Smile!!

 NUFC beat Wolves and Forest recently, which is nice...

Lo and behold! Would you credit it? Back-to-back wins, comprising a pair of praiseworthy performances at home to Wolves and away to Forest, mean the NUFC fanbase is seemingly united and showing all their smiling faces once more. With the loathsome international break now calling halt to proper football until the start of April, which should allow time enough for Almiron, Gordon, Krafth, Pope, St Maximin and Wilson to recover from the minor knocks and niggles that are blighting our already paper-thin squad, it is time to look back on the last couple of weeks. Of course, it is tempting to speculate on how things will play out from this point on until the end of May, with Spurs in seemingly terminal meltdown, on account of Conte’s Ratneresque rant after another two points were carelessly tossed away at Southampton. It is an interesting statistic that Newcastle haven’t lost to any of the 12 teams we still have to play this season, accruing 26 points from 7 wins and 5 draws in the reverse fixtures. Do that and we’ll end up on 73 points, which will more than do me and, I suspect, guarantee Champions’ League football next year. Imagine that eh?

Actually, don’t. Let’s not get too carried away with things yet to happen. Let’s look at recent events in a sober and detached fashion, just like Andy Madley’s superb appraisal of Nick Pope’s perfectly fair challenge on Jimenez in the Wolves game. I’d managed to cop a freebie in the Platinum Club from my mate Phil for this one, which was my first league game since that glorious night last May when we eviscerated Arsenal. The seat gave perfect view of the Wolves player’s sickening theatrics, when diving after no contact whatsoever from the Newcastle keeper, who he subsequently elbowed when throwing himself to the turf. What an appalling act of cynical gamesmanship; Jiminez ought to have seen red for his antics, if there had been any justice in the world. Sportingly, Pope sought not to make a meal of the violent conduct he’d been subjected to, and Newcastle won the game by playing superior football, rather than by dint of a referee’s caprice.

Once Isak’s meticulously executed header had given NUFC a deserved lead, the Magpies crucified the visitors until the half time whistle. Frankly, having seen Bruno hit the bar and several chances blocked by desperate defending, there would have been no argument if we’d gone in at the break 3-0 ahead. Fair play to Wolves though, as they came back into the contest in the second period, pushed us back and profited from a nonsensical piece of good fortune when Trippier lost his footing in attempting a clearance. However, Lopetegui went all circumspect and played for a point, allowing Newcastle’s substitutes to freshen up play and come again with confidence. Almiron’s winning goal was another pearler in a season he’s scored plenty of them, albeit this one did profit from a slight deflection, but undoubtedly this performance had been a more fluent and coherent attacking display than we’d seen in weeks, if not all year, with Willock and Isak both turning in excellent shifts that promise much for the future with this formation. It was, without question, a good day out.

I bet you Forest was one hell of a good night out as well. I always enjoyed my trips to the City Ground, in the 80s and 90s, though I’ll warrant being in that away end when Isak’s penalty hit the net probably outshone the elation created by Hamann’s 40-yard screamer that won the day back in March 99, for instance. It was a damn good job the winning spot kick was awarded, as the risible notion of an FA conspiracy against Newcastle United, seemingly dispelled after VAR’s disinclination to examine Pope and Jiminez’s coming together the week previous, was being voiced again on social media by those who clearly don’t know any better, after Elliott Anderson was shamefully denied his first competitive first-team goal. Of course, that incomprehensible error stunk to high heaven, but Paul Tierney’s abstruse decision to chalk it off for a non-existent offside, was sheer human incompetence writ large; nothing more, nothing less.

In the end, Tierney’s pitiful aberration didn’t matter, as Isak showed incredible composure to send Navas the wrong way (though I think Trippier probably deserves some kind of medal or honorary doctorate for his sublime shithousing in the moments leading up to the kick), though it undoubtedly shouldn’t have mattered anyway, as we’d made and missed our usual boatload of chances. However, the truly great thing to take away from that game for me, is seeing how the ineffectual and unmotivated Wilson, whose podcasts seem to show a man utterly unaware of how out of form and out of touch with both his team mates and supporters he is, is now being eased out of the first team picture. Of course, we have to recognise that, Wilson apart, the rest of our injury-blighted bench was woefully weak again, with Dummett, Lewis and Manquillo nominally ready for action. Come the end of the season, Clarke, Dummett, Gillespie, Karius, Matty Longstaff and Ritchie are all out of contract, while I see no way back for Darlow, Fraser, Hayden or Hendrick. Additionally, I can’t imagine Lewis or Manquillo having much of a future on Tyneside. That’s a dozen bodies out the door before we even start thinking about improving the quality of the team. Consequently, we’re going to need numbers to bulk up the squad, especially if we end up in the Europa League. Just remember that when people are bad mouthing Scott McTominay on social media.

Anyway, it’s time for a Dubai jolly for the remaining members of the squad, before we turn our attentions to Man United at home, then the away treble of West Ham, Brentford (charmingly, it’s 3pm on a Saturday and so not on the telly) and Villa, before the month of April ends with the crucial visit of Spurs, trip to Everton and the curiosity of a non-televised Sunday fixture at home to Southampton. I didn’t tell you we won 5 and drew 2 of the reverse fixtures, honest!!