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Luke Edwards is Chief Sports Writer of The Journal and uses his blog to give a unique and entertaining insight into events at Newcastle United and Sunderland.

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It's B-Day

Posted by Luke on March 17, 2008 11:12 AM | 

So here it is. The Allies had D-Day but Newcastle United and Kevin Keegan will just have to be content with a B-Day and I don't mean the sort you find in posh bathrooms!

It is pretty simple for the Magpies at St Andrew's on Monday night. Lose and relegation fears will turn into a panic on Tyneside.

Critics will start to speculate about Keegan's future as manager after just nine games and the rest of the country will rub their hands in glee at the possibility of Newcastle doing a Leeds!

Win and, not only will Newcastle's relegation worries ease a little, it will also give Keegan the first win which might just finally spark his second coming as a manager into life.

Footballers and managers irritatingly like to refer to every game in the Premier League as a big game, but I don't think anyone can deny the trip to Birmingham is, as Steve Harper claimed, "massive."

To say Keegan's return has been a bit of letdown so far would be something of an understatement. A bit like saying Global Warming might might it easier to have a beach holiday in the UK or that Michael Jackson has had to deal with a bit of bad publicity recently.

It is one of those defining games, a potential turning point in careers and fortunes, a pivotal moment. It really doesn't matter what you call it, I think everyone knows just how important it is.

There are plenty of people out there who will want Newcastle to lose, they will want Keegan to squirm in the dugout and they will want to see him harassed when he speaks to the media, but let's hope those people end St Patrick's Day disappointed.

Let's hope the vultures are forced to find another carcass to pick at for a while. Let's hope Keegan starts to show there is still plenty of life left in him as a manager.

Now, let's get it on....... I never liked Birmingham anyway! Silly accents, rubbish ground, got hit by a coin when I was there as a fan, that sort of thing!

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Comments (9)

Brian wrote...

it will be Derby bolton and Sunderland or Birmingham who will go down. Fulham only have one big team left (Liverpool) and they will meet Derby, sunderland and Birmingham and i think they will survive. If Newcastle play Martins and a fit Viduka together their will be no problem.

Note From Luke
I hope you're right Brian! I'm a little worried by Fulham's victory over Everton

Posted by: Brian  | March 17, 2008 11:50 AM

Ronnie Lambert wrote...

Giz a pint of what you're drinkin' Bri. When I start trying to calculate the the final placings, especially in view of Fulham beating Everton, my head hurts. I don't know what the odds were but some cockney must have had a daft bet and is choosing his new car now. I'd be happy with a draw tonight. Even playing S/land at home, a usually nervy affair is meltdown for my nerves now. I wish I could be anaesthetised until the 11th. of May.

Posted by: Ronnie Lambert  | March 17, 2008 12:54 PM

medan wrote...

The BIg IF is will KK play Martins and Viduka to maximize our chances of winning, that means no Smith and if Owen has to start becuase he is the captain then let's play 4-3-3 with Barton, Butt, Nzobia in midfield MO, Viduka and Martins in attack. Viduka being not very fit we can replace him at half time with Emre or Duff. I am praying we win this game.

Posted by: medan  | March 17, 2008 12:56 PM

Klaus wrote...

Fully agree with your article. Rarely was a single match that important – not only for the points but also as an indicator for the remainder of the season. If we loose - the southern based press will love it and hassle KK and the team and write plenty essays why we haven’t won anything, morale will decline even further and Fullham will look like a massive hurdle at home. If we win (I dare say if we get a draw) - pressure will ease slightly, we will still be out of the drop zone, southern press will keep of our backs and confidence should return. The vast majority of fans want KK to do well, we don’t want him to fail but to have more time to get close to the good old days. Why? – not only because he was a hero as a player and coach first time around – he also comes across as a nice genuine person – not arrogant but honest in all respects and we want him to stay this way and to stay with the Toon. There is no time for sentiment in football, we need results to stop this run of really poor form. Regarding the run of results - let’s not forget that (apart from Bolton and the Boro against both we drew) this is a game against a team lower positioned then ourselves in the League. Fulham’s result yesterday wasn’t good for us – shows they are not down and out yet (see Portsmouth two years ago and Westham last year) – I would have preferred competing to avoid one relegation spot and not two – however we can sort that out in next weeks home game against Fullham – hopefully to complete a week with 6 points and looking ahead positively. Ideally I would like to play Sunderland without any relegation trouble on our side.

