Following their humiliating reverse at fellow strugglers Leicester last weekend, Newcastle are now embroiled in the battle to avoid the Premier League trapdoor. With managers insinuating players have been deliberately sent off, fans wanting the manager out, fans wanting the owner out, Newcastle are a club in disarray and a club on the slide.
Their recent run has been well publicised but they do make sombre reading; eight consecutive defeats, a club record and only finding the net seven times in the last twelve games. Make no mistake, if there is one club who are on a slippery slope to the Championship it is John Carver’s men.
Then we move on to John Carver, a man who is so happy to tell every man, woman and child how much he loves Newcastle United, but one too selfish to admit he is painfully out of his depth. Many could argue he is a good football man, but he is a good football man who has dragged is team into a relegation battle.
Many Toon fans were baying for Alan Pardew’s blood for a number of months and his sacking was met with almost unanimous joy. However, those who loyally visit St James’ Park every week expected their hapless owner Mike Ashley to take responsibility and replace a manager with…..well another one. Wishful thinking.
[ad_pod id=’ffc-video-small’ align=’left’]
Mike Ashley is carefully sculpting a culture of apathy in the North East, he has almost transcended hatred and move onto a whole new emotion and he has dragged all the life out of a proud club. He is a clearly a shrewd businessman but he is in danger of one of his biggest assets losing a great deal of money.
As well as placing all the blame at the door of their incompetent manager and joyless owner, some must be placed at the so called ‘playing’ staff. For months they have been on a beach, dining on the mediocrity of their 2014 form, but the sand on that beach is thickening into a surface more like suffocating quicksand.
With three games remaining for Newcastle to salvage their rapidly sinking ship, they arguably have the kindest run-in. But at this point in time it is difficult to see where a win comes from, they are so bereft of confidence and, worse than that, effort and their fate is becoming more apparent with every passing minute.
Their only saving grace may be the fact that three teams need to hop above them in the last three games, still an unlikely scenario, but with every team around them with one winnable game left that could be enough.
Their desperation was clear in their reported advances for Derby boss Steve Mclaren, but even he was not tempted for a short stay in the Toon.
Last time Newcastle went down it was with a team who were arguably far too good for the Championship and thus their return was relatively straightforward; if this relegation was to come it has a very different feel, they are a club on a downward spiral and rather than citing examples such as Southampton as an inspiration for a relegation revitalising a club maybe they should be looking at Wigan and Blackpool.
[ad_pod id=’election’ align=’center’]
