How do you see the rest of the season panning out?

[Elliottman]

We have Bolton, Birmingham, West Brom and Wolves left to play at home which i think we will win.

 

Probably pick up a serious injury to Enrique and see the much welcome back return of HBA who will be awesome.

 

Pick up odd points here and there and i think we'll finish on 50-55 points in about 8th-9th position.

 

50-55? You think we will win another 5 games?? Fuck a duck. If we win 3 i will be pleased and think we will stay up.

[80]

Can't believe i've just read every word of that post! 

 

Care to summarise for me?

 

A long ramble that gives birth to a mouse of an idea: we're poor but there's worse teams in the league and as such we wont go down.

 

Apart from acting as a kind of night-time catharsis for me, it's there to inspire and appal... The main idea of the thread is for you to offer your own ideas on how we're going to feel as the season goes on and why. Putting aside what incredible things Ashley's gonna do this Summer, are we going to look like a team able to survive another season up here once we're done with this one etc.

[80]

Nice post, you really have got all the bases covered.

I think we've got a scrap on our hands and I'm not sure whether dominating games but not winning them is a positive or negative thing.

I only see the squad being stronger from here on in as players return and disagree with your lack of confidence in Harper - I still struggle to see a better English keeper. Guthrie and Williamson also make positive contributions. If we had a top quality striker we'd be safe already.

I'll breathe easily when 6 teams in the league need to make up a point per remaining game on us, we may not see that level of comfort and still survive but there could be some nail biting to do yet.

If we continue giving the level of support we do and they respond accordingly we'll make it.

 

Regarding Harper (and Guthrie and Williamson), it's not that I lack confidence in them as players, it's that I think they naturally lack confidence in themselves. Despite being a senior member of the squad, I think he's a guy who's head's prone to dropping - unless sturdier characters help him prop it up, so to speak.

[80]

Can't believe i've just read every word of that post! 

 

Care to summarise for me?

 

It's just a big ramble of if's and but's...

 

The way i see it, all the teams mentioned above are in exactly the same boat, all fighting for survival, just because Everton or Birmingham or Villa have done well in previous seasons does not make them immune from relegation. We scored 4 against arsenal and just because we never had that bit of luck against Blackburn and never scored, people panic. Strange. It's all if tiote gets booked, if they won't pick up a point, but we have team spirit but we don't have class and all that malarky. We are 10th in the league a bit of positivity wouldn't go a miss as far as i'm concerned, don't look at other teams and think well they might could or won't go down, look at ourselves and go from there, so far so good, i'd rather be us than than the 10 teams below us.

 

 

 

 

Congratulations, I think you've just summarised the meaning of life

 

We can't ignore it of course, but if anything I actually see the second half against Arsenal as the aberration. In a weird kind of a way I expected it, which sort of contradicts the previous sentence, but my point is it was a demonstration of our abnormal conviction in adversity and the mirror-image absence of will our shallow opposition possessed (I've not had much time for Arsenal for years, I'd prefer NUFC to play against them than a lot of teams).

 

As I was getting at above, ifs and buts are the nature of decent predictions unfortunately, I'm just trying to look for the tendencies and likelihoods of them. And for my own view, highlighting how knife-edge I think things are going to become for us, as I anticipate a big consistent dip coming which we'll have to recover from, as opposed to the scatter gun here and there form we've had for most of this season. That said, if Tiote starts at least another 6 games for us and doesn't get a booking, I'll drink my own piss...

 

Nothing wrong with positivity if you think it's merited and want to pay more attention to Liverpool... just use the thread to tell me why because I don't

[80]

Now onto us. It's a strange one because I think we look better organised under Pardew and our performances have generally improved (especially against the teams dubbed 'worse' than us). I'm also more confident going into home games than I was under Hughton. The 'strange thing' is, I'm less confident in our ability to score goals.

 

Now that might be considered weird, especially after Arsenal last week, but in the games away at Wigan and Blackburn yesterday, we enjoyed significantly more possession of the ball and had alot more chances than the opposition. Yet we came out of both games with only 1 goal scored, it's slightly concerning for what was significant dominating (IMO).

 

This is one of the things I pick up on to criticise with regards Pardew. You see, for me, under Hughton we had game plans predicated on taking the calculated risks necessary to score goals and win points with our limited team. Kind of pre-meditated swashbuckling. It's one of the things I think Pardew hasn't understood and has removed/is removing from our game. Consequently, we're less effectively organised. We're a more mundane team, and in our position mundanity invites destruction.

 

Given that, allied to our striking injuries and possible suspensions, I have real doubts about the winnability of the home games you mention. So if you're right about us losing at Stoke too... I can see things looking pretty toxic.

