Season 3 - Pushing Towards Silverware?

A vital part of the season next as any early promise shown can fall apart and take away and chance of trophies so we really need to continue our form in this stint. With teams settled for the rest of the season now, everyone is trying to work out what they can do and what they may need to get their hands on some silverware and we are no different. We left it at the end of the January transfer window in first place and as a result, left the team as it was whilst sorting out some loan moves for further development and our own depth. To make things a little harder, Chelsea have been taken over by a Chinese billionaire who is promising them a load of money to try become the best team in the world so they will be there to contend with over coming seasons. We've also had our youth intake in this period where we will introduce you to a few of the most promising players to come through, as well as the NXGN award has been handed out this season. First things first though, lets get on with the matches to see how our form lasts.

The Matches

Man City 2 - 0 Newcastle

First up was a top of the title clash away at Man City and unfortunately our 29 game unbeaten run is now over as Man City deservedly beat us. We were very poor in the first half and we managed to get a response in the second half but our finishing was back to being poor and we were outplayed all together. The good news was that Wirtz and Frimpong are both back from injury now. They took the lead when Haaland won a header and it hit the post, but the rebound came straight back to him to tap in. As I said we started to get a response in the second half and were looking like we could get back into it until Tonali got his second yellow card for clattering Rodri and putting us down to 10 men for the last 20 minutes of the game. Vicario was having an excellent game and matching everything they threw at us but he was finally beaten a second time when Bernado Silva took a long range effort that found the bottom corner as the game was coming to an end. Time to start a new run.

Newcastle 2 - 1 Burnley

We responded in the correct way and had a very dominant performance against Burnley and ran out deserved winners. We also managed to get some more minutes into Wirtz and the first 90 minutes for Frimpong too so we are getting those pair back to fitness at a crucial time. We got the lead when Bruno was able to split the defence and send Sesko through one on one with their keeper, who he was able to beat to find the net. The second half picked up a bit more with chances and it was shortly into the half that our second goal came. Gordon was able to find some space on the left wing before delivering a cross which Sesko was able to rise above his defender and head in. They created their first big chance near the end of the game and could have pulled one back had it not been for an excellent block by Harwood-Bellis, but then they did get their goal in extra time with a shot from just inside the box which was able to beat Vicario. Tight result but the match was pretty comfortable in general.

Newcastle 2 - 1 Tottenham

Luckily for us we had the easy three points up next as we welcome Spurs to St James' Park. This game was going very comfortably until the 76th minute when things got a little awkward due to Sildillia picking up an injury after all 5 subs had already been made so we had to play with 10 men again for the end of the game. The first half was quite close in terms of big chances despite us creating more attempts on goal, but we took the lead when Bruno played it back to Klemens towards the edge of the box and he fired from long range to find the bottom corner. Not long after they got through and just as they were about to pull the trigger Lewis-Skelly was able to get back and deflect it on to the post to keep the lead at half time. We had a chance to double our lead when Livramento played it in low to Isak who was wiped out as he was about to tap it in, but he stepped up for the penalty and missed it the target completely. We were then instantly punished as Son played it out to Maddison on the right who's effort beat Vicario to level it up. However Isak made up for his missed penalty when he was put through on goal by an awful back pass, and he went round the keeper and roll the ball into an open goal from outside the box. We then ended up having to hang on as Sildillia went off injured with 15 minutes remaining and we had already made our 5 subs so we were stuck playing with 10 men. However Kuol was able to get the ball centrally and he played it through for Isak again who beats the keeper but it was ruled out for offside and the game finished 2-1.

Fulham 2 - 2 Newcastle

Next up in the league we had an away tie with Fulham where we had to come away disappointed as it was definitely points dropped as we did enough to win this game. However it wouldn't be the first time Fulham have done this to us as it was also them when we scored the overhead kick right at the end of the game to win only for them to go up the other end and equalise last season. We took the lead early when Hall whipped in a corner to the near post and Diomande won his header and found the back of the net. They got their first equaliser when they took a free kick which Vicario did well to save, only for the rebound to fall to Dan James who was able to hit it first time back towards goal and we couldn't keep it out. We retook the lead quickly in the second half when Cogdan started a counter attack and releases Isak into the box who unselfishly cut it back to Barnes who's effort beat the keeper. However late into the half they got another equaliser when a deep cross found Akpom in too much space and his header went in to level things up. A minute later we thought we had regained the lead a third time when Pino sent Isak through from kick off and he beat the keeper, but somehow he ended up offside and it was disallowed.

