Another Premier League match, another victory for Newcastle. It’s become something of a familiarity for the Magpies and that’s no bad thing. You now take the exceptional work rate of Alan Pardew’s men as a given and against Everton at St James’ Park that was in evidence again. So, with the international break upon us, Newcastle are still unbeaten and already have 25 points on the board. The question is, just how well can Newcastle do this season?
There’s no doubting that Newcastle have played above all expectations this season. To have won seven and drawn four of their first eleven games of the season is exceptional. While they haven’t been able to play the champagne football, which Pardew has been talking of, all of the time, they have proved adept at grinding out results and getting over the line, just as they did against Everton yesterday. Defensively they have been sensational, standing up to Stoke’s aerial bombardment and working their socks off till the final whistle in every game this season.
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As every pundit is itching to state, this is where it starts to get hard for Newcastle. Trips to Manchester City and United, before welcoming Chelsea to St James Park, are on the calendar in the next few weeks. But Newcastle have already put themselves into a position, where as long as they don’t lose all of the next three games they’ll have done well, and even if they do it wouldn’t be the end of the world, with back-to-back matches against two of the promoted teams to follow in December.
You can argue that Newcastle’s players are playing above their ability right now, but that shouldn’t be held against the Magpies. Credit has to go to Pardew for getting the most out of his starting eleven week-in, week-out. The squad also came to the fore against Everton, proving that the team spirit within the dressing room couldn’t be higher. But how long can Newcastle continue on this incredible run and can they prove the doubters wrong and continue to punch above their weight at the top of the table?
You’d have to expect that one of the Manchester teams will get the better of Newcastle, if not both. Then they’ll have to ensure that the unbeaten run doesn’t turn into a losing streak. With the quality of teams in the Premier League, you’d think that a Champions League spot would be out of their reach. However, there’s no reason why Newcastle can’t be the best of the rest, as it were, and secure a 7th place finish. There’s a long way to go, but things are definitely looking up for the Toon.
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1st should be an option on the vote no????
Not realistically, no
We have to not get too carried away here (Bilbo)
We have done fantastic so far this season, exceeding expectation… and it’s nothing to do with who we have and haven’t played yet!!
The stats show we deserve to be where we are, slices of luck in places but all in all, its down to bloody hard work.
But we would be naive to think the likes of spurs, Liverpool and arsenal aren’t going to be battling it out come the end of the season.
If we are still in mix for 4th come that time we will have done absolutely superb considering where we were only 2 seasons ago!!
Last season we let ourselves down against WBA dropping places and finishing 12th.
The truth is that if we were told we’d finish 8th after the pre-season we had, we’d have thought the press were mocking us again.
The next 3 games will tell us alot, even in the worse case of getting nowt from any of them, it’s how we put that into perspective and how it effects us mentally.
We HAVE to remember what has been achieved so far, and not turn negative or turn on the players/manager/board when results go against us… And they will, just as they do for every club… Our bubble will burst, but I think Pardew has the ability and created a mentality in this group of players that will mean were looking at 8th being worst case scenerio