Back in our hands?

Wigan miss chance to overtake United
Wigan miss chance to overtake United
Personally I hate relying on other results when it comes to our own fortune, but to be honest I’ll take pretty much anything that comes our way right now.

So whilst I’m loathe to revel in the misfortunes of others, I am still delighted that Swansea managed to do us a favour last night by beating Wigan 3-2 at the DW Stadium.

That game was Wigan’s game in hand and if they’d have won it they would have overtaken us and ensured we faced QPR at the weekend as the last occupants of the relegation zone. However as things stand now we are still three points ahead of the Latics with just two games left to play for all teams involved in the relegation dogfight.

So how do things stand now following on from the result last night? Well the first thing to observe is that our destiny is now back in our own hands. From experience that chance often doesn’t come around twice so it’s now up to us to take the chance we’ve been afforded with both hands.

To ensure we make the most of this chance we must pick up a win at QPR on Sunday. If we manage to grab just a second away win of the campaign it would mean that Wigan would then definitely have to win their two remaining fixtures which, if they did manage, would mean we need to pick up a point against Arsenal to be safe. Even a draw for us at QPR would be enough providing Arsenal beat Wigan at the Emirates on Tuesday night.

To be fair there are still lots of permutations and many twists and turns that could happen and any team up to Fulham in 12th could still be dragged into things, however unlikely it may seem right now. What we do have is a second chance to keep the ball in our court so to speak, but to make sure it remains that way we must win this weekend at QPR.

And if the players and manager can’t get that then well….

About toonsy

A lifelong Newcastle fan and current webmaster of this very 'blog who has the sole aim of creating a place by Newcastle United fans, for Newcastle United fans.

658 thoughts on “Back in our hands?

  1. TOONAL@522 i agree mate along with nelson whos now gone were there best defenders imo

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  2. TAE@524 😯 😆 😆 😆 IS HE FOR REAL.yes he has talent ,a talent for fucking up. 🙄

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  3. Ice ,I hope we arn’t getting into false sense of security here ,we still need to get at them. It’s not enough to just stay up we need as many points as possible so there is no last day points required.

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  4. KIM dead right mate,thats what i worry about with pardews tactics,i think the dummy will go all out for a point 😡

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  5. Samba out has cheered me up as he is a beast of a defender, and to make it even better Ranger has really cheered me up with that ***** 😆 what a total waste of oxygen that numb nut is 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆

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  6. Dave ,I agree but wern’t the Hammers fans on his back a while back for not playing too good 😕

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  7. God it would be hugely embarressing if a team of kids beat us and we go down cause Wigan pull off a shock win v Arsenal 🙄 .

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  8. It’s bloody awful this season. I can’t even look forward to the game with any sort of confidence at all. And we badly need a result.

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  9. The result I’m looking at is Stoke v Spurs. A draw would mean that a home win for Arsenal would guarantee them CL above Spurs. That should give them the incentive to **** Wigan.

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  10. Kim but I think something had happened and he had made it clear he wanted out but they went back on their word, so for me that explains it, as for getting beat the thought hasn’t even entered my mind I am more confident of a win than I have been in a long time

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  11. I can’t see how a point would be enough ,it would only be enough if Wigan lose on tuesday ,say they get a win ,not impossible they did last year .They would only need a point to draw level assuming we don’t beat Arsenal then it’s goal difference 🙄 . Anyway we simply can’t let it go to the last day needing anything from Arsenal ,my health can’t take it.

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  12. Dave , Logic says we should beat them ,but it’s that Toon luck and dodgy refs I worry about ,oh and Dopeys tactics 🙄 😳

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  13. How do we think Hoots boys will do against the Baggies and Citeh 😕 , I can see maybe a point , poss 3 v the Baggies not so at Citeh ,so Hoots boys could go into the last day on 39 or 41 just like us or maybe even better if we flunk it ,oh the irony ,why did he get the sack again 🙄 😳

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  14. Love the optimism Prem. Wish I could share it. My head says yeah we’re Ok already, Wigan will only get one more point. Me old heart sees the sixth Liverpool goal flashing in!