Arsenal 1 - 1 Newcastle 4-3 on penalties (Carabao Cup Final)

Unfortunately our consecutive finals of the Carabao Cup didn't turn into consecutive trophies as we lose on penalties to Arsenal this year. It was an even game and could have gone either way, but when it came to the shootout their keeper had the better performance and made more saves. We did think the game was starting in the worst way possible as in the 1st minute Kuol made a perfectly good tackle in the box but the referee gave a penalty for it, fortunately VAR seen it the same way I did and overruled it. The game had to wait until the half hour mark for its opening goal which came for them. Odegaard sent in a corner to the near post and Gabriel was able to head it in, as a result we go in at half time 1-0 down. Pino and Wirtz came on at half time to see if they could help turn our fortunes from chances created to an actual goal. It was Wirtz who had the impact we needed from them as he broke down the right wing and looped a cross in that found Sesko who could beat his defender in the air and head in our equaliser. We almost gave them the win when Livramento tried to head it back to Caprile but he didn't get enough power on it and Jesus pounced, but Caprile was able to smother his effort and keep it level. Nothing much happened in the extra time and the drama played out in the penalty shootout. We went behind quickly as Sesko stepped up for our first penalty and his attempt was saved. We got back on level terms when Vieira stepped up for their third penalty which Caprile was able to save for us. However Pino had his attempt saved on our fourth penalty and Saliba was able to beat Caprile afterwards to win the penalties.

Newcastle 3 - 0 Leeds (FA Cup Fifth Round)

Next up we turned our attention to the FA Cup where we faced Leeds and won very comfortably. Maybe we will win this domestic cup this year now that we've lost out on the Carabao Cup at the last hurdle. We took the lead pretty early when Espart came forward with the ball then laid it sideways for Klemens who continued running forward before shooting from the edge of the box to give us the lead. A couple of minutes later Isak won his header from a corner but it hit the bar, only for it to fall back to him where he was able to volley straight in to double our lead within the first 20 minutes of the game. We got our third when Lewis-Skelly whipped it in for Isak who was tripped as he was running through and a penalty was given, Isak stepped up and found the bottom corner to show there was no hangover within the team after losing the penalty shootout. They thought they had a goal back when they crossed it over to Gnoto who volleyed it in but he was in an offside position and the game finished 3-0. We have been set up against Man U in the quarter finals.

Newcastle 4 - 1 West Ham

Back to the Premier League and we continued our solid form where we hit another very comfortable win at home with some strong performances with a bunch of the players. We took the lead in the 27th minute when Wirtz knocked it out wide to Pino who sent in the cross first time where Isak was able to get on the end of it to head in the opener. However the lead was short lived when Mavrapanos was able to win his header from a corner and level it up a minute later. As the end of the half was coming up Frimpong came flying down the right wing and sent in a deep cross which Gordon won his header and just headed it down to Isak who smashed it in from close range for the lead at half time. Tonali then tried to get Gordon free in the box and he was brought down and a penalty given, Isak stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way to complete his hat trick. The fourth goal came shortly after when Klemens found Hall on the left in space and he played it first time in to Gordon's path where he was able to slot it under the keeper to round out a comfortable game.

P Ferreira 2 - 5 Newcastle (Europa Conference League Round of 16, Leg 1)

We were drawn against P Ferreira for our round of 16 opposition, the team we beat 8-2 in the league stage so we are expecting quite a simple tie but knowing we still have to perform to get through it. Fortunately the team did just that and we were very dominant in the first leg. We took the lead when Barnes ran through from the half way line, made it all the way to the byline before cutting it back for Sesko to tap in for 1-0. Bueno then whipped in a corner which Sesko won his header to get his second of the game. Just after the half hour mark Diomande broke up their attack and came forward with the ball before laying it off to Miley who split the defence with a great through ball for Barnes who found the bottom corner. Just as half time was coming up Miley tripped up their player in the box and they got a penalty, Ott stepped up and sent Caprile the wrong way to make it 3-1 at half time. Any sense of a comeback was taken away though as Klemens came in to the middle of the pitch with the ball before smashing it from long range and finding the bottom corner. We added a fifth when Bueno sent in a free kick which the keeper came to try get to, he missed it and Harwood-Bellis was waiting behind him to head it into the open goal, They did get a second as the game was closing out when they played it over the top of our defence and then squared it across goal for a tap in. We have now set the record for the most goals in a Europa Conference League campaign by a single team as we needed 4 in this game to match the record and there's still plenty of games left for us to play.

