Newcastle promoted to the Premier League - now, LET'S PARTY!

[Foluwashola]

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/sport/robkelly/100006838/welcome-back-to-the-premier-league-newcastle-how-we-have-missed-you/

 

Welcome back to the Premier League, Newcastle – how we have missed you

On May 24, 2009, the death knell had seemingly sounded for Newcastle United. Facing an Aston Villa side with nothing to play for, the Toon’s 16-year stay in the Premier League ended in the tamest of fashions with a 1-0 defeat at Villa Park on the final day of a terrible season. Newcastle’s players were a disgrace, showing no fight and no passion for the black and white shirt that so may have worn with distinction down the years. The dark clouds hovering over St James’ Park had finally burst, and the club was expected to be washed away in a flood of anger, hostility and civil war.

 

But less than 12 months later, pride has been restored to Tyneside. Not only have Newcastle regained their Premier League status, but they have done so with a swagger. Shaped under the careful eye of Chris Hughton, the beginnings of a tentative rebuilding operation is taking place at St James’ Park. Stage one is complete, now to see if the North East’s most colourful and dramatic club can retain their place at English football’s top table. Talk of owner Mike Ashley suddenly opening his chequebook to lavish a £60million war chest on Hughton is naive, but with sensible investment (anathema in Tynecastle in recent years) in the right areas, the club should be optimistic of reestablishing themselves in the Premier League once again.

 

Despite the widespread schadenfreude towards Newcastle last season, football fans should be welcoming the club back into the elite with open arms. Whatever you may think of their passionate fans, at least they fill their ground and make a noise. Matches at St James’ Park (average attendance this season is 42,335, in the Championship) are an event to be cherished. Better that than playing games in front of half empty stadiums at the likes of Wigan (average attendance 17,840).

 

What better club to add more colour, more frisson to an already entertaining Premier League than Newcastle? Whether they are engaged in open civil war with their owner, conducting 20-man brawls involving coaches and players or losing 6-1 in a pre-season friendly to Leyton Orient (and that’s just this season), Newcastle provide drama, and tonnes of it. Like them or loathe them, they provide endless talking points, both on the pitch and off it, and for that they should be celebrated.

 

We may be pleasantly surprised by them on the pitch, too. Hughton, derided by some because he is a quiet, thoughtful man who simply does not play the media game, has Newcastle playing attractive, passing football with a edge of steel. It is no mean feat to get out of the Championship at the first time of asking with so much time to spare, and it is all the more impressive when you consider that for much of the early part of the season the ownership crisis threatened to overwhelm the club. Hughton, a man previously seen as a perennial No 2, has proved himself a shrewd, calm manager able to unify a shattered club. Given a summer of planning and an enhanced transfer budget, he now has the opportunity to take Newcastle a further step forward.

 

But that can wait for now, until the celebrations in the North East die down. Newcastle have had plenty of dark days in their recent past, it is time to let them enjoy their day in the sun. Welcome back Newcastle, the Premier League has missed you.

 

Damn right you've missed us 

 

Don't know what schadenfreude means but yeeeeah we're back.

[Village Idiot]

schadenfreude = rejoicing in the miseries of others (word means "happiness of misery" in German)

[NG32]

Chuffed to bits.

 

Can we not draft an official congrats letter from all the NO punters on here?

 

 

 

[nobby_solano]

that's promotion sorted, now let's go for the title! well done chris and the boys 

 

http://cache1.asset-cache.net/xc/98264831.jpg?v=1&c=NewsMaker&k=2&d=77BFBA49EF878921A343B2C87A49D8F5C6B9F36AC74DF46FDAA042F0FD193CF3E15D0F04F9784868

[themanupstairs]

 

Reading the press reports this morning, and the news all around, it really is a proud moment for the club. Not just in gaining promotion, but in the way it has been done. A great big fuck you is in order for all the rats who jumped ship. They know who they are, and it's good riddance to bad rubbish.

 

Congrats to all fellow supporters who have had to put up with tons of shit through the hurt and the pain  :clap:

[pinkeye]

Really good point there about fans who have jumped ship.

 

Wonder how many are going to try and get a season ticket for next year?

[9]

You have to feel a bit sorry for Steven Taylor, didnt seem to be involved with the celebrations last night?

[Skirge]

I am just so fkn overjoyed, aint slept a wink just on such a high, WE HAVE FKN DONE IT!!

Back up with 5 games to go is brilliant, my voice is gone I just a squeak

and will be proud to lose it again on Saturday.

 

 

Anyone know the official turn out last night? BBC Radio Newcastle were told 48,270 HAD to be more than that.

[Guest Kenton Magpie]

Really good point there about fans who have jumped ship.

 

Wonder how many are going to try and get a season ticket for next year?