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  15. Well i reckon we are going to win big on sunday Collo ‘s return seems to have lifted the spirits of the entire squad . Pards has Debuchy , Santon and Marveaux back as well , though i would stick with the defence that got a clean sheet against west ham . O yeah and Ameobi is out of the last 2 games time for the lad Campbell to get some game time . All in all things is starting too look a lot better .Roll on Sunday lets get the win and put this disaster of a season too bed .

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  16. Great news Samba out.
    Sorry Mark didn’t get a chance to respond, yes the mighty foxes (teehee) 1-0 up. Their fans can’t believe it as they thought they had well and truly blown it. Filbert Street was a real dump but their new stadium is ok, pretty friendly, more so than Forest where there always seems to be a bit of a menacing undertone. Sometimes go along and watch the Leicester if I’ve nowt better to do. We have had some cracking games over the years against them.
    Hope all this news from Harry, isn’t giving our master tactician any bloody funny ideas. He needs to put his bloody negative leanings aside and let the lads go for it racking up as many bloody goals as they can 😆

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  17. To any of our regulars across the pond…..SOS
    Of all the bloody days to be out of the UK, last day of the season is one…noooooo
    Any how can’t get work to change their mind as much as I’ve tried to weedle my way out of it.
    Will be in Chicago landing about 4pm local, any idea which channel may be showing highlights of premier league games that night, well more importantly ours? Cheers

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  18. Bloody hell Deb that’s bad timing mate 🙁 As for who’s showing it I would imagine you best ask our US based guys. There is bound to be someway of catching up on it as it’s the last day so big interest .Good luck anyhow.

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  19. So i heard 3players will be back in contention for QPR match. Debuchy,Santon, Sylvian.

    If this is true, my confidence in Newcastle winning QPR just increase. :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

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  20. Thanks KimToon, gutted beyond belief. These buggers better have it as wrapped up as possible before then or i’m going to have to be sedated sitting on an eight hour flight not knowing the bloody score and if we are relegated or not. Hopefully Jill or NorCal will be able to answer. Sure this is someone’s idea of a sick joke doing this to me 🙄
    How is Lewis? Hope he had got over his cough and stuff. What a nightmare

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  21. AOD, only Marveaux would be sure of a start for me. Would also consider playing Santon up front on the left, but not at left back. Mwbia was brilliant there last week.

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  22. Deb don’t worry the **** game wont be that important for us anyway after this sun we will be assured of our prem status so it is only about climbing a bit

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  23. Deb ,he seems to be a little better thanks but has passed it on to me now :roll:not that a sore throat is gunna stop me yelling at the screen if we play **** mind.

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  24. Well at least Pardew can’t bring Shola on to slow the attack down now. I think we can win this one but I hope it doesn’t alter people’s thinking about keeping Pardew. We have been poor all season, there is no reasonable excuse for that. We should be able to finish with 41 or 42 points but I don’t want another summer wondering if we’re going to do the same next season.

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  25. I’ve been thinking about who the candidates for our player of the year are. It’s very difficult based on this season. Ba is still our top goal scorer in the league by far! Some players have had decent patches but nobody has been completely consistent. I would have to say Colo has been by far our best defender when he has played and as for the rest, spotty performances all over the pitch. Krul and Elliot have both been decent in goal. Very disappointed not to be able to mention other names but Ben Arfa hasn’t played nearly often enough and Cabaye has disappeared in a number of games. Strange season to say the least. 😥

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  26. G2@562, if we are not right on top of our game QPR will beat us. We are so poor at the moment, aren’t creating any chances, and cannot last the full duration of a game.

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  27. I’ve been thinking about Tiote as far as his future with the club is concerned. I would have to think we may move him on. Quite frankly has play has been terrible in a lot of games this season. He hasn’t found a balance between aggression and playing within the rules often enough. And Cabaye hasn’t been consistent either so it would appear we need to get at least another DCM and decide what the roles of Cabaye and Sissoko should be on the pitch. I don’t think that has been clear at all with Pardew. If Benny stays he has to have a big role in the attack and we’ll have to see if Gouffran is really up to playing in the Prem after a decent start and what to do with Jonas. Obertan and Gosling should be gone as well and we should see a new striker. The replacement for Colo will be a huge deal for us. It has to be a top defender or we’ll suffer at the back again. A huge number of question marks hanging over the squad now.