 

Aside from that, thanks for the post Johnny.

[Ketsbaia]

We'll stumble unspectacuarly to 13th/14th place. Which is fine.

 

Need to win soon though, or it might get arse-clenchy.

[Fenham Mag]

We have Bolton, Birmingham, West Brom and Wolves left to play at home which i think we will win.

 

Probably pick up a serious injury to Enrique and see the much welcome back return of HBA who will be awesome.

 

Pick up odd points here and there and i think we'll finish on 50-55 points in about 8th-9th position.

 

50-55? You think we will win another 5 games?? f*** a duck. If we win 3 i will be pleased and think we will stay up.

 

Its not that hard to believe.

[JH]

Now onto us. It's a strange one because I think we look better organised under Pardew and our performances have generally improved (especially against the teams dubbed 'worse' than us). I'm also more confident going into home games than I was under Hughton. The 'strange thing' is, I'm less confident in our ability to score goals.

 

Now that might be considered weird, especially after Arsenal last week, but in the games away at Wigan and Blackburn yesterday, we enjoyed significantly more possession of the ball and had alot more chances than the opposition. Yet we came out of both games with only 1 goal scored, it's slightly concerning for what was significant dominating (IMO).

 

This is one of the things I pick up on to criticise with regards Pardew. You see, for me, under Hughton we had game plans predicated on taking the calculated risks necessary to score goals and win points with our limited team. Kind of pre-meditated swashbuckling. It's one of the things I think Pardew hasn't understood and has removed/is removing from our game. Consequently, we're less effectively organised. We're a more mundane team, and in our position mundanity invites destruction.

 

Given that, allied to our striking injuries and possible suspensions, I have real doubts about the winnability of the home games you mention. So if you're right about us losing at Stoke too... I can see things looking pretty toxic.

 

Aside from that, thanks for the post Johnny.

 

I agree to an extent (see the comments re: scoring goals), I still think we keep our shape and maintain possession pretty well away from home. I'll take the Arsenal result as an anomaly, but the three goals that we've conceded in the league in 2011 that game aside, have come from defensive mistakes (too deep against Sunderland, too high against Spurs, Enrique against Fulham). We cut them out and we look strong defensively. If we had the capability of scoring like we did under Hughton, we'd be sorted.

[Tooj]

We keep our shape and maintain possession when Tiote is playing.

 

Nolan at times can be a huge handicap away from home, as he is awful at keeping possession and making sure things tick over.

[JH]

We keep our shape and maintain possession when Tiote is playing.

 

Nolan at times can be a huge handicap away from home, as he is awful at keeping possession and making sure things tick over.

 

 

We look like a better team with him in general. The only way we can have Nolan in the team is with Tiote there too. Without him, we might as well be playing with no midfield.

[Stu]

That 4th goal was the moment when the emotion and optimism chip inside me flicked back on. It was the moment that I realised that despite what we might think of the quality of some of the players, no matter who has been sold and who hasn't been brought in, what the manager says in public and how much we all hate the owner, when we're running in the same direction we can achieve something. It is moments like that why we all love Newcastle United and moments like that will help me to keep the faith no matter where we are in a game.

 

 

 

POTD

[Stu]

We keep our shape and maintain possession when Tiote is playing.

 

Nolan at times can be a huge handicap away from home, as he is awful at keeping possession and making sure things tick over.

 

 

We look like a better team with him in general. The only way we can have Nolan in the team is with Tiote there too. Without him, we might as well be playing with no midfield.

 

Disagree in the sense that you're singling out Captain Kev' - with the exception of Tiote, all of our players have gone missing home and away this season. Maybe you'll argue that Nolan's disappearances are more disruptive because he's supposed to be playing in the middle of the pitch (i.e. the key position); however, even when he's not contributing with his physical performance, he moreoftenthannot keeps the team organised and motivated.

 

It also doesn't help that his most effective performances have come in a 4-4-2 with Tiote and the 'big 2' of Carroll and Shola. Without those two to trouble the centrebacks, it becomes harder for him to ghost in un-marked and get on the end of knock-downs and half-chances - his biggest asset to us.

 

Away from home, we're naturally less inclined to have 2 up top, or we end up with Nolan alongside the striker.

 

Don't agree that he's "awful at keeping possession" - he can be, when he is having a poor game, but I'd trust him with the ball outside our box far more than say....Guthrie, Jonas, Enrique, etc.

[chicago_shearer]

Too soon to tell.  I'm guessing that the people who think we are cruising to 50+ points are either being lulled into a false sense of security by the number of clubs between us and 18th or just generally struggle with math.

