It would be a travesty if you didn't get 4th place.

Gooner in peace.

I'm sure you've all already had posts praising your team so I'm sure you won't mind another.

After Chris Hughton got sacked by Mike Ashley, I thought it was absolute lunacy. I could see why your fans disliked Mr Ashley and to then replace with him Pardrew, it raised a few more eyebrows. But after you came back from 4-0 down last season against us, I thought Newcastle had something special but I had no idea you would be fighting it out for 4th place this season.

Also, I have to give credit to your style of play. In recent games you've been critcized but over the course of the season, you have played some great football. If you do get 4th and maintain the players you currently have (and add to it) I don't see why you can't have a decent run in CL.

Unfortunately, as I'm sure you're all aware, certain players in your team will be targeted by the so called 'bigger' clubs, but I feel it's an insult when people say that. Newcastle has always been a big club in my opinion and whether you get 4th or not, any player who decides to leave now would be foolish. We saw what happened with one certain 35million pound rated striker and look where his career is now.

Anyway, good luck for the rest of the season and it would be nice to see a different team in Europe from England (hopefully not at our expense).

 

Why thankyou, however any place in europe would be fantastic provided it's enough to keep our best players for at least another season,

 

Thanks for the post mate. We are well away that some of our players will be targeted by bigger clubs, but I'm not too worried about that anymore.

Our owner and chairman are ****ers but clever ****ers. They will not let our best players go for less than silly money.

We sold all our best players from last season and replaced them with better with a tiny budget.

We can do the same if we do receive ridiculous bids and end up selling.

And I don't think there's a chance of us nicking your top 4 spot, you'll be 5pts ahead by tonight and you have some very winnable games as well as momentum.

I reckon the only way we'll get 4th is if Spurs continue this weak spell of theirs.

 

Thanks... and REPPPP!!!

 

Thanks KuntaKinte. We're just happy to up there competing, its an unexpected joy. We've actually been a bit out of form recently in our performances but managed to win games despite that, which is amazing. I think the fortnight before our next game will help us more than some other teams as we've got alot of injuries and fatigue in the squad but only 5 more games and anything could happen really.

Good luck on your march for CL football, i think its still a bit open for yourselves and although i'm confident Arsenal will finish top 4 i don't think anyone is taking it for granted just yet.

 

And yet you still went and scored a last minute goal against us.

We'd be doing a lot better with that extra point you took away from us. Just saying.

 

Arsenal have 3rd nailed on.

Newcastle will push all the way, but I see us finishing in 6th - maybe even down to our weaker goal difference.

I can also see Everton beating Liverpool, and Newcastle missing out on Europe despite the points on the board.

I'd be interested to find out the highest points total in the history of the Prem to not qualify for Europe - I suspect we might clinch that dubious honour.

 

Jesus **** Christ I've met myself here.

 

I feel i have to balance out the two poster above me.

We're definately going to win all of our last 5 games like we've won our previous 5 games and end up clinching 3rd.



Now if only any of us actually believed that...

 

I don't know why people look down on Europa... it's a good competition. You just have to look at the way City and Utd struggled against the teams there. It would build good experience for the team to see how they handle playing in Europe and domestically. Diving straight in the CL might be too much of a shock.

I think it's an insult when people don't call Newcastle a big club. For one, they have the 3rd highest stadium capacity in the PL. Imagine that stadium during European football nights? I'm sure the atmosphere would be amazing.

You've done well to get 35mil out of Carroll and you actually spent the money the right way. What I also like is how you got rid of troublesome players like Barton, because you look at how other clubs keep talented yet silly players (i.e. Liverpool, City) and you see how it affects the whole team.

Cheers mate, one for you too.

I know... but it's always business, never personal. If we had drawn that match, based on the results since then, you would be 3rd. Talk about a fine margin.

 

I think you went through a bad patch at the right time. When you look at Tottenham, prior to playing us at the Emirates, you would've tipped them for challenging for the title and now look. It's all about how you perform at the business end of the season as well. We've seen it time and time again how it's not a sprint, it's a marathon. Every team goes through a bad patch, you just have to make sure it's not at a pivotal moment of the season.

