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Right, it’s bad. It’s very bad. It’s the worst of the worst, the stats show it and the fans know it. This is the worst Premiership season that Newcastle United have ever had and it shows no signs of abating in the run-in despite the return of ‘The Messiah,’ Alan Shearer. Now I really have no idea where these terms of endearment come from because I sure as hell haven’t heard anyone north of the River Tyne refer to Shearer or indeed Keegan as anything of the sort. Must be a southern media thing, but that’s another rant in the making.
Did the majority of us Newcastle fans ask for Shearer back? No, just like we did not ask for Keegan back. Sure, Mike Ashley has a few hearts and minds to win back and bringing Alan back plucked on the heart strings of every Geordie from Byker to Beirut but this is NOT a time for sentiment, it’s a time for action. We need a manager capable and experienced and despite what the Sky Sports News reports might suggest, the fans of Newcastle United are not all truant school kids, charvers and people on the dole with nothing else better to do than go chant names at a camera on a Tuesday afternoon with no clue on the real matters in hand.
The real fans realise we’re in deep here but Shearer surely is not the answer. The match against Chelsea was a good indication of this. An atmosphere to bring the roof in was expected but did not materialise. Even Frank Lampard mentioned post-match that the case of the missing ‘SJP roar’ made the task in hand for them considerably easier. You would think the return of Big Al would have brought the house down but an air of resignation loomed over a broken SJP as if to accept the fate handed to us with seven games still to play.
So on to Stoke, not a happy hunting ground for many a top team this year, let alone a team in dire straits. To lose this match would not signal the end entirely but would be a severe blow. Much like a stricken boxer taking one final Hatton jab to the body, winding him so they can’t go on.
Stoke will be buoyant for this game and the Britannia will be bouncing after they look to have done enough to secure first season survival. People will look at the Stoke team and wonder how they’ve managed it, but the truth is they have stuck together as a team and played to their strengths. Ok, long throw-in goals may not be fine for the purists but who cares? This is a results business and I would love to have taken half of those goals that have been delivered from the cannon-like arms of Rory Delap. We sure could have used a few of them over the course.
We need points and soon. The home games against Portsmouth, Fulham and Boro’ will be where the war will be won or lost but Stoke could prove to be the point of no return. The team need morale and losing would be unthinkable. Win however and with Sunderland facing a wounded Manchester United side at the weekend, the momentum could be back with Newcastle as we hunt down our local rivals. If we then dish out a hammering to the great unwashed, a remarkable turnaround could occur. Swapping places with the Mackems would be the ideal scenario and give renewed vigour to the fans and hopefully the team. But should we lose and end up further points adrift, well, lets face it, it’s just another day in the goldfish bowl.
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