 

Slip up against Birmingham or Wolves and things could get very scary. 

 

You might see one of the bottom 3 or 4 crack under the pressure and go down early, but at least one team is going to get relegated with more than enough points to have stayed up in previous seasons. 

[Cajun]

I can see a draw, loss then a win against Everton.

 

Then we have 9 games to get 2 wins or a win and 3 draws. I think we will get two wins from the remaining home games against the midland clubs.

 

I keep thinking "we really need to start scoring" but without Carroll we have still managed 10? goals in 6 league games, which isn't bad really.

 

We have 8 games left from April so hopefully that will be enough time to get at least a couple of HBA, Ireland, Shola and Gosling fit and up to pace. Obviously HBA would be the best of those but they could all give us a bit of a boost (in terms of numbers and morale) as we come in to the close of the season.

 

At the moment I am relatively confident, coming off a 0-0 where we dominated has knocked that a bit but what I mentioned in the third paragraph should really stop me worrying.

[Benwell Lad]

It's a difficult one, because no team outside the top four (even some inside it) seem capable of putting a solid run of form together. It's the first season that I've known that at the start of the weekend, any team can beat anyone regardless of league position/quality.

 

That being said, the league is beginning to take some form of shape (albeit a very loose one) and those four W teams keep being mentioned alongside relegation. West Ham, Wolves, Wigan and West Brom. Based on performances against us, Wigan and West Ham don't appear to have alot of oomph in their squad and the quality, with the exception of N'Zogbia and Parker respectively.

 

Wolves I can't really comment on as we played them relatively early on in the season, but their games against Arsenal, Liverpool, Stoke and Bolton make their performance against Manchester United the exception to the rule, rather than the creation of one. Similarly with West Ham and their comeback yesterday. Whilst they have shown glimpses of quality and fighting spirit, they have been peppered in with some extremely poor showings and the likes of Bridge and Keane on extremely high wages isn't exactly going to help their cause (especially with the latter injured).

 

Wigan are just Wigan. Sometimes they pull something out of their arse, the rest of the time they look like a League Two side (no offence Accrington). Fact is, they're nowt without N'Zogbia and we all know how easily he can throw his toys out of the pram. The only side I fear of any sort is West Brom, because there is some quality in there and Hodgson is a decent low PL level manager - the question is whether there is enough time left for him to have any sort of comeback. The novelty seemed to wear off quite quickly yesterday even though he wasn't officially in charge.

 

To me, there is a pool of insignificant teams - Aston Villa, Everton, Fulham and Blackburn. We are a couple of wins from becoming part of that pool - teams that are down there but aren't really going to get relegated unless something ridiculously significant changes. The gap is only five points but we're in a better position than 10 other teams which is something significant in itself.

 

Whilst I think it'll be tight, I still think if we can hit the 40 points mark relatively soon then we'll be safe (even if we scrape it).

 

Now onto us. It's a strange one because I think we look better organised under Pardew and our performances have generally improved (especially against the teams dubbed 'worse' than us). I'm also more confident going into home games than I was under Hughton. The 'strange thing' is, I'm less confident in our ability to score goals.

 

Now that might be considered weird, especially after Arsenal last week, but in the games away at Wigan and Blackburn yesterday, we enjoyed significantly more possession of the ball and had alot more chances than the opposition. Yet we came out of both games with only 1 goal scored, it's slightly concerning for what was significant dominating (IMO).

 

I think we'll sink a bit closer to the relegation zone than we are now, and I think Tiote potentially missing for the two home games could prove to be a big miss (come on, we all know he'll get booked at Birmingham). I'm not expecting anything from trips to the Britannia Stadium, Anfield and Stamford Bridge. But Manchester United aside, those five home games are absolutely vital and all five of them are very very winnable. Like I said earlier in the season, home form is key. If we win those games, we're safe. If we don't, we need to rely on the lads pulling out a few rabbits at Birmingham and Blackpool.

 

Now how can we get back to winning I hear you say? It's a tough one, but these lads have surprised me on a number of occasions this season and so I wouldn't put it past them to find a bit of form in the run in to the end of the season. The difference between this squad and the squad that was relegated is no doubt the squad harmony and togetherness. At first, I thought it was just a saying that Hughton peddled out to make an excuse for why players apparently lacking in quality, were somehow performing. But in recent months, having spoken to a few people at the club and having heard interviews from the likes of Kuqi and Ireland coming into the team, it's amazing how together this side is and whilst I was worried it would dissipate under Pardew, it seems to still be there even if it is a bit of a lukewarm one at times.