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  28. Aye Munich have to agree mate. It requires a first class performance from us and we haven’t been consistent at all this season. That’s making most of us nervous wrecks watching the games. This will be a huge summer for us. If Ashley makes any big mistakes it will be very difficult for us next season. I would include choosing our management and how much to invest in that. If we stay up plenty of money is available without going into the red. If Ashley adopts a negative or wait and see approach I could see another disastrous season coming our way.

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  29. G2, I posted the same thing yesterday mate, Pardew has a real job on his hands this summer… if he’s still at the club of course. My biggest worry is holding onto Cisse.

    I’m crossing my fingers that HBA comes back 100% and plays like before his injury. I hope this playing him half fit isn’t going to jeapordise his long-term health. Several of our players seem to suffer from niggly injuries.

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  30. G2 when you think about it if we cannot beat a team at the bottom of lge and thinking of there hols it a bloody sad affair imo and if pardew goes to just defend its another sad state of affairs

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  31. G2@566, I wonder if Ashley is having second thoughts about putting Pardew in charge of his 200 mill worth of baubles ?

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  32. Icedog…what were you saying about Big Dave, and long pockets with short arms ? 😉

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  33. Ice I’ve been thinking about that all along mate. It’s a sad state of affairs when we aren’t completely confident that our team will make a big effort. Last season we would have chewed a team like QPR up and spit them out. This year is full of uncertainty and question marks including going into too many games with far too defensive setups. Munich I feel the same about Benny. His fitness is a huge worry for us but there are so many other worries as well now. And we have to take into account a strange owner and managing director with little or no football knowledge. It puts us in a much more uncertain position than many other clubs.

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  34. Can anyone imagine any other club who had been in the top 6 last season standing pat with a manager who followed up with a bottom 5 finish in the following season? I realize stability comes from allowing a manager time to set the club up properly but first you have to choose the right manager and Ashley has ulterior motives for not doing that, which most clubs don’t have to worry about. Other top clubs don’t try to run their manager like a puppet (and don’t hire men willing to be puppets in the first place). Can this ever be resolved with our owner? We had better hope so or more seasons like this one are on the way.

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  35. Aye Munich @569, surely Ashley is having huge doubts now. Even he can open a paper and look at the league table. And he did spend more than anyone else in January. Is he satisfied with the performances his money paid for? That has to be a huge negative in his thinking about Pardew. Does he want to commit more money in the summer and have the same thing happen next season? I would have to think not.

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  36. Christ ,that’s a point player of the season 🙄 Not exactly spoilt for choice in that department are we .

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  37. MM it’s you that has the long pockets short arms, and your lip is trailing the ground, I can’t wait till Richie is back to help me spread a bit of positivety on here, either that or I could hoy a link up incase Richie doesn’t make an appearance, but my sense’s tell me he will 😆

    http://www.samaritans.org/

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  38. If the training and physio setup aren’t a huge area of concern for Ashley now then he just isn’t paying enough attention. And I have no faith in Llambias to be looking into it. The number of hamstring injuries alone is alarming. The club is far too high up the injury table every season. Expensive talent sitting on the bench injured is a huge waste of resources and Ashley should be able to see that. I continue to think that Ashley should have a highly competent person come in and review all our playing staff’s performance levels. It’s absolutely essential at this level.

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  39. Big D, aye my lip is trailing the ground, but not my knuckles mate 🙂

    The laird from Alicante hasn’t been on here for a while mate, he’ll probably make a guest appearance over the weekend though 🙂

    I hope your man Pardew comes good on Sunday..

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  40. Anyway we have the summer to discuss the prospects for next season and Ashley will have to enter into the argument and make some serious moves. I’m hoping to be very excited about our chances next season and see some excellent performances. There is no reason that it can’t happen that way. But the right moves will have to be made between the end of the season and August.

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  41. Be back shortly mates. We still have a lot to discuss in the coming days. 😀

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  42. Big Dave , Samaritians 😆 😆 nice one ,shall we email that link to Whelan. 😉

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  43. G2, I think the EPL clubs are going to have even more money to throw around in the summer. Throw in the managerial changes which will be coming off, and the fact that they will also want to splash the cash, it could be tough bringing good players in.

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  44. Milk and Honey. The clown is an absolute joker. Should have gone in January

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  45. Wish people on here would be consistent with their thoughts. Some players should be moved on because they have been poor this season. If this rule was applied across the whole squad we would have to sign 25 players in the summer and sell 25

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  46. Dave

    Just want this season to end. Going to games has been a chore of late. Usually I can’t get enough of the Toon but the mediocrity this season has sickened me. Brought up in the Joe Harvey era (manager not player) we had terrible seasons then too but there was always a trend to entertain. All I want is to get excited but with this season you have been wishing your life away hoping for the final whistle.

    Crikey just read back what I have posted and it is depressing.This is what the toon does to you. Should have made my grandson support a different team

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  47. @G2

    Everton stood by Moyes in similar circs in his first 2 seasons in charge. It went down to the final game for Everton in his second season having finished in a high position in his first season.

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  48. TLR I know exactly how you feel mate my grandkids are all manure ones after their Dad but I sometimes feel **** for my wee lad as I know he gets some ribbing from all his mates but TBH he holds his head high even when all his mates that are dipper fans were giving him a hard time, I just got him round to believing that they were just glory hunters 😀
    I am the same the only real highlights for me this yr are some of the goals and seeing Benny run teams ragged apart from that there has been fuk all really

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  49. F£&@in Ranger will look back and regret his choices he’s made someday.

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  50. Troy that depends if Ranger will make it to an age where he would start to reflect on his life and the **** up and waste he made of it 😕

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  51. Troy@587… you mentioned this mate…

    “@G2

    Everton stood by Moyes in similar circs in his first 2 seasons in charge. It went down to the final game for Everton in his second season having finished in a high position in his first season.”

    Does that then read that you hold out hope that Pardew’s career will pan out similar to Moyes ?

    By the way, I cannot believe that Moyes has picked up the Man Utd job. Decent enough manager, but as a replacement for SA, that was a surprise for me.

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  52. MM on Moyes I still can’t believe he has landed the managers job of one of the biggest clubs in the world 😯 I would have imagined that they would have got one of the best managers in the world with experience of playing in Europe and winning in Europe let alone winning their own leagues and countless other things

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  53. Big D @593, that Moyes choice had me baffled too. Good luck to the lad though, could this be the start of a small blip for Man Utd ? Maybe SAF’s presence was the one thing that gave them the little bit extra to stay at the top. Interesting times ahead, I wish we could be in there in the mix around top ten, but can’t see it with Pardew in charge. Remember in the old days with Liverpool, no-one could imagine a season when they weren’t pushing for the title, but look how they have fallen from grace. It would be nice to see Man Utd do the same, just to stick it up their glory-hunter fans. How the top teams react to SAF’s departure, and if they sniff an opportunity, will be interesting to see.
    I fear the fall-out from this seasons debacle may mean another season treading water for the toon, though it has to be better than the dross we have witnessed this season, battling relegation.

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  54. I personally don’t think Pardew is a bad manager. Europa League and injuries to BIG players was too tall an order. I’m not sure I like him and I don’t think he’s great but the fact is he got us to 5th last season. 5th! Should we remain in the Prem I think I’d only like to see him go if we got someone in who is truly world class, Benitez or… Mourinho 😯

    Part of me wants him to go but I just think swapping Pardew for someone who has promise but remains unproven could mean the we have a repeat season like this one (providing we stay up). Remember Gullit and Allardyce etc etc etc? We’ll then compile confused or deadwood players, again, and ultimately end up in a bad situation of having mercenaries. Zero stability.

    After all, how many seasons did it take Alex Ferguson to win win the Prem?

    ‘For me he’s the best English coah I’ve worked with, by a considerable distance’. Joey Barton (at Marseille) 4:35 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSSJPfxZyM0

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  55. MM I said the samething last night about a mini dip for them until Moyes gets control and respect of the players, as we all know Fergie controlled them but even he has had a few probs with different players, I really do think they will struggle to maintain the form they have had. and yeah I can’t see things getting any worse for us next season but we need to improve

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  56. DAVE liked you vid on f/b great laugh,type this into u-tube and see batty learning a new skill 😀

    The RETURN Of The Angriest Guitar Player In The World!!!

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  57. Hoddo I agree mate, and I did mention that Joey quote onetime before but then you get ones saying yeah he’s a c@nt anyway 🙄

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  58. Really don’t know what people are worried about, we’ll be fine…unfortunately so will Pards be I reckon 😉 KTF….epecially you Munchen :mrgreen:

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