Not extraordinary

[Neville Neville Neville 0]

This was to be posted in the match thread but the last topic I created was on relegation day and how I was looking forward to life in the championship (check it out, I think it stands the test of time) so I'm probably due a topic that hopefully won't be lost in reflex knee-jerking post match disappointment

 

 

*****Rant alert*******************

 

I do sometimes wonder if people have forgotten how the season has gone before they make their predictions about us 'kicking on' and putting distance between us and the midtable.

 

First things first, we are an ordinary premier league team. For me being an ordinary team is far beyond what I expected at the beginning of the season where we are much weaker on paper than we were when we got relegated. Somehow through all the crap that's happened a serviceable premier league team (the key word) has emerged. And the sheer ordinariness of this premier league has meant that our ordinary team has ended up getting some people thinking of europe.

 

Right, now onto the 'kicking on' side of things.

Here are our fixtures through this season:

http://nufc.com/2010-11html/fixtures.html

 

In the league, we have had 2 "runs" of 2 or more back to back wins.

 

Our first, west ham away, sunderland home, and arsenal away (punctuated by a carling cup drubbing by arsenal) followed a desperate last gasp equaliser at home to wigan (having been awful and 2-0 down) and was followed by a 1-2 defeat at home to blackburn (which I remember was a horrible performance that I was away on holiday and thankfully unable to watch)

 

Our other unstoppable run was away to wigan and home to west ham, following a defeat at white hart lane, and followed by the last-gasp disappointment at the SoL.

 

All season in the league, we literally haven't won a home game after winning another home game - we lost to blackpool having smashed villa the home game before, blackburn defeat followed mackem humiliation, we were 2-0 down at home to city just 5 minutes (in back to back home game footballing terms) after carroll thumped in the 3rd against liverpool.

 

This is the story of our season. An ordinary team who through hard work and good luck picks up results better than could have been hoped, followed inevitably by results and performances more disappointing than could have been expected.

 

And isn't that a microcosm of what being Newcastle is about

 

It is the fans who are creating the disappointment by thinking that a good victory means that the next performance should be a good performance. This is not Sir Bobby's team, this is not 2001-2003, where the sky seems to be the limit.

 

We are an ordinary team, with ordinary players, with an ordinary manager, in an ordinary league, with a chairman and owner who can only dream of aspiring to even come close to ordinary. Where one week arsenal have to put up with being disappointed to lose to us, so must we take our medicine with a non-performance against blackburn. Where a disappointing birmingham get dragged more into the relegation mire by losing at home to us, so too must we accept disappointing defeat at home to everton.

 

We are an ordinary team in a league full of ordinary teams, 3 or 4 good teams, and maybe 1 or 2 especially poor teams. In those circumstances, we will unexpectedly win games away from home against teams higher than us, and we will unexpectedly lose games at home to teams lower than us, and we will unexpectedly draw exciting and boring games against those higher and lower and our equals.

 

And why am I not upset at being an ordinary fan of an ordinary team in an ordinary league where unexpected defeat follows unexpected victory follows unexpected defeat? Because 2 years ago expected defeat followed expected defeat followed unexpected lucky draw followed expected defeat. And by all reason, we should not be doing better now than we were then. Next season we may not be so lucky to live in the ordinary echelons of the league, and may look back on a battling home draw with bolton with fondness and nostalgia.

 

I for one am taking great enjoyment following the team this year (as I did last year). And it will take more than others' elevated expectations, and a few non-performances to temper that enjoyment. There are times to dream, and maybe they will come again, but for now and for the foreseeable it is time to live in the ordinary real world (ordinary by football's craziness obviously)

 

So get your money on a 4-0 win at stoke and a 3-0 defeat by Wolves. Thats the way we do it

 

:lol: :lol: :nufc: :nufc: :nufc: :nufc: :nufc: :nufc: :nufc: :nufc: :nufc: :nufc: :nufc:

Edited March 5, 2011 by Neville Neville Neville

[Monroe Transfer 0]

I want to confirm our status in this league and then write the rest of the season off.

 

It's been decimated by injuries, selling Carroll, and the Hughton debacle. It was off to a bad start in all honesty when we didn't get a striker in during the summer. The January window was an utter joke, don't get me started on that.

 

The coming pre-season will be absolutely massive for us. We need to push on from wherever we end up.

[Deano 0]

Actually a very good post.

 

I said before the season we would finish 13th so i was not for one minute then nor now expecting europe OR a top 10 finish.

 

Our team has suprised me this year but you could be onto something in the sense that it could be false security. We could think we are better than we are because the league has been so tight and ordinary as you say.

 

For me though we do have the makings of a top 8 team going off individual form AND team spirit.

 

If we can keep hold of our key players and bring in a few quality players and a couple of squad players then i dont see any reason why we can challenge europe next year.

 

One thing is for sure is that we need to address the home form and sustain our form away from home. Overall become more consistant.

 

I'd be happy with 10th this season now.

[Neville Neville Neville 0]

So get your money on a 4-0 win at stoke and a 3-0 defeat by Wolves. Thats the way we do it

 

Hey, nearly there prediction-wise. If I was Stevie I'd chalk this up to psychic powers