I'm kind of conflicted. I would love to see Everton defeat Liverpool but that would potentially stop you from playing in Europe. If anything, if Everton do make it to the finals, it would hopefully serve as an incentive to try and get 4th. But honestly, Tottenham are going through a bad patch right now and Chelsea have both the F.A. Cup and CL to deal with. This is the perfect time to sneak in and clench 4th.

 

Thank you for the kind regards.

Many of us still dislike Ashley and Dekka for what they are doing regarding the clubs heritage etc but there can be no denying that the folks running the club upstairs have been shrewd to get our most important players signed on to long contracts quickly and efficiently before this summer as we know the vultures will be circling. Krul and Coloccini have both signed new long-term ones recently, as well as Cabaye, Cisse, Tiote who I'm pretty sure all have at least four years to run, with Ben Arfa a few years left on his too. With our new-found financial stability we are in a position to demand a lot of money for these players so if we do lose one or two of them we can be well-placed to find replacements and possibly a couple more players adding up to the same price. We will lose one or two no doubt - Llambias as good as put Tiote in the shop window in an interview recently - but we have faith in our scouts and manager to replace them effectively.

Obviously Pardew and the playing staff deserve a huge amount of credit. All season everyone has been pulling in the same direction, and any minor disputes that could have occurred on the training ground or in the dressing room have been dealt with swiftly and efficiently and not been made public. The team spirit is palpable - every time an NUFC player scores a goal the whole team joins the celebrations, and when we're defending (with the exception of a couple of pastings at Spuds and Fulham) we look organised and the players all work hard for one another. Nobody wants to let the other ten guys down which after seeing most of our teams/managers in recent times is a beautiful sight to behold. Shola Ameobi summed it up just the other day saying in an interview that we have a group of guys that "love" one another.

Talking a bit more about Pardew, NUFC fans have generally been most impressed by two things:
1) His tactical nous and flexibility - Obviously he has got a few things wrong (pointless hoofball tactics in a few matches, occasional ridiculously high defensive line with slow centre backs) but he has done a hell of a lot more right, and the team's adaptability to suit the opposition has been very impressive. Look at Swansea recently, they had 78% of the ball and never looked like scoring short of a potshot flying in, then two incisive attacks and we run out 2-0 winners, likewise we are capable of playing some fluent football.
2) His man-management. He has handled personalities brilliantly, not only keeping the more maverick players and 'egos' in check but also got the best out of players deemed average to plain bad previously. Where the likes of Ben Arfa is concerned, he's instilled a team ethic that hasn't come at the expense of his flair. On the other side of the coin look at James Perch and Ryan Taylor, players fans regarded as terrible and having no future with the club have carved themselves out niches as very useful utility men who can be relied on as cover in a variety of positions.

Even if we do fall short we are still keeping our feet on the ground as you never know what's around the corner, but after what the last few years has brought us we're just enjoying the ride and pinching ourselves after the way things looked for our club that we're back competing in the top reaches of the Premier League - absolute fairytale as far as we're concerned. If we make Champions League then we'll be in dreamland, bring it on, no expectations, just go out there and enjoy playing against Europe's elite after ten long years in the dark. If we make Europa then depending on what happens in summer we could even take a serious shot at winning. If we come sixth and the Everton-Liverpool semi doesn't go our way then **** it, it's been a miraculous season anyway. Everyone said we would fall away but we didn't, we've hung in there holding our own until the end.

Sorry for the long boring post, I guess I'll sum it up by saying well done to all involved and it's purely up to Mike whether we want to do a Spurs or do a Villa. Good luck to Arsenal for the rest of the season and beyond too, always had a bit of a soft spot since Wenger put together that wonderful team and it's nice to see you silenced the critics this year

 

I honestly think 4th place is wide open. Arsenal could do us a huge favour by beating Chelsea, and although Spurs look to have easier fixtures, both QPR and Bolton away could be tricky, both fighting for their lives. Hope the 2 week break doesn't count against us. We might even play well and win, but at this stage points make prizes.

 

Wahhh. Way to make me feel worse.

 

One of the best one liners I've seen on here for a while. I don't even do rep but I will for this.

 

Well said OP, Arsenal should almost certainly get 3rd and deserve credit for the way they have recovered from losing Fabregas and Nasri and also losing 8 - 2 to Man Utd.