Well its been a while, but Newcastle United are sitting pretty in the top half of the Premier League. Why? I believe the most obvious reason, is the upturn in our home form.
Take the last two seasons as an example; In the 2017-18 season, home defeats to Bournemouth, Watford, and West Brom were all games that you would be hoping to take three points from, especially with the tactical genius of Rafa in the dugout. In the 2018-19 season, Newcastle slumped to dreary home defeats to Brighton, West Ham, and Crystal Palace. However so far this season, just a single home defeat, on the opening weekend against Arsenal has been seen at St James Park, and arguably should have even of got something from that game.
Having rode our luck at times, Newcastle have turned previous defeats into draws and wins. The win on Saturday against Crystal Palace epitomised this. Last season, Newcastle dominated against Palace, only to concede a penalty late on, losing the game by a goal to nil. Saturday was the polar opposite. Palace will have definitely felt aggrieved not to be returning to London with something to show. But as we all know by now, Almiron gave everyone a "Miggy" little Christmas, finally bagging his first Newcastle goal.
A bore draw against Brighton, and a point gained against Wolves were improvements on the defeats suffered last season. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that this is going to be a return to the glory days of Sir Bobby Robson, when in 2002-03, Newcastle lost just two home games all season, but with the Mag's needing just five more wins to more or less guarantee Premier League survival, and the likes of Norwich, Aston Villa, and Burnley still to visit the cathedral on the hill, Steve Bruce will feel this is something to build on.
Carlo Ancelotti's Everton are the next visitors, followed by Leicester. Mix in with that a tricky boxing day trip to Old Trafford, the Christmas fixtures are relentless, especially with so many injuries to key players in the squad, so making St James Park the fortress it once was will be crucial going forward.
Merry Christmas everyone, and here's to a happy and successful 2020.