Wolves 0 - 0 Newcastle

I feel like throughout the save the one thing we've avoided is boring 0-0's but unfortunately that is exactly what this game was. There wasn't really any chances for either team except for back to back ones just before half time and even the subs being made wasn't able to create or change anything. Our best chance was a long range freekick by Wirtz which the keeper just about got to, whilst theirs came a minute later where Ait-Nouri found plenty of space down their left and forced a good save out of Vicario. It's dropped points but I don't think either team did enough to win this game and was a bit of a bore draw for the first time.

Newcastle 5 - 0 P Ferreira (Europa Conference League Round of 16, Leg 2)

Fortunately scoring goals wasn't a problem that was sticking around, and we had our most creative and dominant game ever I believe. 41 shots, 17 on target and 5 goals whilst only conceding 2 shots and neither of them on target. We also racked up 74% possession and just had complete control of this tie. We got the first goal very early when Bueno sends in a corner and Sesko wins the header at the near post for 1-0. Moore then fires it out to Kuol on the opposite flank who heads it through for Sesko who just smashes it straight past their keeper to double our lead. We almost had a third quickly afterwards when they played an awful pass out the back from their keeper which Miley pounced on, laid it through for Sesko who laid it off for Moore to find the bottom corner, only for Sesko to have been offside in the build up so it was ruled out. The second half didn't get any easier for them and Bueno slid it through on the right for Kuol who got into the box and found the far corner for 3-0. Klemens then played it forward for Bueno who rifled it into the top corner from the edge of the box to round off an excellent performance by him. Then finally we got our fifth when Kuol sent it in from the right hand side and Barnes pulled away from his defender then volleyed the ball in to give the keeper no chance. We get Panathinaikos in the next round so should be a bit more of a challenge.

Newcastle 3 - 1 Man U (FA Cup Quarter Final)

We continued our attacking form and played very well in the first half but we were unable to take any of the chances being created and had to wait for breakthrough to come after the subs were made. However Man U were never in this game and it only ever looked like one team was going to win. The subs made were to swap the front 3 to Sesko, Gordon and Pino and that's where we started to take full advantage. We got the lead when Wirtz slid it through for Gordon and he was able to beat the keeper to find the bottom corner. A few moments later Hall whipped in a corner and Diomande beat the defender in the air and doubled our lead. Frimpong then tried to come down the right hand side but his heavy touch meant it was intercepted, only for the defender to put too much on it when trying to pass back to the keeper and he went straight past him and directly to Sesko for a tap in to make it 3-0. They did get one back when they won their header from a corner but never looked at risk. We set up a semi final tie with Brentford.

Liverpool 1 - 1 Newcastle

Another huge game in terms of the league picture and we made it harder for ourselves thanks to Tonali and his disciplinary issues this season, as for the second time in a few games he gets his second yellow card and leaves us with 10 men for half hour this time. They were the better of the two teams on the day but we did very well to steal a point which could end up being huge based on the circumstances within the game. They had the lead in the first half when they were able to send a cross over to Diaz who was at the back post and his header found the net. We had to wait until the hour mark for our first chance of the game which we put narrowly wide, before Tonali was sent off. However in the last 10 minutes of the game Frimpong made a run down the right wing and sent in a cross which Sesko was able to meet in the air and head home the equaliser. They almost had a chance to win it late on but Vicario made himself big and made a vital save.

Competitions

Premier League

So with just 8 games left to play we are very much in a title race with Man City, we're currently 3 points behind them and they have the better goal difference but they are very much catchable if we have a successful run at the end of the season. The relegation battle has remained interesting too as it seems to be between 4 teams really for all 3 spaces, as Sheffield United, Luton Town, Crystal Palace and Burnley will battle it out, however there's a small chance that Leicester and Fulham on 30 points could get dragged into it if they have a disaster of last 8 games. Wolves look like they'll miss out on top 4 now but if they could hold on for European football next year and deny Man U or Chelsea or Spurs would be a great result for them.

Carabao Cup

As we know this has now been finished and it is Arsenal who win the cup this season. However we can be happy with our performance as we lasted all the way until a penalty shootout in the final before we were defeated. Wolves and Southampton can also be happy with their performances as both of them made it to the semi finals before being knocked out and getting further than a few of the expected teams to be in the final group.

FA Cup

The FA Cup is also throwing up some potential interesting finals now as it's between us, Brentford, Chelsea and Brighton which means again some of the big hitters have fell short this year which makes it feel very winnable for us. We just need to get through the last 2 games and we could still have domestic success.

