Euro dreams over!

No Europe? Oh well.....
You’ll likely not find a more deluded sounding title with regard to NUFC this season, but in a sense the meaning behind the title is true.

This weekend saw the end of any lingering hopes with regard to Europe and will mean that the remainder of our season will purely be focussed on us getting the results to maintain our current league position and avoid getting into any trouble at the wrong end of the table.

It looks as though fifth place will be the only league position that will gain qualification to next seasons Europa League, which is going to be a stretch too far for us in my opinion. However, the fact that we have got to March without being eliminated from the Euro race, and the fact that it has taken some freak results in the cup competitions to rule us out, is an indication of just how well we have done this season and just how open the league table is this year.

I’m getting slightly fed up of people pissing on aspirations though if I’m being honest. Yes survival was our main aim for the season, but whilst we had a chance of getting to Europe we should have been going all out to grab it. We might not be good enough to have made it, but what is the harm in trying?

I keep hearing people banging on about survival and how we are in a relegation scrap yet we are actually closer to sixth place as things stands currently. Why not look up whilst only having a tentative look down? Are Sunderland and Bolton also in a relegation scrap then? Naturally it could all change and we could get dragged into trouble, which could be said for the two teams above us aswell, but one win and it makes it all look a little bit more rosy.

I’m acutely aware that survival is the main aim for the season, but at the minute we have a chance of finishing the season in top ten at the very least. Europe is gone, if it was ever on in the first place, which means that we just have to concentrate on winning football games. We may have nothing to play for in terms of qualification, but we still have everything to play for in the league.

A higher finish will hopefully attract a better type of player than we could get if we finished just above relegation, so in the short term there is probably very little to play for, but when you look at the bigger picture a strong finish to the season could be vitally important.

Drum beating over!

Howay the lads!

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.

127 thoughts on “Euro dreams over!

  1. ‘If it’s just there for info then fair enough . It doesn’t do anything for me and that’s just the opinion of me one person and an honest one at that.’

    Well boo-hoo. Don’t go on it then! 🙄

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  2. Btw Toonsy-

    This is by far the best Newcastle Blog out there. Too many articles and not enough craic at Uncle Ed’s place, and too much drama at Worky’s. Your place is by far the best. And 10k views per day is fantastic for only having been up for a couple or three months. Gan on, bonny lad! Keep writin’!

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  3. I’m actually a wee bit relieved. If we’d been in with a shout of Europe beyond March, I think we’d have suffered one way or the other. If we’d failed, then more ****-take about deluded fans; if we’d made it then I doubt if it would have helped us with our ‘2nd season syndrome’ situation.

    Nah – survival was the target, and remains our focus. Once that’s there, finishing above the scum is all that really matters.

    Right now, I’m still not convinced of our ability to get to 42 points comfortably with the squad we’re left with. I think we’ll make it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it came down to the last couple of games before we secured our safety.

    But As Toonsy points out: what does it say about our season that it’s taken until now – and even then only by virtue of the finishing line moving two slots higher up? That’s good going!

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  4. Toonsy – I second what OHurley says about the blog. It works well, minimises the ****** factor, gets the balance and quantity of content right and generally the banter is of good quality.

    Hell – someone even corrected ‘there’ to ‘their’ earlier.

    That’s intellect, that is. 🙂

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  5. Whumpie-

    Haha, no doubt. I’ve noticed the the misspellings on this site and the overall IQ of the bloggers is superior to all the others. WAY better craic too.

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  6. Yeah europe ( for now ) is gone but a top 10 finish really is a big achivement , we have come along way in a short space of time. Have we come too far too soon? Has this weird season given us an inflated league postion? Agree with pardew that next season is going to be a different ball game but if we finish top 10 this season we have to aim for the same again next season.

