It’s Christmas time, is it time to be afraid? The dizzy heights that the Mags experienced during the first half of the season have declined to a mediocre seventh place. Injuries and suspensions have marred the side’s recent progress, and playing the big three back-to-back is never anyone’s cup of tea.
Despite the drop in the table, Demba Ba is still scoring them with what seems like limited effort, with his 20-yard free quick against West Brom looking more casual than anything else.
The question is, what is next for Pardew’s men. The January transfer window could be a very interesting spectacle in the North East. Newcastle will need someone to bolster their defense, while the omnipresent search for someone to occupy the #9 shit will be bubbling under the surface. Modibo Maiga’s fitness test failure isn’t a good omen for what could be a time where some of Newcastle’s best players participate in another exodus. Tim Krul is rumored to be wanted by Spurs (these rumors being worryingly strong as a friend was on the same flight as him from London Heathrow a couple of weeks ago), and the likes of Coloccini, who is a prime reason for Newcastle’s early season dominance, will most definitely invite some interest from clubs such as Liverpool.
After the recent defeat by West Brom, rumors that Ajax’s £10m-rated striker Jan Vertonghen could be replacing Steven Taylor, and with the loss of Cheik Tiote and Demba Ba in January to the always controversial African Cup of Nations, top players will be needed to help try and rebuild squad momentum that has been lost in recent weeks.
Another promising sign was Haris Vuckic, whose long-range efforts produced a very uncomfortable looking Ben Foster in the opposing goal.
The Geordie faithful will have been under no illusion that second or third will have been where they ended up in May, but do we deserve to be higher than seventh, sandwiched between Liverpool and Stoke…only time (a long with injuries and transfers) will tell.
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