Europa Conference League

The Europa Conference League is also a competition that feels very winnable based on our performances in it so far and in fairness we are by far the biggest team in it. However there are a few tricky teams in there left that should we not perform could catch us out so we need to ensure we stay on it in every game.

Youth Intake

We had a very good youth intake this year with quite a few exciting players coming through, so where we only had 2 to share last season, this time we have 8 new players to keep an eye on for the future.

Sean Hunter - Striker - English

Our most exciting young player to come through our youth system so far is Sean Hunter, a striker who can also play on the right wing but has a 5 star potential according to our scouts, which if you consider it's the same scouts who consider Isak and Sesko as 3 and half star strikers really makes you realise how good they believe this kid can become. He looks decent with both feet and has some good stats already for being 15, there is more than enough talent in here to develop into a star striker for us down the line so remember the name.

Frazer Mott - Left Back - English

Next up is a left back who has the potential currently to be at the same level as Hackett who is our third choice left back, however with the right development and strategy in getting him game time, we should be able to develop him into being a better option than Hackett currently is at 21 which again gives us some good promise for him down the line and in a position we've been quite weak in so far outside of Hall and Lewis-Skelly.

Wiktor Tyminski - Advanced Playmaker - American

Next is a player who could end up being a useful talent for us down the line but has a lot of development to go through to get to that point, his issue being we do have quite a few far more talented youngsters in his position so he may end up being one we train up to sell on for some value further into his career. Still useful to have currently in and around the under 18 teams and who knows, maybe he could surprise us.

Kalvin McFadyen - Centre Midfielder - English

Next up is the other superstar of our intake as our second 5 star potential player to come through this year. I am starting to believe I will never have to sign another centre midfielder as we currently have Bruno there at 27, then Miley who is 5 star potential at 19, then Finneran who is a 5 star potential at 18 and now McFadyen at 16. Really looking forward to developing these and just keeping our midfield fresh with them over the years and knowing that we should start contributing massively to the England team as well with them.

Kelso Sibbles - Left Wing - Jamaican

Next is Kelso Sibbles from Jamaica, an exciting left winger who has the potential to be at the level of Gordon for us so another one to be careful with his development and if we get it right, we could end up with an exciting player coming through our ranks again. The idea with him being 15 is by the time he starts coming good enough to be in and around the first team, he should be ready to compete with Moore who I imagine would be the starter by that point and that's an exciting prospect for us.

Luther Griffith - Goalkeeper - Antiguan & Barbudan

Thankfully our youth team has a goalkeeper come through with some exciting promise as well for us. They reckon he has the potential to be as good as Pope was and better than Caprile who has performed very well for us in the cups this season so he has a good level ahead of him. Will he ever make it to our number 1 spot, probably not, but there's certainly a reason to keep him around and develop him strongly. Just hope he keeps his nationality and doesn't switch to English.

Simon Opeyemi - Defensive Midfielder - English

Next up is a defensive midfielder for us who again is likely to be one more for filling backup spots as only has a good level ahead of him rather than the star players we are going to want to be filling our team with, but fingers crossed with the right development he can reach some of that potential and we can get good value from him later on when he's a bit older.

Tim Gipson - Centre Back - American

Last but not least is our second American to come through in Tim Gipson, a centre back who has 3 star potential which if we compare to our first team, that's the same level as Sildillia and Harwood-Bellis so could become a good Premier League defender down the line. If that's the case he can certainly fit in around our squad and again should get plenty of value on him as he gets better and better.

NXGN

Sticking with the youngsters, the NXGN award was handed out in this stint and we have our first winner of us! Lewis Miley has won the NXGN award and is deemed the best 19 and under player in the world currently this season. However he wasn't our only entry in the list, as Lewis-Skelly was the runner up in second, Finneran was 10th after some good loan spells, Nypan came 12th, Monamay came 22nd, Salia came 28th and Lorran came 29th, so we're really starting to get our mark on this award now.

Next Time

So next time we will go until the end of the season where we will find out where the league ends up, the Europa Conference League and the FA Cup are also up for grabs for us so there is lots to play for in this last set of fixtures, how much do you think we can win? We will also do a season review where we look at the competitions around the world, we will update on the teams we said to keep an eye on at the end of last year and see if there's anyone new to in the leagues to check in on. We will also do a squad update to see how everyone has developed over the season and potentially start looking at who we might sell, loan and positions we feel we need to buy. I have also started to track how many times we've played teams and win percentages against them so I will get that updated for this season and we will have look at teams we have always beaten or never beaten etc.