 

They are not wanted nor needed by the club

[The QuichÃ]

Words can not describe how happy and proud I am although Id be even happier if we were Champions and I could bloody get tickets for Blackpool and Ipswich  :colo:

[pinkeye]

Words can not describe how happy and proud I am although Id be even happier if we were Champions and I could bloody get tickets for Blackpool and Ipswich  :colo:

 

Are there no tickets left to buy for those games?

[Shearergol]

How many weeks of the season have we been top out of interest?

[Pav]

Really good point there about fans who have jumped ship.

 

Wonder how many are going to try and get a season ticket for next year?

 

They are not wanted nor needed by the club

[Skeletor]

How many weeks of the season have we been top out of interest?

 

32 out of 40 games

[Groo]

I sincerely hope the players don't want to party (just yet) and go all out for the highest point total they can.. there's still the title to win and we could do with a big effort from Newcastle against Blackpool.  (pretty please  )

[Lenny]

How many weeks of the season have we been top out of interest?

 

32 out of 40 games

 

I'd imagine a fair few of the games we've not been top are due to us having games in hand as well?

[Nobody]

http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/3465/simpson.gif

[Skirge]

http://www.nufc.co.uk/articles/20100405/exclusive-promotion-party-pics_2240137_2015822

[Jill]

:celb: :celb:

[Skeletor]

How many weeks of the season have we been top out of interest?

 

32 out of 40 games

 

I'd imagine a fair few of the games we've not been top are due to us having games in hand as well?

 

Early in the season we were behind Boro and West Brom on goal difference. Then when we had that slump in form and then again after defeat to Derby we were 2nd (but I think we had a game in hand).

[ponsaelius]

http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/3465/simpson.gif

 

[Cronky]

I don't think it's sunk in yet. I've been waiting for a disaster that hasn't come.

 

What I dreaded was a poor run of results (not necessarily bad - just the usual mid-season blip), leading to a lot of NUST-type unrest in the crowd, pressure on the players and the media then latching on to another failure story and stirring things up even more. Last season, we suffered from a kind of unholy alliance between the Ashley-out-at-all-costs brigade and the national media who loved to report all the unrest, preferably with bells on. I thought, at some stage, it was going to kick in again and results would suffer.

 

The players and management have kept this very tight focus and there's been no opportunity for any kind of downward spiral to start. I'm a bit stunned really. We don't normally over-achieve.

[NG32]

http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/3465/simpson.gif

 

Lets go feckin mental, lets go feckin mental tra la la la

[Benwell Lad]

I don't think it's sunk in yet. I've been waiting for a disaster that hasn't come.

 

What I dreaded was a poor run of results (not necessarily bad - just the usual mid-season blip), leading to a lot of NUST-type unrest in the crowd, pressure on the players and the media then latching on to another failure story and stirring things up even more. Last season, we suffered from a kind of unholy alliance between the Ashley-out-at-all-costs brigade and the national media who loved to report all the unrest, preferably with bells on. I thought, at some stage, it was going to kick in again and results would suffer.

 

The players and management have kept this very tight focus and there's been no opportunity for any kind of downward spiral to start. I'm a bit stunned really. We don't normally over-achieve.

 

Huge credit to Hughton and his players for keeping any unrest and turmoil at bay because the media and many others were licking their lips waiting for it to kick off.

 

I think this season's defining moment was Woods' penalty miss for Doncaster at SJP. We were playing awfully and were on a run of 4 games without a win, (QPR and Bristol home draws and Forest and Scunny away defeats) The mood inside SJP was critical and negative and had his penalty gone in I'm sure they would have beaten us.

NUFC.com's match report said :-

 

This wasn't a good day for the home crowd with as many moans and gripes as chants in support of the side - one stoppage in play accompanied by a loud rendition of the "get out of our club" ditty, which left home players looking at each other blankly.

The booing of Harewood was shameful even if he had played poorly and fans still streamed out of their seats after Nolan's winner but before the final whistle.

They went on to add :-

 

Regardless of whether the paper (Chronicle) praises the team to the skies or rubbishes them, the opinion of a section of those watching won't alter: that we're an underachieving side in a very average league, starved of meaningful investment and with significant question marks over the direction and leadership of both the club and the first XI.

 

As it turned out Kevin Nolan scored a 93rd minute winner, we went on a long unbeaten run and the rest as they say is history.

Like the man says, LETS PARTY !

 

[Guest Mr. Ameobi]

Eee Aye Eee Aye Eee Aye Ohh! Up the Premier League we go! When we get to Europe, this is what we'll sing! We are Geordies, Super Geordies, Hughton is our king!  :clap2: :smitten: :smitten: :frantic: :celb: ;D :clap: :colo: :colo: :colo: :colo: