Fulham 0-4 Newcastle: NUFC end the season in style with rampant win for Rafa

That’s it folks, our 2018/19 season is over, with us rounding things off today with a thumping win at Craven Cottage – a result that sees us finish in 13th.

Goals from Shelvey (and it was a stunner!), Perez, Schar and Rondon sealed a 4-0 win – and if that’s to be Benitez’s final game as manager of Newcastle United, it was some send off!

It was a scoreline we’ve not been used to seeing this season, with us two up in 10 minutes and scoring 4 on the road for the first time this season, but it was a display that summed up our form in 2019.

We battled superbly, defending admirably and took our chances emphatically, outclassing and frustrating a Fulham side that spent over £100m last summer.

It may be the last time we see a few play in a Newcastle United shirt. Hayden finally looks set to seal his move away for family reasons, Rondon is due back at West Brom tomorrow and a permanent deal is up in the air, Perez rumours have been rife since his rise to form, Diame is out of contract as things stand and it feels like Shelvey will be cashed in on should Rafa stay. All five have been good servants in one way or another, and all of them played brilliantly today, but the biggest signing this summer would be Rafa Benitez.

I’m sure I speak for every Newcastle United fan in saying I hope and pray this isn’t his last game as manager.

Here’s how the final Premier League table looks after today’s results, with Man City lifting the title with a 4-1 win at Brighton and our 0-4 win seeing us finish up in 13th:

So, another season down and another incredible effort from the players and brilliant job done by Rafa Benitez.

All the momentum gathered last season was sucked out of the club over the summer, with us leaving signings too late and starting the season slowly as a result, but both Benitez and the players recovered remarkably after such a poor start to the campaign.

Our first win of the season came in November, with us enduring our worst start to a league season since 1898, but survived comfortably once again. That’s now something we should be celebrating, however, and that’s why Benitez won’t sign until he gets assurances that the club will show ambition beyond simply ‘staying up’.

The club has reached a crossroads. Either Benitez leaves – and all hope leaves with him – or we either go on with Rafa, sign Rondon and start making steps towards becoming a solid top 10 side and beyond.

Let’s hope the right decision are made over the coming weeks and we can enjoy a 2019/20 season where relegation battles are no more and Rafa’s future isn’t the topic of conversation every week.

For now though, hats off to Rafa and this group of lads for grinding it out once again.

Another rollercoaster season filled with unbearable early-season lows, mid-season nerves, but ultimately the resurgence of a organised, charismatic and gutsy side who gave us some big away day wins and electric moments at St James’ Park.

(Fancy writing for us? Send any articles/ideas over to us at [email protected] & we’ll get back to you!)

About Olly Hawkins

As a Junior Magpie since birth and season ticket holder, I eat, sleep and breathe all things NUFC! Here at the blog, I aim to bring you news, views, match reports and transfer exclusives as and when I get them.

169 thoughts on “Fulham 0-4 Newcastle: NUFC end the season in style with rampant win for Rafa

  1. Kimtoon: I am not sure if I could take Brexit. I know I have to put up with Trumpy but you have Farage, Flouncy Boris and Theresa “If it is Wednesday then I must come out with yet another Brexit plan that is really similar to the last one” May.

    If I was to make it the most annoying mix of people in the world I would add Jeremy Kyle and Piers Morgan, shake, and there you have it. A recipe for mass suicide of the entire British population.

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  2. We actually had Kyle and Morgan in the US for a while but sent them back. There are some absolute morons over here but those 2 were just too much smug, poshist-fake-sincerity Britishness even for the Yanks.

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  3. Oh, and while you’re at it can you take back Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver as well? I actually have a Jamie cookbook and it is very good but he is annoying as hell (he’s on TV now and I had to switch him off). I once bought one of Ramsey’s books as well for 1 cent on the internet. It was incredibly pretentious (surprise) and it ended up in the recycling.

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  4. Eric, I’m brexited out mate, fed up to the back teeth of it all and the thought of Boris taking over from May sends actual shivers down my spine.

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  5. Sorry, brexit sent me off on a tangent about Brits I can’t stand. Plenty of Yanks the same especially the Crook-in-Chief just I have learnt to tune him out and Brexit seems to be 24/7 in the British stuff I read.

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  6. Steve Nichol saying on ESPN/The Daily Mail that Man U should immediately fire OGS/GBC and hire Max Allegri. Must read this blog. Not really. It is the most obvious move you could make to correct an obvious mistake. But as Kimtoon said, it is better for the rest of us if Gone-By-Christmas stays. At least for the summer transfer window.

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  7. Kimtoon: I am pretty mad at Brexit. My intention when I retire, which will not be for a while yet, was to split some time between Europe and the US.

    I suppose there could be a silver lining when I will get 20 pounds to the $ after Farage and Flouncy Boris are done.

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  8. 1st part of the Man U humiliation worked out.

    Need the red bindippers to win the CL.

    A contract extension for Woodward and OGS would also be nice.

    Uphold the transfer ban on Pogba’s Agent?

    Have Sanchez set up his own clothing line?

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  9. Well, Game of Thrones ended tonight and I will not spoil it for anybody because I know it is not shown until later in the UK. It has gone on for 8 years and 72 episodes. That’s almost as fcking long as The Rafa – Ashley saga.

    There is nothing going on at NUFC because we are all waiting. Rafa should not expect to get everything he wants. He is married FFS so must know that. If he walks over something like academy funding I expect Ashley to get all of the blame. But should he?

    For a club like us I think a policy of signing U26s where we can makes sense but there should also be some flexibility. There has been in the past where the club thought we were getting a bargain.

    Ashley should stick to allowing Rafa to spend what the club generates but I also don’t blame him for saying NUFC should not be going into debt to compete in a losers game where only the supper-rich prosper in the long term. Many teams have played that game and look where it got them – Sunderland and Leeds for example.

    I just don’t see them as being that far apart as long as Ashley sticks to his word – BIG IF. I would say one other thing that Ashley should not be deciding on the value of a player. He has said himself that he knows nothing about football. I think that will be the gamebreaker if anything.

    Hopefully we will find out soon.

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  10. Biggest problem is Eric that Ashley sees no up side of trying to compete to get in the top 6. Rafa thinks he can by “doing the right things” but Ashley isn’t in to taking risks as he see it. It really should show Ashley that there really is very little point in him owning NUFC at all. In fact it’s utterly pointless!

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  11. I think we should keep Gayle. He’s fast and would pair well with Almiron. Top teams now play with fast movement with or without the ball. People might say he had a poor season with us the previous season but he was injured for part of it. There aren’t many strikers around who would score 24 goals in the Championship. If he wasn’t our player I am sure we would be trying to get him.

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  12. That’s probably right Stuart. There are no signs at all of him wanting rid. Apart from the lying ******* saying he wants to sell.

    Oh well. Rafa will sign tomorrow!

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