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  7. Took me half an hour to comment on that footymad……I found it really hard to navigate around it 🙄 😆

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  8. Cheers lads. It does mean a lot. I’ve been sat on another site arguing all afternoon sticking up for this place because this lad doesn’t like it because it’s **** apparently, so I thought I’d ask those who actually use it (he claims to have never posted on heer before) on a regular basis 🙂

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  9. I mean what’s hard about this place? Your read down the page, and continue reading down the page until you hit the bottom. Hmm technical 😉

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  10. The only good thing in all of this, is that Liverpool look unlikely to qualify for Europe also.

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  11. not even gan to comment again on other sites points,why i never gan on them,read them moved on,odd time on org and thats it

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  12. Toonsy at 12. If you have a blog you are going to get criticized mate- often unfairly. Best not to give it much thought.

    As you mentioned the stats for this blog speak for themselves. Plus the majority of the top posters (IMO) followed you here so that should tell you all you need to know.

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  13. A top 10 finish would still be brilliant, even if it is really tight this year. We would have managed it with hugely erratic home form (which shouldn’t be too hard to remedy) and we’ve proven we can win at some of the toughest stadiums out there (Everton, Arsenal, Chelsea, Birmingham) and we’ve also done it playing some classy football unlike Birmingham did the other year.

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  14. RICHIE getting there mate thanks,sorted with brother on phone,just got to get on like what else can you do

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  15. Im willing to bet there’s more people think that those sites are ****, don’t have many people and are hard to navigate. 😉

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  16. One of the things that will keep the squad together is the prospects of European football. AP needs to set standards aimed at that result. Sending away Roautledge may have been one signal to that effect-the message being you have to be good enough to stay here. I do not doubt that others would have been gone in the January window if the money was right and the replacements measured up to the club ambitions. The club needs to keep its core so it can enhance its weaknesses. If the off season is spent finding players to replace those quality lads that leave, then it is starting out where the club was just a few months ago. If the club gets in that cycle, no one with ambition will want to come to Newcastle. The squad will be in a year to year plug the leaks mode, not a press on to better things mode.

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  17. The wee *****. Funny how he came out with this random bakers analogy or whatever it was. Can’t please everyone all the time. It’s easy to be a big man sat in your mams room on her pc. The little dafty

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  18. cheers dave thanks.
    ime saying we will finish some between 14th/17th,plus batty bet will be up and richie in for 15% cut so he says 😉

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  19. DAVE thats a dirty trick getting wor batty banned from org,good honest guy like him,never has a bad word for anyone 🙁

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  20. Ice I would never do that to my wingman 😉
    Batty this was a classic > somtimes your like a woman with PMT snapping and biting at people

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  21. DAVE richie whats to bye a jenny off batty,there cheap sold me one says it runs off gas,havent tryed it yet like

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  22. Ice we had snow sat night thats it mate. you need to be careful with them gas jenny’s 😆
    DJG cause all the best bloggers are on here 😉

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  23. I’m not sure we could cope with Europe anyway. Not qualifying this season will be a blessing in disguise.
    Also I agree with OHurley this is the best blog!

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  24. Dave 😆
    No it didn’t work, then it did for a couple of mins then back off. I then switched to FF and it worked, now back on IE……..him on footymad was reet 😆

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  25. Sup fellas, 1st post!
    Is jonas fit for weekend? reckon we should play
    Harper
    Taylor/Campbell – – Williamson – – Colo
    Simpson Jonas/Fergie
    Barton/Guthrie – – Tiote
    Nolan
    Best Shola
    5-3-2 if that comes out alright. Solid defence and with enough in the box to nick a couple, should get a result at Stoke.
    what d’ya reckon?

    Also, was nice to hear from Carr recently, 6 in was a nice number to hear from him, feels like i’ve been holding my breath for the summer for a while now. Some shrewd business and we’d have a decent team on our hands, here’s to hoping…

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  26. Dave….some lad was slagging the blog, Toonsy put a link up to it.

    Welshpie…..welcome to the asylum, there is no escape 😈

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  27. RICHIE thinking back ime sure that guy kept going on org,asking people to join that blog,clint gave him short shift 2/3wks ago

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  28. I think that was a different Davy Ice, on about his mates new blog, could be wrong like 🙂

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