Newcastle's Season Will Be A Rollercoaster
As impressive and as enjoyable as Newcastle's thrashing of Aston Villa was last weekend, it would be foolish to get carried away with one result, just as it was stupid to write the team off after the 3-0 reverse at Manchester United.
Having spent the last few days being chucked around various rides at Alton Towers, I'm afraid it's time to draw the old rollercoaster analogy ahead of the trip to Accrington Stanley in the Carling Cup.
There are going to be plenty of ups and downs this season and, while the win over Aston Villa was, as Chris Hughton would say, "er, very much a high" for "this group of lads", there will be some nasty little dips along the way to turn the stomach.
But (you will need to look at a list of rides at Alton Towers to fully appreciate what I'm saying here) relegation will still be the Magpies Nemesis this season, we don't want to put a Hex on them, as they could still be clawing at thin Air come May and be heading back into Oblivion. Let's judge them after Thirteen games, not two.
I'm writing this before the cup game at Accrington Stanley but whatever the result, Hughton was right to send out a youthful side. Yes, a cup run would be nice for everyone and might just generate a little bit of extra cash to keep a parsimonious Mike Ashley happy, but it is the not main priority for anyone at St James' Park.
On Sunday night, after Villa had been dismantled, humiliated even. After Joey Barton had backed up his big words with a big performance, after Kevin Nolan had added weight to his argument that speed isn't everything for a goalscoring midfielder.
After Andy Carroll had given another glimpse of his vast potential up front, and Mike Williamson had done the same at the back, after Jonas Gutierrez and Fabricio Coloccini had shown they can play just as well in the Premier League as they ever could in the Championship, it might have been tempting to be bolder.
Newcastle may well do more than just survive this season, but their first objective remains survival and until that is achieved, expectations must remain checked. If expectations get out of control, any sense of disappointment is accentuated and with that come unrest and unhappiness.
Newcastle need to keep themselves on an even keel more than ever this season. The club can't afford the same lurches from unbridled optimism to the depths of the despair every time results shift that have marked the last 20 years on Tyneside.
Nevertheless, it was impossible not to be excited about the progress of Carroll. It was a performance which deserved an England call up, particularly as Fabio Capello is supposed to be blooding a new generation, but even if that hasn't come as quickly as some would have liked, he has certainly done his cause the world of good.
The youngster still has a court case to get through in October, but his success on the football pitch will hopefully focus his mind even further on what he needs to do to build on this early success.
He has shown the Premier League what he is capable of, let's see what he is capable of now they know what he can do.
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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.
Depression, euphoria, uncertain feelings, ???, ???. Who knows what is in store beyond the first three games. But my guess is that at the end the feeling will be relief at having just survived.
luke: just picking up on the last part of your blog, I don't agree AC should get a call up after a couple of games in the PL. He needs a full season before consideration. He also needs a full time partner up front. On the england side of things, I've lost confidence in Capello. the squad he took to the WC was laim he also backed himself into a corner making SG capt. effectively from then on unable to play him off the bench. (I hope CH hasn't done the same with KN). no idea what his squad is now, its kind of and alternative england??? hes lost it!