 

The Fulham game was incredibly worrying on first glance. Our heads were down, everyone was feeling sorry for themselves and things just weren't clicking. Add that to the first half of the Arsenal game and I thought we were doomed. We were a team without its mojo and it was seemingly never coming back. However, once again in the face of adversity and criticism the team picked itself up, heads were banged together and what was produced in the second half (although given a bit of a push from the referee and his assistant) is amongst the greatest spirit and fightback that I've ever seen from any Newcastle United side. Every goal felt like the winner and Tiote's strike felt like we'd just won the league.

 

That 4th goal was the moment when the emotion and optimism chip inside me flicked back on. It was the moment that I realised that despite what we might think of the quality of some of the players, no matter who has been sold and who hasn't been brought in, what the manager says in public and how much we all hate the owner, when we're running in the same direction we can achieve something. It is moments like that why we all love Newcastle United and moments like that will help me to keep the faith no matter where we are in a game.

 

If the players can play with the same spirit and fight that they showed in the second half of that game, and the fans can make even half of the noise made in the second half of that game, we'll be laughing all the way to the bank to cash in next year's TV money cheque.

 

I'll stop now before it becomes too mushy

 

Another nice post in a very decent thread.

In a nutshell I agree that if we win most of the "winnable" games we'll be safe.

Agree that Pardew seems to have put a bit more steel into us, but could your reduced confidence in our ability to score goals under Pardew boil down to the fact that Hughton had Carroll in his team and Pardew doesn't ?

[Stifler]

We have Bolton, Birmingham, West Brom and Wolves left to play at home which i think we will win.

 

Probably pick up a serious injury to Enrique and see the much welcome back return of HBA who will be awesome.

 

Pick up odd points here and there and i think we'll finish on 50-55 points in about 8th-9th position.

 

50-55? You think we will win another 5 games?? f*** a duck. If we win 3 i will be pleased and think we will stay up.

 

Its not that hard to believe.

To be fair, our next 6 games are games we could get all 3 points out of if we play to our best. We arn't going to win all 6 of them, but we do have a pretty decent run in.

[relámpago blanco]

I think we'll go down tbh, midfield is shite other than Tiote.  Defence is not too bad but Williamson isn't fit to wear the shirt of Gateshead.

 

Strikeforce is League 2 standard and we have nothing in reserve.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

I think we'll go down tbh, midfield is shite other than Tiote.  Defence is not too bad but Williamson isn't fit to wear the shirt of Gateshead.

 

Strikeforce is League 2 standard and we have nothing in reserve.

 

[Ketsbaia]

That is incredible

[Guest BooBoo]

I think we'll go down tbh, midfield is shite other than Tiote.  Defence is not too bad but Williamson isn't fit to wear the shirt of Gateshead.

 

Strikeforce is League 2 standard and we have nothing in reserve.

 

Jesus, get a fucking grip of yourself. There's negativity and theres just plain old shite.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

We keep our shape and maintain possession when Tiote is playing.

 

Nolan at times can be a huge handicap away from home, as he is awful at keeping possession and making sure things tick over.

 

 

We look like a better team with him in general. The only way we can have Nolan in the team is with Tiote there too. Without him, we might as well be playing with no midfield.

 

True, I actually think that Nolan's days in the first team are numbered now Carroll has left. Without the knock-downs and chaos Carroll causes in the defence Nolan has very little role left.

 

I know about his excellent leadership qualities etc etc, but I really think that if he relies so much on Carroll and Tiote to contribute anything then we need to be looking elsewhere pretty soon.

[Mr. Snrub]

Shite midfield.  :lol:

 

Nolan the highest scoring midfielder in the league, Barton has easily been the best English midfielder in the league and Ben Arfa to return from injury.

 

We're 2 good strikers away from challenging for Europe ffs.

 

This season will pan out in a very dull fashion.  We'll pick up the odd result here and there and avoid relegation, lingering about 14th.

[Dave]

I think we'll go down tbh, midfield is shite other than Tiote.  Defence is not too bad but Williamson isn't fit to wear the shirt of Gateshead.

 

Strikeforce is League 2 standard and we have nothing in reserve.

 

Jesus, get a fucking grip of yourself. There's negativity and theres just plain old shite.

 

And there's failure to spot sarcasm.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

That's why I used the , failsafe device if you're not sure a post is terrible or funny!

[Guest SuperShola!]

I'm going for 7th or 8th. Leon Best will score 10+ Goals, Kuqi will do a belly flop, Barton will get a call up and Shola will be the new No.9 All will be well.