Paullow

Well, I'd generally rather we secured it with a game or two to go, naturally, but if, hypothetically, I could plan it to the very last kick (but with no danger of actually going down), then the biggest, pathetic, limp over the line would at least be a bit satisfying in a perverse sort of way.

Strange how the final match is Fulham vs Newcastle and they currently look like the only 2 teams involved in a potential fight. It'll never happen because our GD will be at least 7 worse than theirs, not the other way round, but I think my ideal scenario would be to be 3 points clear going into that crunch match with a 7 GD adv, trail 3-0, look absolutely shite, but then they go down to 10 men or something, and we end up 'hanging on' to that 3-0 defeat, to stay up by one goal. Relying on others to lose to get the 'job done' is always a dangerous, and depressing, game.

You reap what you sow.

Fulham have to play Chelsea and Man Utd away also. 10 points is a massive amount of points to make up especially for a team that has won only 2 league games all season. Yeah, and we still have to play Man City, Liverpool, and others before the end of the season, I'm talking about the next 3 weeks, so very much short term. Their (upcoming) fixtures are definitely more favourable, and the type that can, and will, define a season - if the gap still circa 10 points at that stage, great, if it's 4 or 5, not so much. Possibly a last chance saloon for them as Bergen mentioned. So have Fulham got to play City and Liverpool tin consecutive weeks coming up soon. They have only won two games this season. Let's assess where we are in 3 weeks, it's not long to wait. The picture will look a lot clearer then, either way...

Fulham have to play Chelsea and Man Utd away also. 10 points is a massive amount of points to make up especially for a team that has won only 2 league games all season. Yeah, and we still have to play Man City, Liverpool, and others before the end of the season, I'm talking about the next 3 weeks, so very much short term. Their (upcoming) fixtures are definitely more favourable, and the type that can, and will, define a season - if the gap still circa 10 points at that stage, great, if it's 4 or 5, not so much. Possibly a last chance saloon for them as Bergen mentioned.

I'm in a similar camp to Ketsbaia, probably a 4 at the moment. We're circa 3/1 to go down, Fulham circa 1/4, so it's obviously more likely we stay up, given the current cushion. However, we only have 3 matches in Feb, including Man Utd and Chelsea away, they have 4 (inc their game in hand). Ketsbaia mentioned Everton, but that's their toughest match on paper, as their other 3 are Burnley, Sheff U, and Palace - if that 10 point gap is less than 6 by the end of Feb, and given we still have to go Craven Cottage, then I'll be a lot less confident, but a big few weeks ahead (primarily of hoping that a rival does badly...).

Far too early for that talk IMO, we're just like 3/1 at some bookies to go down, not 33/1. We have Chelsea and Man Utd in our 3 remaining Feb games, Fulham have Sheff Utd, Burnley, and Palace in their 4 Feb matches (covering their game in hand) - that 10 point gap could be reduced significantly in that period, if Fulham can turn some of their improved performances into wins over the next 3 weeks. If that 10 point gap is 6 by the end of Feb, so within 2 matches, and we still have to go to Craven Cottage, things will start to get twitchy again.

I can't deny, in the current circumstances, I'm not minding these fellow relegation fodder picking up points to put more pressure on Bruce and Ashley. The takeover is the only thing making me think twice, but if it's not imminent / not going to happen, and Bruce is as safe as houses, then it'll be what they both deserve. The thought or 3 or 4 more years of this (Bruce is 60), relying on 3 worse sides every year, playing the worst football you have seen is just as bad as being in the Championship IMO.

Fulham look more threatening in the first 180 seconds as we do in many a full 90 mins.

Pretty much every team do. It's absolutely staggering we've managed 19 points and 18 goals thus far.

It's strange, obviously you do want to stay up and therefore hope to see teams below us lose, but there's part of me (not believing the takeover will happen) and kind of half hopes these Fulham's and co start picking up points to force Ashley's hand, or even we end up relegated and it'll serve him right. We obviously badly need the takeover, and while there is a chance, needs must, and we must stay up, but if it's just going to be Ashley and Bruce for 3 or 4 more years, and constantly hoping for 3 worse teams and nothing else, and an absolute shell of a 'football club' then I wouldn't be too arsed if they went down. The club is pretty much dead as it is at the moment anyway.

At least there's a choice of Watford vs Norwich, or Sheff Utd vs Everton on at the same time. Not worth watching.

Bruce is bloody lucky that there are no fans in the grounds.

Newly promoted Fulham, 2 wins all season, currently in the relegation zone, away from home, yet the pre match 6/4 betting favourites (Newcastle 15/8, so basically 12/8 vs 15/8) - odds are obviously just a number, but it kind of says it all about the general landscape and current optimism levels - not even expected to beat Fulham at home. Worst part is they don't even look inaccurate.

Course we will, we'll do as we usually do. A result like this happens, someone says dig out the relegationometer, we 'react' with some a run of passable results and maybe a good win, and it's like "lol better than Rafa haha kill iz", then we get twatted again. Rinse and repeat. We're certainly not getting into the top half and we're certainly not getting relegated. On and on and on and on we go under this regime. Meaningless week after meaningless month after meaningless year. Baffles me how many folk still feel a thing. I know chances are we'll Bruce a few points from nowhere, but I wouldn't be so sure about the bit in bold. Just 9/2 to go down, and IF we do lose to Fulham on Saturday then we'll be right in the mix IMO, especially with the following 3 fixtures to come. I can see us getting sucked in to it soon.

Newcastle in their 4th year back in the Premier League, Leeds first season back after 16 years. Leeds have spent a bit in the summer, but then Bruce has had his fair share over the past 18 months as well. Both on 17 points, but we have a game in hand, so technically in a better position. https://m.skybet.com/football/premier-league/event/26133365 Newcastle 9/2 to go down, Leeds a massive 22/1. Their squad can't be that much better than ours, and if it is, there should be serious question asked as to why, so I think we kind of know the main reasons why there is such a contrast in those odds, and what is causing money, or expected money, to be placed on the respective markets.

Does anyone know a site where you can view past Premier League TV matches? I'm trying to find out how many times Newcastle vs Man Utd has been selected for TV, and how many times it hasn't. I can remember a Boxing Day match when Perch scored not being on, plus a 0/1-4 home defeat where Mata scored, but other than that, most have been on.

Not sure if it's been said, but we could be screwed over by this. We're a unique club in that we're like a bottom 6 club and offer very little appeal to the neutral - we'll be branded in the Burnley, Stoke, type comments, but we're nearer a top 6 club in terms of fanbase, hence we have been had the 7th most televised matches the past 2 seasons behind the obvious (and above Everton). So Sky/BT can kind of kill two birds with one stone - keep more of our games off normal subs, and put more of them on PPV as more Newcastle fans will probably be likely to purchase than other relegation fighters. Newcastle vs Man Utd will have been televised about 90% of the time in the PL era, but sure enough, it's suddenly not one of the 5 picks next weekend, but we can still watch it...

The thing with Newcastle Blue Star, while a lovely shirt, and Lee Clark being there etc. it really is low level stuff. If they were somewhere like Spennymoor/Gateshead/Darlo, or a little bit lower like Marske/Morpeth, like the level they were at when they went bust about 12 or so years ago, then they might have had a lot more interest, but it is basically the bottom level, and would take about 3 or 4 years just to get up to where a Morpeth is. I do hope they get a few more though the gates though (Covid permitting), as well as most of the other sides I've mentioned here. I guess I'll just be following a lot of other sports even more closely, which I have for the past few years to be fair, tennis, boxing, MMA, even darts, so that'll continue. It's weird because I kind of was hoping we'd lose most of our end of season matches, which is pretty weird in itself, but I thought it would be more likely that we'd see the back of Bruce in a potential new era, but it just seems all totally pointless and desperate now. I dislike the owner, dislike the management team, wouldn't say there were many players I'd be gutted if they left, only really like 3 or 4. I'll still watch a bit general football, as it's been in my life for as long as I can remember, but I've rarely been this detached from the club. Grim times.

It's basically another year wasted, an absolute nothing season. I appreciate that we were punching above our tradtional weight at the time, but as a 1986 lad getting into football around 93/94, that was all I knew, and Newcastle seemed a genuine power. Crazy to think my first 13 years of football (1993/4-2007) consisted of: - 2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th finishes - 2 FA Cup finals, and a further 2 semi finals - Europe most seasons, beating Juve and Barca, first team to lose 3 CL group games and still qualify, UEFA semi final - Smashed world transfer record to sign one of the best strikers in the world, plus other (less successful) statement signings like Kluivert and Owen - the latter when we were generally more midtable - although there was a sense that we underacheived then, now 13th is 'absolutely tremendous' - Signed other very promising, highly touted, young players like Viana, Dyer, Bellamy, Jenas - those type of players wouldn't look twice now - Regularly beat teams by 3+ goals, including that 5-0, and a 7-1 over (an admittedly not as good) Spurs - Many other things you could easily add like rich lists etc. 2007-2020: One top 6 finish, one season in Europe Multiple relegations, and further near misses Bottom 4 or 5 budget, and a largely shite squad Moves to Wolves, Leicester etc. an obvious step up for the few better players we have I do feel sorry for those 20 and under because this is all they'll know, but I actually do think it's worse for us 30-35 year olds, who although have better memories, also have first hand experience of a club pretty much at it's peak, to one literally making up the numbers, doing absolutely nothing. We desperately need this takeover.

Speaking of which, has anyone seen Newcastle Blue Stars kit? Very nostalgic. Even their new badge is very similar to the 1976-83 badge with the magpie and castle.

This. He'll be desperate for 3 points from somewhere, and that's probably the most likely fixture. I reckon he'd gladly accept 0-5 defeats to both Spurs and Liverpool in exchange for a 1-0 win over Brighton to get to that 'all important' 46 points.

I'm not too fussed about them sending us down. However, bar the time we went down in 2009, and a few times under Pards, and Steve, I've personally never been more disillusioned with the club, just the fact that we are always one of the 4th or 5th favourites to go down, and 13th/14th is seen as 'tremendous success', and we have a fodder manager who fits that exact description, and there's generally more realisation that we are shite, and always will be unless something significantly changes, so the way I see it, in a perverse sort of it, if I'm unhappy with my club, I'd rather a similar sized club, those often involved in the 'big club' debates and thus, more of a rival, were worse off.

Welcome mate.