Newcastle v Swansea - Match Preview
The orchestra is tuning up, but it has not quite started playing yet. That may, of course change this weekend, and fans may hear the first few notes of the last post as they make their way out of St James’s Park at around quarter to five on Saturday.
A win for Norwich against Sunderland in the lunchtime kick off, followed by a defeat for Newcastle, and a gap of nine points with only five games remaining seems all but insurmountable.
Yet – ever the optimist – should the Mackems pull of a win at Carrow Road, and Newcastle snatch a victory over, let’s be honest, a Swansea team that most fans would expect to beat under normal circumstances, then the gap becomes just three points, and suddenly it is all back in the melting pot.
Even a draw between our two relegation rivals coupled with a Toon win would mean just four points would separate the Magpies and the Canaries, with the former having a game in hand, albeit a home fixture against Manchester City.
The most important thing, of course, is that Newcastle take care of their own business – regardless of what has happened earlier in East Anglia.
Swansea will not be an easy game. As I mentioned earlier, under normal circumstances Newcastle would be expected to see off their visitors from Wales – but these are far from normal circumstances.
Newcastle have, on numerous occasions this season, been their own worst enemy. Time and time again they have found themselves chasing a game, or shooting themselves in the foot, by making stupid mistakes and costly errors that have led to goals for the opposition.
Southampton last weekend was a prime example. The first two goals were comical defensively. The hapless Steven Taylor turning his back on a player and causing the first goal, and Daryl Janmaat hilariously falling over thin air when trying to make an interception bringing about the second – a ridiculous attempt that caused him a groin injury, making him a doubt for the game this weekend, and just to compound the issue, hearing stories of him punching the changing room wall in frustration, only to break his fingers in the process is like something you’d see during an Adam Sandler movie.
But it is not funny. Frankly, it is pathetic. It IS funny to the neutrals, or the so-called fans who constantly take glee in expressing their pride that Newcastle fans are getting what they deserve for always expecting to win things. Of course, the comical part is that so many fans from around the country buy in to this nonsensical garbage.
It is imperative that Newcastle do not make similar silly mistakes this weekend. They need to be on the ball (pardon the pun) from the opening kick-off.
Make no mistake, a Swansea team that will be wanting to prove a point to their former midfielder Jonjo Shelvey, who was apparently quite vocal in his criticism of the players and club during his spell in Wales, and the added pressure from the perilous position that Newcastle find themselves in, will mean that fans will be in for a fraught afternoon with countless fingernails being bitten and nerves shredded.
The perfect remedy, of course, would be an early goal, and even more stress-busting would be going in at half-time a couple of goals to the good. A big ask, but not an impossible one.
The Swans arrive on Tyneside fresh from a morale-boosting victory over Chelsea at the Liberty Stadium last week, and both the players and their fans will be confident of piling further misery on the hosts.
But for once, I am going to be brave, stick my neck out and predict that Newcastle will manage to win this weekend. Let’s just hope that the footballing Gods, for once, smile down on us with other results going our way too.
