Newcastle 1-0 Crystal Palace - Another performance of 'togetherness'

Newcastle snatched a vital three points against Crystal Palace on Saturday in a game that could hardly be described as a classic.

It may not have been pretty, but it was possibly the most important win of the season for a team that was predicted by many to be relegation fodder at the end of the transfer window.

A scrappy game; relatively few chances; A number of players looking out of sorts; conceding a lot of possession – these are exactly the games that we would go on to lose in previous Premier League seasons.

Winning a game like this shows that, for once, Newcastle have got a team with character. The fact that Rafael Benitez has managed to build a squad that believe in the cause as much as their payslip shows just what a great manager he is.

It is far more likely that games like these will mean the difference between staying up and going down.

By the end of the season, when we look back, it will be these plucky 1-0 wins that will, hopefully, have been key to a successful campaign – and successful will be anyposition of 17th and above.

Forget the bookies odds on offer for top six finishes. What the win against Palace did, is move the Magpies three points closer to 40 points, and probable safety.

Less than a quarter of the Premier League season gone, and already over a third of the way to that goal.

Even the biggest of Newcastle fans would surely have taken that at the start of the season, and probably more so at the start of September.

Newcastle have a steely backbone this year – something that was blatantly lacking during previous top-tier seasons. In fact, it is a long time since fans were able to describe their team as hard to beat, but that is what they are quickly becoming.

The ability to ‘nick a win’ or see a game out for a draw when you have been played off the park is a trait that all the good teams possess. It is not something that happens by accident, it comes from having a group of players that believe in what – and who – they are playing for.

Regardless of what many will have you believe, Newcastle is United nowadays. The fans have faith in the manager; the manager has faith in the players; and the players have all bought in to Newcastle.

Spats like the one between Jamaal Lascelles and Mo Diame happen at every club on a regular basis, but the fact that it was at Newcastle, and that it involved Jonjo Shelvey ending up in a cast – regardless of the fact it was as peace-maker – means that it gets blown out of proportion.

Saturday’s performance – and those previous – are of togetherness. A bunch of players that are all singing from the same hymn sheet. They are clearly playing for each other and, crucially, for the fans.

One thing that has not changed from previous Premier League seasons is the inconsistency of referees.

For some reason, get your conspiracy theories at the ready, visiting players are very rarely sent off at St James’ Park.

Yohan Cabaye’s lunge and foul on DeAndre Yedlin was a shocker. It warranted a red card, and was rewarded with a yellow.

What makes it worse is that it was a carbon copy of the Harry Kane assault on Florian Lejeune in the season-opening game. Again, only given a yellow.

Shelvey in the same game, of course, was sent off for his moment of stupidity – and rightly so – but it is the fact that two red card offences can be dealt with with no parity that angers fans.

Since January 2014, there has only been one Premier League opposition player sent off, compared to 14 for Newcastle. That player was Bradley Johnson of Norwich, who was sent off for an off the ball incident that also saw Loic Remy sent off for the Magpies.

It is hard to fathom, or believe, that in 104 games, there was only one incident involving an opponent that was seen by a referee as a red card. Is it due to the vociferous nature of Newcastle fans? Is it because we were struggling in those seasons? Is it because the players or manager had upset the referee previously, thus making red cards subliminally easier to brandish?

Whatever the reasons, it does not excuse a referee for clearly seeing a challenge like that on Saturday, and not taking the correct action.

Of course, the pendulum swung the other way the week before at St Mary’s, when Yedlin should have received a second yellow for his foul in the second half. But that should not blur the fact that referees seem only to be consistent at being inconsistent.

But the positives that come from playing badly and winning should not be overshadowed by another inept refereeing decision.

This squad is one that fans feel they can truly get behind. They were assembled on – in Premier League terms – a relative shoestring, but their spirit is enabling them to punch above their weight – and long may it continue.

There has been deliberately no mention of takeovers, Amanda Staveley or due diligence, but the possibility of it happening is in the forefront of every fan’s mind, and probably also Rafa’s.

The possibility of the Spanish magician being able to conjure up a squad of already established Mikel Merinos, and swapping the shoestrings for silk threads is both exciting and tantalising.

But for the fans, it is a case of déjà vu in many ways. Only when the ‘T’s are crossed, the ‘I’s are dotted and the ink is drying on the contracts, will the vision of what comes next be celebrated.

Until then, the fans will take more of what they’re currently being served. And for now it is 14 points down, 26 to go.