Newcastle Must Be United To Stay Up

It really doesn't matter what you think about Mike Ashley, Derek Llambias and that irritating little so and so Dennis Wise. The only thing I've been able to think about these last few days is the complete and utter meltdown of a football club.

To be honest, at the moment, it really doesn't matter who owns it, who manages it, even who plays for it. It's just about survival, that most primal of instincts.

Survival is all that matters, getting enough points, any way and which way they can to get themselves out of the bottom three. It can be ugly, it can be scrappy, it can be dirty, it really doesn't matter.

If Newcastle go down the rest of the country will laugh themselves silly - some may even laugh so hard that a little bit of wee comes out - but it will not only be disastrous for every single United fan, it will be disastrous for the city it calls home.

What people who have never lived up here do not realise is that Newcastle United is the heartbeat of the city. If it is strong and healthy, the city thrives, economically, socially and psychologically. If it is weak and struggling, the city suffers accordingly.

It is no coincidence that Newcastle , metaphorically speaking, exploded when Kevin Keegan breathed life back into the football club in the early 90s. It regained its swagger, it confidence and its determination. It became the modern city it is today.

There are eight games left this season, eight games which should be regarded as the most important in the club's history since Keegan prevented the club from sliding into what is now League One back in 1992.

For make no mistake, if Newcastle drop into the Championship I wouldn't rule out the possibility of them plunging down to those depths once more. It could happen, look at Manchester City, look at Leeds United, look at Nottingham Forest, Leicester and, this season, take a long hard look at Charlton.

Some of those clubs are smaller than Newcastle, but some are of a similar size. The alarm bells are ringing and they won't be stopping any time soon.

The international break may have come at a good time. It will give the players time to regroup, sort themselves out and go again. Chris Hughton is clearly struggling as a manager, but the players are still there to get the club out of trouble.

They are not too good to go down, but they are good enough to stay up. But they need help, they don't need to be booed when they come on as a substitute as Shola Ameobi was against Arsenal and they don't need to be booed when they make a mistake as Fabricio Coloccini was against the Gunners.

As for Joe Kinnear, he may not be able to take charge of the team on a matchday until May. But hopefully just his presence at the training ground will provide better leadership. Is he the man for the job long term? I don't think so, but Steve Bruce could be and he will come to Newcastle if he is asked in the summer. That though is for the future, JFK is needed in the short term.

This is the time, as those ambitious people at NUSC have said this week, for Newcastle United to be just that, United. Once they are safe, then we can start debating ownership and management issues again. We'll have all summer to do so!

Finally, I know some of you will be wanting to know what I thought about Obafemi Martins' performance against Arsenal given my recent blog. Well he scored one and generally played well, but how different would that game have been had he tucked away that penalty?

Another mixed bag from the unpredictable Nigerian, but I'd still say it was a vast improvement. More of the same and who knows, he might just be worthy of that hero worship after all!!