Looking at the fixtures, there are three tough games 'til the end of the season, and they all come within 11 days:

24-Feb Sun Sunderland (away)

2-Mar Sat Arsenal (home)

6-Mar Wed Liverpool (away)

These matches will determine our whole season IMHO. Mind you, we said that before Xmas and came out of that well pleased...

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2002

Answers

Awfully Pleased or Awfully Peeved; I reckon 4 points out of the matches.

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2002

Er, I can only see two tough matches, plus one against Sunderland. Nick, your sums are rotten.

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2002

We'll beat the Arse and the Mackems, plus draw at Anfield. 7 points Awfully Pleased.

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2002

Mysterious, I'll buy you SEVERAL pints if that prediction comes true!

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2002

Spurs [A] ?

Blackburn [A] ?

Villa [A] ?

I wish i shared your optimism!

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2002

"We'll put Peyter, Peyter, Peyter Peyter Ree-eeid on the dole, on the dole.....!"

You read it here first!

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2002

We should hoy up that mini competition that led to our Xmas fab run of form...that should ensure 9 out of 9 :-) I think makems are there for the taking, best chance out of the last three seasons to really stuff them. Liverpool are wavering, but will be tough. Arsenal will get themselves all booked / sent off - fancy that too. makems 2-0, Arse 3-2, Liverpool 2-2

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2002

Spurs (a) - lose
Blackburn (a) - win
Villa (a) - draw, probably boring other than singing "he's a drunk, a drunk" to Merson.

The glass is half something or other. ;-))

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2002

I'd say that a number of these games have draw written all over them. Spurs never gives me a good feeling and, realistically, the Makems is most likely to be a draw but I'd fancy us against Villa any day.

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2002

A lot of games have draw written on them, but in truth we are shite at drawing games (better at winning, always a good sign)

Along with Manure we have drawn the least out of everyone in the league.

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2002

Howway. What's gannin on here ?

It's only two months since we'd have settled for something like six points from the Xmas fixtures.

What's stayed the same that we have to take the same approach for the expectations of the next two months ?

I see no reason at all to take any other point of view than that if anybody wants to beat us they'll have to graft their bollox off, and play out of their skins, and that's being conservative.

The whole look of the playing side bears very little resemblance to the bunch of no hopers that was driving us up the wall just a year ago.

Go with what we've got. There's not a thing anybody can do about avoiding injuries, so worry about them if and when they happen.

Fix the knowing, supercilious grin in place, sit back and revel in watching them try to stop us.

THERE IS NO NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, WEST, UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT, INSIDE, OUTSIDE, TOP, BOTTOM, GANZY, TWO-MONTH-WORN-KEKS, LEFT- LEG-IN-BEFORE-RIGHT-RIGHT-SHOE-ON-BEFORE-LEFT OR ANY OTHER KIND OF JINX YOU CARE TO MENTION. BOBBY HAS IT SUSSED. HOWWAY ME BONNY LADS :- {E}

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2002

It's bad luck to say there's no jinx. ;-))

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2002

Aye, the jinx jinx jinx is a particularly potent point preventer.

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2002

Worst thing you could have posted Ciara.

I'll have to keep these keks on another month now, just in case.

Thanks a bunch.

And what's left of me mates send their thanks as well. :-{E}

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2002

Andy Gray on Sky sports last night said it all: Newcastle's run-in is better than most - they're games they can win, games they should win - but this is the test of a Championship-winning side....

-- Anonymous, January 15, 2002

Exactly, and until we start proving we can beat them, I'll still be slightly unconvinced. But a heck of a lot more hopeful than last season! :-)

-- Anonymous, January 15, 2002

I can appreciate your hesitancy Ciara. I know the feeling. You don't dare openly express any confidence in case it puts the mockers on us continuing to play well.

My current confidence though, is based just on the look of the side in the games we've played since the Villa win.

The confidence is still a bit fragile, but now I don't have so many heart attacks when we're up against it. It's purely and simply that. We're starting to look the part as a team, but no doubt I'll revert to being the biggest whinger in the world if we go back to what we've had to put up with since KK left.

Trying to justify the feeling by going through the side player by player leaves me with hardly a leg to stand on, because most of them are the same who had me tearing my hair out not long ago. The overall impression now though, has me feeling quite confident.

It'll be a while before we can start feeling arrogant about the outcome of games like the one coming up Saturday, but I think they're the games that are going to show whether or not we really are on the up, rather than those nick has mentioned at the top of the thread.

There are only 9 points among those 3, there's a boat load to be gained from the rest, so even if we lost the three of them, we could still end up placed quite nicely, provided we don't do anything daft. I'd put the makems in the 'there to make up the points total' group though.

-- Anonymous, January 15, 2002

Sunneland games always take it out of the lads, due to the crowd pressure on the players and everyone giving 110%, but then to follow that with Arse after what happened at Highbury is possibly even more pressure. Follow that with L'pool three days later and it is a tough few days. As has been noted elsewhere, we don't have a deep squad and YBR tends to keep to a team, so the lads will be knackered by the L'pool game, mentally and physically.

If we get anything out of that game they'll get my undying praise. (well, they get that anyway but divvent tell 'em)

-- Anonymous, January 15, 2002

Exactly. Look at Manure..hasn't beaten a top six side away from home yet this season, but have beaten all the 'cr@p' teams. Points is points.

-- Anonymous, January 15, 2002

I think the pressure of the derby will register only if we lose.

Do we really have a smaller overall playing staff than other premiereship clubs ? Seems to me, it could be just the top four or five anyway, who have these huge squads of experienced players. I'd have though most of the rest won't be any better off than we are, and of those, quite a few of their first choice players wouldn't get a look in in the top teams.

I can't say I've noticed the pressure of those top games we've already played getting to our lot, so I'm not convinced that the next few will register any more noticeably.

What's a bigger problem to my mind is keeping clear of injuries. I think that could be our biggest stumbling block, but that's a vicious circle - if you try to avoid injury, you're not giving 110%, if you give 110%, you stand a much bigger chance of being injured.

I hope the players don't give the 'avoid injuries' scenario any credence at all. They have to go for it 110% for the rest of the season.

-- Anonymous, January 15, 2002

As always PB, sense in what you say.

-- Anonymous, January 15, 2002