at the top of it anyway(allegedly) and players like a huge rise with a new contract.Hope I’m wrong tho.

  72. Richie – Aye that top is sh1te. Usually it’s a non-negotiable thing me buying the new shirt, but if that is it then I will be giving it a miss. I’ll just be cool and wear my retro shirts instead 8)

    Dig at someone? I ahve no idea what you’re on about ;)

  74. I’ll still have to buy it unfortunately…….I gave my granda collar one away years ago,big regret…….tho it may have been a bit of a squeeze now!!

  75. Take your pick Hitman,could have been anyone of a number of idiots…….I just think if it’s real they’ve missed out bigtime,just promoted back to the EPL,first new home shirt for 2 years and new company making the kit huge mistake imo.

  76. yep, the neck is the real killer on it, i hate the fcuking thing, i guess i wont buy it and will just wear this years third change top (the blue and black) until this pile of shit gets scrapped it two seasons time. its sad sad man, the amount of things our club get wrong. everything from the kit to the press office, the chairman…. so many things are lacking now.

  77. 73-Probably the same person that liked the yellow away kit-made me puke and was up there with coventry’s brown 70’s away kit :)

  78. Agree Craig…the problem is we have no football brains at the top of the club…we have a sport retailer and an ex casino cabbage and someone from an airport…..so many bad decisions,poor scouting system,awful communication etc etc

  80. 78…. cracks me up the way you say that. sports retailer, ex casino cabbage and someone from an airport. it sounds a joke when said like that. i would laugh if it were not so true!

  82. I just don’t think they have got to grips with the serious running of a football club Craig I really don’t.

    On reflection Mike treats the club like a retail business….he thinks he can breed young footballers and sell them on for profit without any concerns for the here and now and immediate future.

    No planning or strategy seems to be in place,all communication is flawed or impossible to understand,we drag our heels in every transfer window and have silly clauses in place like age and wage caps.

  83. yep… my honest expectations for this season…. some good results here and there, never break out of the bottom ten and come end of season in a dog fight for survival and then its all down to a lottery.

  85. we clearly dont have any real planning, mike makes it up out his arse as he goes along. i honestly think his biggest problem is he lovesw money tooooo much. he said he wanted to keep the best youngsters blah blah and then sold milner etc, one of the top five young talents from england.
    Hey… i see milner now says he wants to go to liverpool!!

  86. also this thing with taylors contract… he is now into his last year man. they got just two options as far as i can see, sign him up (and he will want more money) now or sell him now. these being the only two options now, and also that we will not give him any more money, i would say taylor is history at newcastle. we should never let good players get so close to leaving for free man.

  87. People seem to forget that Miner wasn’t exactly brilliant whilst he was here and attracted the boo boys quite often. No end product, headless chicken. Just 2 things I remember off the top of my head.

    I also seem to remember that the feeling was that 12 mill was a cracking price at the time. Sure he has come on at Villa, but half of his goals have come from the penalty spot.

    He is a hard worker and doesn’t give up, but at teh time it was a cracking deal for us.

  88. nope, not me, i was right pissed off we sold him. you are right though, all the people who wanted shot of him thought that 12 million was a great deal and would pave the way for another – bigger name – signing. little did they know that milners replacement was already with us – colo. milner was sold to fund that purchase and nothing more. so, all the guys that wanted shot of him were daft, all we did was sell a great player with great work ethic and get nothing come back into the club. it was about as bad a deal from the fans pount of view as you can imagine. all we did was weaken our ranks, reduce our options and confirm what many were already saying about us by that time… we are a selling club now.

  89. We are a selling club?

    But you say yourslef that we have broken even on tansfers. How can that be the case if we are a selling club Craig?

  90. you have answered your own question dude! we always sell to buy! a club that was planning and building for future would have kept milner and also bought colo, thus getting stronger instead of just swapping out players and jiggling things around in the faint hope of a good blend through sheer luck. we are the ONLY club in all of prem and ccc that over a preiod of more than two years have spent nothing on players. If that aint a selling club what is?

  91. we would have been in far greater black with bought to sold too if it had not been for jonas 7 million payout to old club. we thought we got him for 500 grand. if the initial asking had been 7 million we would never have bought… you know this is true.

  92. If MA can’t afford to Run this club properly and move it forwards he should get stuffed :)

  93. Craig – breaking even isn’t a sellig club is it? It’s called breaking even, sustainable.

    Makin a profit on transfers and not replacing them would mean we are a selling club.

    Arsenal are a real selling club. they have made over £30 million profit out of the last 2 years. Or even more than that if you look at them over a longer term.

    Bolton, Blackburn, Wigan amongst others have spent bugger all. They just rotate the team selling players and replacing them .

  94. you are on about breaking even as a club on the whole. its a different issue altogether. i am on about spending no money at all on any players since ashley has been a newcastle united. we should be able to spend money on players and still break even as a club. arsenal if anything are a bad example to use on your part .. as they buy players – leaving a deficit on players bought to sold (arshavin 15 million alone) but still turn a 30 million profit as well as servicing a 300 million debt on a stadium. Mabybe we should sack our accountants cos none of it as usual adds up.

  95. at 93 again, all the clubs you have mentioned though HAVE spent money, they have spent more on players coming in to what have gone out. All with smaller staduims, less capacity, loans to service (ours is a free one from the owner etc) but still keep going. Dont get me wrong, i know it would be fool hardy to even contemplate big signings again but there should still be money to be spend. Its all crap. Lets just take ashleys last statement- ‘ we want to be a break even club within next five years’… thats owl heads exact shite words. my single quuestion would be why five years when we get extra 60 million a season for playing prem to ccc and `we only turned a 37 million loss??? is that not in itself instant profit of 13 million a year from day one this season??