If you saw that coming last weekend you are a better man than I am. Either that or you’ve sneakily invented a time machine and had a little peak into the future Michael J Fox style, or you are involved in a shady gambling cartel who fixed the weekend’s results or you are invisible and, erm... I’ll leave it there I think.
But what a weekend it turned out to be. Sunderland score a last-minute winner against West Ham and briefly go above Newcastle in the table. Bolton lead ten-man Arsenal by two goals to nil and look certain to cut the gap on Newcastle to just three points, but lose 3-2 in the last minute and then the Magpies travel to Tottenham Hotspur and dish out one hell of a beating.
And what a result, what a performance, what a day in North London. Crikey, I almost agreed with the intoxicated Newcastle fan who wandered - or rather stumbled and fell on to the train at Kings Cross on Sunday night and greeted everyone with a deep, almost watery cry of “Newcastle 4 Spurs 1. we’re going to win the bloody league.�
There might have even been tears in his eyes. Ah bless. Of course, he is sadly and foolishly mistaken and thankfully wandered off to another carriage before he spotted the empty seat next to me, but hey, if you can’t get ridiculously drunk to celebrate a 4-1 away win at smug, self-satisfied Carling Cup winners Spurs then when can you?
Yeah, take that Tottenham. Stupid Tottenham, that's seven goals they’ve conceded against Newcastle this season and that’s six points United have taken from them, not so clever now are you with your big club swagger and you’re oh so funny chants about how few trophies Newcastle have won?
It’s hard to know where to begin sometimes and, for once, I’m not going to pick out any individuals. No, scrap that, I am because I actually made Joey Barton my man-of-the-match, but that fact was strangely removed from my match file in the paper - I assume for space as I don’t think anyone has it in for him in the office.
Yeah, I thought Joey did really well, even better than against Fulham and while Michael Owen and Obafemi Martins caught the eye with their second-half goals, Barton was brilliant in the centre of midfield. I just can’t quite believe he’s the same player who has lumbered around the pitch for the previous eight months of his Newcastle career.
In fact, it was a real team performance and it was just what we’ve been waiting for. I suppose there have been encouraging signs for the last few weeks, but to dismantle a side like Tottenham away from home, that’s something special.
But, let’s not get too excited, let’s not fuel those stereotypes of the Newcastle fans who want the manager sacked after a couple of defeats and who insist they are going to qualify for the Champions League after a couple of wins.
White Hart Lane March 30 2008 may well prove to be a pivotal day in Newcastle’s history, but it may also turn out to be a flash in the pan success. My gut feeling says it is the former, but we’ve all been interested in this game for too long to discount the latter haven’t we?
Whatever the case, in the short term, it’s a platform to build from. Beat Reading at St James’s Park next weekend and any relegation fears will be banished completely and then we can all start to look forward to finding out just who these special players Keegan feels are needed to give the squad the extra quality it required to be far more competitive next season.
This season, lest we forget, has been a poor one. It may end on a high, but that should not be allowed to hide the fact Newcastle should never have been in the situation they have found themselves in during 2008.
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