Could Newcastle United Get Relegated?

This season has been an odd one for Newcastle United. In the summer, they added a number of players and the mood was an optimistic one as they lined up to face off against the champions on the opening day. It didn’t take long for the negative atmosphere to return and the pressure built on Alan Pardew through several fan campaigns against the manager. The now Crystal Palace manager was never suited to Tyneside and his departure should have introduced a new era with a manager being appointed who understood the job. However, nothing has changed since Pardew left the job, and the club is sleepwalking towards relegation.

John Carver was given the job until the summer by the board, which in itself was an action that suggested Newcastle were shutting up shop for the season. The appointment from the board showed that they didn’t consider relegation an option and that they didn’t want to push for the top seven.

Although that may seem an unrealistic aim now, Newcastle were only seven points off of the top four when Pardew left and they could have used his departure as an opportunity to bring in a manager who could take them closer to the top clubs. Now the club are just five points from the relegation zone and there isn’t another club that would deserve to finish in the bottom three than Newcastle, due to the decisions made by the board in January.

Many in the media will feel sympathy with Carver as he is a Geordie, who has worked under Newcastle legends such as Sir Bobby Robson and Kevin Keegan. He inherited a long injury list and he wasn’t backed in the winter transfer window. However, he will always be linked with the Pardew era and it was going to be difficult for the fans to get on board with a head coach who was a major part of what was wrong under the previous regime. Moreover, his previous experience as a manager was very poor, which made him a very underwhelming choice to lead the club until the end of the season.

Since the managerial change, Newcastle have only taken 9 points from 15 league matches. They are currently enduring their worst run of defeats in Premier League history with seven and only two sides across Europe have worse current form and they ply their trade in Malta and Albania. That is an extremely poor record for a side who have the 7th largest wage bill in the Premier League. They should be achieving a lot more and the problems ultimately lie in the board room, with the men who make the decisions at St James Park. They have left the squad bare with a head coach who is out of his depth. Mike Ashley is only owner of Newcastle United to advertise his company and to take as much money out of the sport as he can. He deserves for Newcastle to get relegated and to be out of the riches of the Premier League as he has ripped the heart and soul out of the club.

Newcastle are one of seven teams who could go down and although it seems unlikely, it is becoming a genuine possibility. If they do go down, it will be one of the most remarkable falls down the table in the league’s history. They have four very winnable games remaining and probably need one more win to confirm their Premier League safety. However, it is difficult to see where that will come from as the side looks out of ideas and Carver looks like a man who can’t turn the tide of endless defeats. Former captain Micheal Owen has already said he thinks Newcastle will lose all their remaining matches and if they do, they will probably get relegated.