Newcastle United: All good things must come to an end but all is far from lost

Words that haven’t been written in a while: Newcastle United endured their first loss following a run of nine games unbeaten. They went down 1-0 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, but still have a lot to take back to St. James’ Park from the loss.

It was a well-fought contest between David and Goliath with the scores even until the 89th minute of the game. However, in this fairytale Goliath overcame David. A late, late goal from Kai Havertz sealed the deal for Chelsea, handing Newcastle the blues.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end, especially when you are in the English Premier League and one of the teams fighting to beat relegation. Thankfully, with the fight put up by the Magpies this season and the changes made at the top in ownership and management, the fight for survival could already be behind them.

Despite losing to the team that’s been placed third for most of this PL run, Eddie Howe’s men have steadily steered themselves out of the rough swells of the relegation zone. They sit nine points afloat thanks to a positive turn of results — as a result of a positive January transfer window.

Also, the news of new signing and goalscoring asset Kieran Trippier a month ago was meant to derail their hopes and seen as a major setback in their quest for survival — but the Toons have stayed tough and grinded out wins during his absence.

Newcastle United are far from comfortable but have room to breath

Newcastle are far from comfortable but others around them are showing signs of folding under pressure before they do. With 10 games left, 30 points to play for, and a return of Trippier possible, everything is counting in Howe’s favour to stay up.

First is a matchup against the all out of sorts, Everton. A game to bounce back to winning ways for Newcastle? Yes, it certainly should be a fixture they must take advantage of. The Toffees have only won once in their last five outings.

Newcastle United next five

vs. Everton (A)
vs. Crystal Palace (H)
vs. Tottenham (A)
vs. Wolves (H)
vs. Leicester City (H)

Jamie Carragher stated on MNF: “Everton’s home game vs Newcastle is their biggest game in 20 years.” This signifies who are against the ropes and playing with more pressure on them.

Who would have thought: heading into this fixture, the favourites would be Eddie Howe and his revived Newcastle United side? Who would have also thought that there are a couple of games that are winnable over the next five Premier League outings for Newcastle?

A win at Goodison Park will set the right mood for a visit from Palace. Palace though, are quite the tricky side to predict. They’ve been hot and cold all season long but can pull off some blinding performances — and of recent, specifically speaking over five games — have gone unbeaten.

In fact, the next five for the Magpies, besides Palace, all of them have struggled to win consistently, and have been up and down with their performances and results.

How many points do you think Eddie Howe and Newcastle can pick up before the end of the season?