To say it’s been a bad weekend for Newcastle United would be putting it mildly.
As we saw, Saturday’s 3-2 defeat to Everton was both awful to watch and disastrous for our Premier League prospects, as our slim hopes of a top-six finish went up in flames.
Liverpool’s 5-2 win over West Ham sent them 12 points above us in 5th, Brentford’s 4-3 victory at Burnley left them 7th and seven ahead, while Everton’s win meant they moved up to 8th and four points clear of Newcastle.
Sunderland’s 1-1 draw at Bournemouth meant the Mackems also moved back above us, but things then went from bad to worse on Sunday, where results up and down the country saw us drop down to 13th in the table.
Fulham’s 2-1 win over Spurs means they are now 9th and four ahead of Newcastle, along with Everton, and Brighton also leapfrogged us on Sunday thanks to a 2-1 home victory over relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest.
Crystal Palace were momentarily above us after they went 1-0 up at Old Trafford, but Man Utd’s comeback win means the Red Devils are now 15 clear of us and with momentum well and truly in tact heading into Wednesday’s match at St James’.
So, in short, we are now 12 away from the Champions League positions, nine away from Chelsea in sixth, seven points behind 7th (a Europa League spot if a top six side wins the FA Cup) and have five clubs ahead of us between Everton in 8th and Sunderland in 12th.
See the latest Premier League table below, followed by all 10 results in full over the weekend:
- Wolves 2-0 Aston Villa
- Bournemouth 1-1 Sunderland
- Newcastle 2-3 Everton
- Liverpool 5-2 West Ham
- Burnley 3-4 Brentford
- Leeds 0-1 Man City
- Fulham 2-1 Spurs
- Man Utd 2-1 Crystal Palace
- Brighton 2-1 Nottingham Forest
- Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea
With Man Utd to come on Wednesday, followed by league games against Chelsea and Sunderland in the midst of FA Cup and Champions League action, a March turnaround is absolutely essential if we’re to make anything of this mess of a season.
Apart from a very outside chance of FA cup glory the season is finished, apart from trying to finish above the Mackems which in itself isn’t much of a consolation.
Anyone who thinks otherwise is living in cloud Cukoo Land, and it’s been on the cards for good while now for those who choose to believe what they have witnessed.
The changes in personnel and injuries are just a part of the reason, we get too many of the same excuses and rhetoric without any changes evident to fix it, the approach has just gone stale with no new ideas or impetus.
Other teams just sit deep and wait to exploit the gaps, the Champions League has just put some fake suntan and money into the equation.
Joseph(Quote)
Disappointing, we have lost that hard pressing, closing down space and rapid attacking pace we had a few seasons ago.
Same formations, players out of positions and an injury list that is just a debacle, we never seem to have alternatives.
Complete transformation needed in summer.
Lee(Quote)