Can Newcastle Really Go Down?

By Brian Lofrumento | 13th April 2009

Can Newcastle Really Go Down? | read this item

Related News

newcastle-celebrate All season long the relegation battle has made pundits around the world look foolish. With no true contenders in sight – or maybe far too many contenders – the relegation battle has been anyone’s guess. On the Premiership Talk Podcast, Taylor and I have thrown many guesses out there, and in an interview Football Corner’s Cathal Breathnach even suggested Portsmouth could be facing the drop.

Tottenham had their fair share of time in the bottom three, West Bromwich Albion seem at home there, and Blackburn, Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Sunderland, Stoke, and more have all been teetering on the edge.

With only a few games remaining in the season, you’d think that the relegation battle would be much clearer. Alas, it is not.

One prime relegation candidate at the moment, though, is Newcastle United. This comes as a shock to me, but many fans have been tipping Newcastle for the drop for many weeks now. Can Newcastle really go down? Is Newcastle United really a team bad enough to be playing in the Coca Cola Championship next season?

Looking at the players on offer at St. James’ Park, it still mystifies me how a team with Michael Owen, Obafemi Martins, Alan Smith, Claudio Cacapa, Fabricio Coloccini, Damien Duff, Jonas Gutierrez, and Kevin Nolan could go from playing Manchester United, Chelsea, and Liverpool to Ipswich Town, Sheffield Wednesday, and Plymouth Argyle.

I, for one, hope that Alan Shearer can be the savior that Newcastle so desperately needs. The fans at St. James’ Park deserve better than this, and the atmosphere that Newcastle brings to the league would be sorely missed.

West Bromwich Albion looks certain to go down, Middlesbrough are tied on points with Newcastle, with at least six other teams potential relegation candidates. Shearer will need to rally his troops, hope for some other results, and start getting some wins. Newcastle – and the Premier League – need it.

Who do you think will be facing the drop? Have your say below, or head on over to the Premiership Talk Forum!

stuart says:

May 4, 2009 at 11:32 pm

sadly for me as a sunderland, i honstly think the winner of mags v boro will get alift and get above us by the end of the season. particularly newcastle as they will end up with a better goal difference. its that sad for us, we have look at these things. our last two outing shave been an all time low. im pretty sure our form over the last 10 games would see us bottom of the league. i struggle to see how we can will get more than a point, unless we get lucky in the last 3 games.
hull v stoke this weekend holds the key too.

Reply to this Comment
Shaun says:

April 17, 2009 at 2:50 pm

They very well could go down and, as a Middlesbrough fan, i’m obviously hoping Shearer falls flat on his face as it may be the only thing that saves us from the drop.

I have got plenty of Newcastle supporting friends and most have been saying for weeks that they thought they were headed for relegation.

Reply to this Comment
Mike Diamente says:

April 13, 2009 at 1:49 am

Brian do you think if Newcastle goes down, some of the players like Owen or Martins will look for other clubs to play for?

I couldn’t imagine the great Michael Owen spending one of his seasons in the Championship.

Reply to this Comment