G'day Newcastle fans. Pre-season is finally done and the Premier League is within touching distance. Spurs are boarding the bus and are on their way to St James' Park. Today I am going to write about my predictions for the match and the season, whilst also discussing my thoughts on the transfer window thus far (this article was written on August 9 in Australia).
Match prediction:
It is unquestionable that Newcastle go in to the game as massive underdogs, as Spurs did finish 2nd in the Premier League last season, and for a reason. They are a bloody good side. However, the game starts 0-0, and both sides start with 11 players on the pitch. So, can we beat them? Yes, we've seen countless times in the Premier League, that anybody can beat anybody on any given day, with exhibit A being our last game of the 2015/16 season, where we defeated Tottenham, at St James Park 5-1, and this time they are the ones stuck with Moussa Sissoko. Of course, let's also not forget that Leicester won the league only 18 months ago. Will we beat them? It will be very difficult, and I would say unlikely. Spurs are a talented and settled side with an abundance of quality all over the pitch, although they do have injuries to various key players.
Season prediction:
So, with all that said, how are we going to go this season? In my opinion, I think we will finish around 13th or 14th. The reality is, 6 points separated 8th from 17th last season, and I personally believe that we are stronger than some of those sides, such as Swansea (especially without Sigurdsson whose departure looks imminent), Watford and Burnley. Moreover, we are also already better than Brighton and Huddersfield, as we accrued more points, scored more goals and conceded less goals then they did, across a 46 game season. Additionally, we also won three of the four games that we played against those two sides.
Furthermore, we also have a manager who knows the Premier League inside out, and who appears to have already adapted a game plan for the step up in quality, which should see us survive comfortably.
Transfer thoughts:
Like most fans, I would have liked more business to be done, and am frustrated by the lack of business. However, I am not as impatient as some fans have been in our pursuit of a striker, as if we are able to clear out the deadwood (of which there is a lot) first, as there will then be more money to buy a better striker. Like most of us, I would like more incomings, as we still need to strengthen, particularly up top. However, with the size of our squad at the moment, we need to clear players out first.
I have just set up a Twitter account, @AUSLiamNUFC, so if you want poor quality tweets or to discuss my article, feel free to follow it.