Keep the faith!As the dust begins to settle after Newcastle United’s humiliating 5-1 defeat to an in-form Bolton Wanderers, many fans will be wondering what happens next.
The answer is that none of us know really, which is a crap answer to be honest, but what we do know is that we have Chelsea next week in what is set to be another tough encounter.
But which Newcastle side will turn up next week? Will it be the side that is motivated and determined to right some wrongs, much like they did against Sunderland and Aston Villa? Or will it be the Newcastle side that turned up, or failed to, yesterday, where they capitulated and never looked really up for it from the get go?
That has arguably been the main feature of our season so far, and not knowing which consistently inconsistent Newcastle side will turn up is making me nervous already.
I guess the bottom line is that we mustn’t get carried away after suffering such a heavy defeat, even though it is hard not to. On the flipside though, we mustn’ get carried away when we dish out the thumpings like we have done at times this season. (more…)
Emirates next for Newcastle.Actually, I would prefer Newcastle to be walking away from the next five games with fifteen points in the bag, but being realistic it just isn’t going to happen.
So how do you think we will do?
Next up for United is a trip to The Emirates on Sunday, and whilst I harbour some slim hopes of us being able to take something from the game, there is a very real prospect that we could end up losing, like most teams do when they visit Arsenal.
I’ve got the match down as a loss on my little season planner of where I think we can pick up points from, but as many of you know, my predictions, so it seems, are not the best.
Following on from Arsenal we have two games at home. First up is Blackburn next Wednesday evening, a team who appear hold a voodoo card over us and always seem to be able to get results against us. (more…)
The main men.Newcastle head back into the Premier League with near enough an entire team that has a point to prove, and that could play right into our hands next season.
There is absolutely no doubt that these players can play in the Premier League, the problem is making sure they do play. Between them, our regular first team squad has over 1,400 Premier League appearances under their belt, and that is something that a newly promoted team has never had the benefit of before. You can call on any number of reasons for our relegation; players that weren’t committed; lack of form; injuries; a poisoned atmosphere around the club; 3,000 managers in one season; lack of direction; lack of investment, any one of them, or any combination of them can be blamed. (more…)
Hughton: The stakes have been raised.I think it’s widely percieved that last season was great, fantastic in the end, and the size of points difference between us and the rest of the teams in the Championship is something that is seldom replicated.
I also think that Chris Hughton has been given a lot of credit for it over the last few months, and rightly so. We all know Hughton did a great job last season, certainly an effective one.
The lines have been read over and over again already, with praise popping up for Hughton with regard to getting the team united again, believing in themselves, not fighting with each other (too often), and most importantly, looking like they actually want to play for the shirt that I personally have such pride in wearing. Which is why it baffles me that our former manager, Glenn Roeder, believes that Hughton should be recieving more credit than he has done already. Why? Just, why? For me, Hughton needs to prove he can motivate his team in the Premier League next season before he recieves another widespread outpouring of fullsome praise. It appears my viewpoint is slightly different to that of Roeder however. (more…)
Bob Moncur - The last Newcastle captain to lift real silverware.Around about a year ago now, we saw a team, our team, slip out of the Premier League in what can only be described as one of the tamest performances of any Newcastle side in recent years.
The same thing can’t be said about this years team though, as they have been anything but tame for the vast majority of the season. The players that stayed on to help us regain our spot in the Premier League have put their heart and soul into this season. Sure, we haven’t won every game, and the football perhaps hasn’t been the prettiest we have ever seen, but it was effective and has gone some way to restoring some pride back on Tyneside. The job isn’t over yet though, gaining promotion was just the first step. Next up has to be survival, and our old Fairs Cup winning captain Bob Moncur believes that the current crop of players will still be hurting from relegation, and will be out to prove a point next season and make sure they survive: (more…)
