Can Newcastle United overtake Tottenham and West Ham and finish in the top 10?
Kevin Keegan, in the heady aftermath of Newcastle’s 4-1 win away to Tottenham, has said that if Newcastle keep up their momentum they have a chance to finish in the top 10. Newcastle are 4 points behind Tottenham and 9 behind West Ham, and with 6 games to go (and with Newcastle still to play West Ham, albeit at Upton Park).
Keegan:
“We’re starting to look up now. There is a chance we can catch Spurs and one or two others who get stuck in that middle area where there is not a lot to play for other than pride.”
In some ways this is a smart move by Keegan - he knows his players have failed this season and he knows that they are better than the points table suggests - and if he can get them to play for pride and build up momentum, there’s a chance that they might just overtake Tottenham, if not West Ham.
On the other hand, it’s optimistic and Keegan is bound to get some flak for it.
Let’s look at the fixtures and see what’s possible:
Current league standings
10. West Ham, -4 GD, 44 Pts
11. Tottenham, +6 GD, 39 Pts
12. Newcastle United, -21 GD, 35 Pts
Newcastle United’s remaining games
Saturday, 05 April 2008
Newcastle v Reading, 15:00
Saturday, 12 April 2008
Portsmouth v Newcastle, 15:00
Sunday, 20 April 2008
Newcastle v Sunderland, 13:30
Saturday, 26 April 2008
West Ham v Newcastle, 15:00
Saturday, 03 May 2008
Newcastle v Chelsea, 15:00
Sunday, 11 May 2008
Everton v Newcastle, 15:00
Optimistically, Newcastle would win against Reading, Sunderland and West Ham, and draw against Chelsea, Everton and Portsmouth. That would give them 12 pts.
Realistically, Newcastle will probably lose to Pompey and Chelsea, so at best you’re looking at 10 points.
Tottenham’s remaining games
Saturday, 05 April 2008
Blackburn v Tottenham, 15:00
Saturday, 12 April 2008
Tottenham v Middlesbrough, 15:00
Saturday, 19 April 2008
Wigan v Tottenham, 15:00
Saturday, 26 April 2008
Tottenham v Bolton, 15:00
Saturday, 03 May 2008
Reading v Tottenham, 15:00
Sunday, 11 May 2008
Tottenham v Liverpool, 15:00
Spurs would need to lose their away games and draw their home games if Newcastle want to overtake them - the Bolton and Boro games alone can give Spurs a cushion ahead of Newcastle, and they’ll probably pick up a few points from away draws or wins.
West Ham’s remaining games
Tuesday, 08 April 2008
West Ham v Portsmouth, 19:45
Saturday, 12 April 2008
Bolton v West Ham, 15:00
Saturday, 19 April 2008
West Ham v Derby, 15:00
Saturday, 26 April 2008
West Ham v Newcastle, 15:00
Saturday, 03 May 2008
Man Utd v West Ham, 15:00
Sunday, 11 May 2008
West Ham v Aston Villa, 15:00
West Ham should beat Derby, and at least take a point off Portsmouth, Bolton and Aston Villa. 6 points, and easily clear of the pack.
Conclusion
It’s good to rev up the fans and instill some self-belief in the players but at this point Newcastle seem unlikely to even overtake Tottenham, let alone West Ham. And with Middlesbrough hot on their heels, they’ll need to push as hard as they can to avoid being overtaken.
- West Ham’s fighting talk: We hope they’re too tired to beat us
- Blackburn and Tottenham must do better to deserve European football
- Newcastle United and West Ham, Dyer and Solano
- West Ham takeover & transfer speculation
- West Ham will be a bad move for Reading’s Shorey
Discussion - 17 Responses
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haha Newcastle get above the Hammers you must be joking, they think they are big after winning 2 games, what a joke
No. They can’t.
Newcastle could overtake Spurs, but West Ham are too far ahead. The problem for Spurs is that their season is over.
Many of the Spurs players know that they’re going to be moved on in the summer, so why kill yourself. The only important thing for such players is to avoid injury so that they don’t screw up their chances of a good money move in the summer.
Newcastle’s players conversely will feel that they still have something to prove. Keegan’s a nice guy; if you perform as a Newcastle player over the next 6 games, chances are you’ll have a future at St James Park. It’s now too late at Spurs; Ramos has probably already made up his mind.
This whole ‘the season is over so why bother’ attitude is a curse on football. Play for playing’s sake, win for winning’s sake, dammit.
Just cause newcastle won 2 games they think they can finsh in the top 10 i think its a joke maybe they have a chance to get past tottenham if they play like they did yesturday but come on, past west ham loool, Newcastle will always be big dreamers..
Ahmed:
“…surely not everyone is out of WHL at the end of the season?”
No, but you only need 2 or 3 substandard performances to screw a game up.
Anyway, describing the ’season’s over so why bother attitude’ as “a curse on football”, is a bit over the top isn’t it?
Whether it’s a curse on football or not, it’s a fact of life. At this time of the year most players, particularly those in the smaller squads are tired and carrying the odd knock or injury. Teams will try harder when they’ve something to play for. That’s why at the end of a season, results can be bizarre.
Teams at the top (titles, Europe, promotion) and teams at the bottom (fighting relegation) bust a gut; teams in mid-table with nothing to play, generally don’t. It’s why even a team which has just won the title can go and lose to a team fighting for its life to avoid relegation. Do you really think that if United had to beat West Ham at Old Trafford last season to take the title, they’d have lost? I doubt it. It’s all to do with motivation.
When your livelihood or silverware is on the line, you try that bit harder. When its not, you don’t. Humdrum fact of life. Hardly a curse.
There is no doubt that newcastle is way bigger than both spurs and West Ham. People who calls a club with a good season a big club needs their head checked. A blub is measured by their fan base, tradition and current players and even tho NUFC have had some poor seasons, neither Spurs or Hammers will ever catch up to them in those departments… heck, neither have ever played champions league.
I agree, it’s what happens everywhere. That makes it a bad habit, not a fact of life
valle you have no idea what the future holds and dont know if either west ham or spurs will go further or not,take the tinted glasses off
Its a Welcome site to see Newcastle finally getting a winning formula, espacially when they have a home game with Chelsea coming up :-P. I honestly see no way in which they could actually finish 10th in the table, and to say that Spurs season is over is true in a sense, but i still feel that there will be players playing for their future so they may actually go on a run of form.
Valle: “There is no doubt that newcastle is way bigger than both spurs and West Ham. People who calls a club with a good season a big club needs their head checked. A blub is measured by their fan base, tradition and current players and even tho NUFC have had some poor seasons, neither Spurs or Hammers will ever catch up to them in those departments… heck, neither have ever played champions league.”
Mate, West Ham have a huge fanbase, the only fanbase Newcastle have is in the North of England, and a Big club is judged on prestige and their legacy, and Newcastle have what Trophys to show for it. I don’t want to get in a debate so i’ll leave it their.
Valle, check your facts and you will see that in terms of fan base and tradition Newcastle don’t even come close to tottenham, you fool.
…and when did newcastle reach the semi final of the European cup?
…or win the double?
…or win anything??
NUFC is much bigger then West Ham or Tottenham.. They are just another London’s team. But NUFC is just one.. WEST HAM, TOTTENHAM are ZEROES..
the only thing zero riquelminho is your knowledge of football,stop getting ahead of yourself just because you win two matches
A week ago, I said: “Newcastle could overtake Spurs, but West Ham are too far ahead. The problem for Spurs is that their season is over”.
Well, Newcastle have won again with a stylish performance against Reading, and close the gap to two points behind Spurs.
Keegan may yet do it.