Us to rock up and put in our best performance of the season this weekend rather than last weekend because that's how NUFC ****ing roll
Forget it ... this rough patch is going to turn into a serious reality check. Overall the picture should still be seen as good, but we've got difficult spells and more heartbreaks to come.
You're a hopeful one We'll probably lose this, but we have a chance, City ain't indestructible, they're 2nd for that reason - they have the propensity to have results like getting beaten by Brentford at home. We'll get back to track following this game.
Newcastle have won 1 in the last 8 games and don't score goals. They were riding a wave of confidence before Christmas and now confidence is almost as low as the titanic.
Doom, despair and destruction! We've lost 2 games out of 23, one of those was with the last kick of the game, and the other was when we had our keeper sent off after 20 minutes and we were still the better side for most of the game! Your stats are completely wrong cos we've won 3 of the last 8, and even if you're going by league games only then we've won 2 of the last 8, and in addition only lost one of those games. We haven't scored for the last 2 games and scored in the match before that, so saying we don't score goals is also wrong. Their confidence ist as low as the Titanic, you've just decided that, and that's the reason why you'll probably never make it as a football manager.
I'll repeat what I said in the original post that overall the picture is still very good, however.... We've been having this conversation all year and since then Newcastle have only won 1 game and are sliding down the table. This isn't anything negative it's what's actually happened. There's no goals being scored and they're conceding more goals now. You don't have to be a football manager to know how confidence is impacted by results.
You have to be a football manager to know how to reinstill confidence after a lull rather than predict doom and despair for months going forward. Record since the turn of the year - P11 W4 D4 L3... hardly that bad is it? And one of those losses was the FA cup Vs Sheff Wed which we didn't care about and wanted out of, another was after we had our keeper sent off and still managed to play decently, and the other was the league cup final. And let's also remember one of those losses was away at Arsenal at a time when they were winning every game.
I'm not a football manager and if it was as easy as a few words for football managers there would never be an issue with confidence in the 1st place. The fact is before Christmas they were high in confidence and now they're low in confidence. What you're doing is digging out reasons to ignore what's happening right now on the pitch and to hold on to a belief Newcastle are better than they actually are. Top 8 is a great season.... Newcastle Brighton and Fulham will be best of the rest... not sure the order.
No, what I'm actually doing is presenting stone cold facts - the results and statistics since the start of the year cannot be disagreed with. You're going forward and stating as a believed fact that we'll be 6th to 8th based on games that haven't even happened yet. 8th might have been a decent expecting at the start of the season, but at the end of the season, if we finish 8th after being 3rd for a long period, it can only be regarded as a disappointment. Stating confidence is mega low also isn't valid either - against Liverpool they were in an awful position, 2 nil down and keeper sent off after 20 minutes, but rallied and outplayed Liverpool for most of that game rather than letting their heads go down. Likewise coming back from a ****ty situation against Bournemouth, and getting an incredible gutsy draw away at Arsenal. And that's before we take into account that they convincing beat Leicester and Southampton to get to the final...these are all example of things happening on the pitch.
Your stats are irrelevant in the context of the discussion. I posted a comment saying newcastle have won 1 of the last 8 games and that their confidence is low. What you've done is take exception to that comment and started digging up irrelevant facts and figures that exist outside the specific area of discussion. Anyway let's just forget it and move on mate ... you think newcastle will return to pre Christmas form and I don't.. both positions are fine.
It's not irrelevant at all. You posted a comment that we've won 1 of the last 8 - the stats prove this untrue, we've won 3 of the last 8 and if you are just going by league games we've won 2 of the last 8. Seriously check the results, what you said is wrong. Then we come to your main point of contention, that confidence is low, and I gave examples of why the fighting mentality - ie a battling draw against Arsenal, getting back into the game against Bouremouth and refusing to give up Vs Liverpool - which certainly isn't suggestive of a team low on confidence. I don't necessarily think we will be back to the pre Xmas form, that was what? Won 8 and drew 1 of 9 which was mental....however I see an improvement from a lull rather than a downward spiral. Lack of goals at the moment is the main concern, but I do not see that being long-term.
I'm really not - we haven't lost 1 of the last 8, we're likely to lose to City but I see things improving after that, performances and attitude show fight despite results rather than low confidence, and lack of goals is a concern that will be addressed rather than being an ongoing problem....those are my points.
So you're agreeing that newcastle are in poor form, agreeing they'll get beat my man City and trying to taking issue with the fact they won 2 in 8 not 1 and claiming confidence is no issue.
No that wasn't the point - of course we're likely to get beaten by Man City, anyone who says any different is mad. I'm taking issue with using how we've been since Xmas as a basis to predict that we're on a downward slope, confidence is shot and we'll be competing with Fulham and Brighton for how the top 8 looks.
So you're saying since Christmas Newcastle haven't been on the downward slope and that confidence is bound to be as high now as before ?
Nope - considering they beat Leicester 3 nil on boxing day, got a fantastic draw at Arsenal, got the league cup final and have only lost 1 league game since then. A lull or small slump is how I would term it, it sure as hell ain't a Chelsea or Liverpool style crisis, and when your form is as mental as ours was before Xmas some kind of crash is inevitable. Confidence ain't gonna be sky high like it was before Xmas, but at the same time it's not seriously low, because it doesn't have to be one thing or the other, it can be inbetween. There have been plenty of positives from our "bad patch" that can be used going forward, thus I see confidence lower than pre Xmas, but something that can be raised, rather than going on a continued decline.
Go and look at pre Christmas form and compare it to post Christmas and you'll see that you're definitely wrong....Newcastle are sliding down the table as a result of it mate . There's no escaping this fact and the fact you're arguing against it looks like you're in denial at this point.