Martins or Viduka – why not try them as a partnership – leave Smith out this time. Fingers crossed.

Posted by: Klaus  | March 17, 2008 1:07 PM

Lizer wrote...

Now i aint saying this isnt a MASSIVE game, cause it is and if we win i think we will survive the drop. But lets not get ahead of ourselves here. If we do loose (god forbid) its not the end of the road, still plenty of winnable games ahead. We can loose tommorow and still beat the drop.

Martins must play, smith and barton must be droped.

Come on the toon :)

Posted by: Lizer  | March 17, 2008 2:25 PM

maria wrote...

Luke you hope brians right that Sunderland go down?

Note From Luke
No Maria, I hope Sunderland and Newcastle both stay up.

Posted by: maria  | March 17, 2008 4:11 PM

Paul Patterson wrote...

Luke I don’t think you should be too worried about Fulhams win over Everton- certainly not the result- but the performance most definitely.

I watched the whole 90 minutes from the agonising comfort of my armchair on Sunday and thought ‘Hey, this lot have something about them- they might actually qualify for Europe playing like this’

One quick glance at the league table and you realise they are in the same predicament as us- only WORSE.

Yes Worse- But after watching the game, I thought they had a midfield that knew what it was doing, an attack that got into the box and caused problems and an attack that, although was less than confident, had enough about them to keep a landslide from engulfing the goalkeeper.

Newcastle United have none of the above and that’s what worries me- we play these crafty cockneys in a matter of days and to be honest- I’m not too confident about it.

I don’t think we will beat Birmingham tonight, as they are far better off than us in ever department and Owen and certainly Smith, need directions to locate those shiny white things with nets attached.

It won’t come down to tonight’s result, it will come down to Fulham, Reading and Sunderland (All at home) as to which league were in next term- but win tonight and we may just have an extra three points more than the likes of Sunderland, Fulham, Birmingham and Reading have.

This is written BEFORE kick off tonight, so I have no idea on what team starts- but lets just hope Viduka (Not an ideal choice) and Martins starts up front, with Butt and N’Zogbia on the middle.

If I turn up and see (As I expect Keegan will) Alan ‘What the hell are those stupid white posts doing at each end of the pitch’ Smith, start up front with Michael ‘Follow Alan Shearer around the country in my £2m Heli-chopper for Sport relief’ Owen, starts then we may as well hope for a 0-0 at best.

Paul

Posted by: Paul Patterson  | March 17, 2008 5:11 PM

haroon wrote...

This is why KK should play Obafemi Martins whenever he can. It was his blocked effort that allowed Micheal Owen to toe poke the ball.

WE WON'T GO DOWN!!

Posted by: haroon  | March 18, 2008 6:24 AM

supporter sth tyneside wrote...

luke very happy we got a point last night, was however shocked at the lack of urgency shown especially in the first half. i expected us to come out from the off like lions, given the position we are in, instead we were slow,and lethargic. we did not press the ball or get in the faces of a side who like us are staring relegation in the face. it really was a long way short if we are going to save ourselves. contrast this with the effort the smoggies put in against arsenal the other day. they worked like dogs closed arsenal down all over the pitch, and deserved to win the game. our team is epitomised by Barton,who was running in sand all night. i lost count of the number of times he was caught in possession. he is slow and gives the ball away. it is a mystery why he is picked. in fact his selection is making me question keegans judgement, not helped by his bringing off martins,who in fact sparked the second half revival with his running. he also made our goal.

Note From Luke
Martins was utterly anonymous in the first half however when the whole Newcastle team, with the possible exception of Viduka, were awful. Whatever was said at half time worked though and Martins was a different player after the break, as were the team as a whole. Barton looks as though he has lost whatever pass he had and his first touch is awful For me, the major concern on Monday night was Steven Taylor and Abdoulaye Faye, who both looked shaky and nervous under pressure. Taylor, in particular, almost gave away a couple of goals.

Posted by: supporter sth tyneside  | March 18, 2008 10:46 AM

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