Newcastle End Of Season Review Celebrate Safety Or Crisis?

 

The magpies never deliver dull seasons and this one was no exception, with a number of highs and lows. This season overall has been a low for all associated with the club when you think of the fact that how can a team go from finishing 5th last season and qualified for Europe, to battling relegation and finishing 16th?

Highs

In a season indebted with lows there wasn’t too many highs to talk about but undoubtedly the one that sticks out is reaching the Europa cup Quarter final, and putting up an amazing fight against Benfica across both of the legs.

A 2-1 win against Spurs on the first day of the season give the Geordie faithful that this campaign was going to be as successful as the last, however we know that now not to be true, but goals from Demba Ba and Ben Arfa got the season off to a winning start.

Though this was not an amazing game or one that would win any plaudits, beating Fulham 1-0 at home with a goal in the 3rd minute of added time by Cisse, is a high for all supporters as it give them belief that the Newcastle could actually beat the drop and gave the club a huge lift.

Lows

So many to choose from, but the biggest low in my opinion is the loss of Demba Ba in January, fair enough the club did buy in that transfer window but they did not buy anyone to replace the goal scoring ability of Ba.

Getting embarrassed by North East rivals Sunderland at home, not only was a low but was a disgrace for the club. I have never seen a Newcastle side put up such little resistance in a derby match before. If the supporters thought that was bad, losing 6-0 in there next home game against Liverpool was a travesty.

The slump in league form which saw ten defeats in 13 games between mid November and the end of January, player unrest and the Brighton loss, are just a few of a number to pick from.

Player of the season

Even though he was sold in January Demba Ba has to be given a nod towards this title. Before he left he had contributed with 13 goals, making him Newcastle’s top premier league goal scorer for this season. Not something that the club itself will want to brag about, considering he only played 20 games this season.

However if going off current Newcastle United players my vote would either have to go to Tim Krul, over the course of the season he has made some very crucial saves, but unfortunately he was injured for a number of periods. Another player who deserves a mention is Steven Taylor, again he missed a number of periods due to injury, but one thing you can say about this player is he always plays his heart of the club.

Overall

I would say this season has been a failure in a number of areas by all within the club. In order to put this season behind them, the management need to make sure they focus all their efforts to rebuild the club over the summer and pre season in order to get a team that can compete for Europe again next season and have a season that can be celebrated by fans and pundits alike.