Paul Merson discusses Newcastle United and the current situation at St James’ Park.
The former Arsenal player spoke ahead of the 23rd match of this season’s NUFC Premier League.
Eddie Howe and his players have already played a total of 33 games in all competitions.
Paul Merson talks about the possibilities ahead of Newcastle United’s home match against Luton Town.
Paul Merson speaks to Sportkeeda ahead of Newcastle vs Luton:
“It will be an exciting match as both teams come on the back of sensational wins in midweek.
“Newcastle have Alexander Isak injured, but they are tough at home and will throw a lot of pitches, so I think Luton have too much going for them.”
“As far as the away team are concerned, this is not a cup final after their incredible 4-0 win against Brighton, so they will be looking to set things right from home and get something out of it.
“If Luton stay this season it will be one of the biggest achievements in the Premier League in terms of the team avoiding relegation.
“They have the smallest ground in the top flight and until recently they were also struggling in non-league football, so it will be quite a deal.
“Prediction: Newcastle United 3-1 Luton Town”
Speaking ahead of the Villa game, Paul Merson said…
“Newcastle United must win this game if they are to have any chance of finishing in the top four of the Premier League. If they lose, that’s completely out of the question. ”
Now, before the Villa game, I didn’t know any Newcastle United fans who were still talking about NUFC’s chances of finishing in the top four…and I still don’t.
But Paul Merson’s reasoning is that he must think Eddie Howe’s team have a solid chance of finishing in the top four.
When Paul Merson said that if Newcastle lost to Villa their chances would be over, it wasn’t necessarily a surprising revelation. According to this table, Villa would have been fourth with 46 points, while Newcastle would have been 10th with 29 points.
Instead, NUFC are “only” 11 points off a guaranteed Champions League place, currently sitting in eighth place with 32 points.
(Apart from Paul Merson?) No one is thinking about the Champions League for Newcastle United yet, but after a very tough run in January, three consecutive games against three clubs started in the same month. It is true that the league games were sold out. February always looked like it might bring some relief, as it was in the top three.
These three games – home to Luton, away to Forest and then home to Bournemouth (before Arsenal away!) always looked like they would give Newcastle a chance to get back on track.
Paul Merson and all the other ‘experts’ and many/most Newcastle fans (!) predicted an easy win for Villa on Tuesday.
But the big question now is whether Eddie Howe and his players can use the game at Villa as a platform to aim higher.
There’s no doubt that Eddie Howe will be telling his side/companion the old-fashioned “take every game as it comes”, but if Newcastle United can win another convincing win (or any win, really) against Luton today, But!) If we can get that, we’re starting to gain some momentum.
Newcastle are more than capable of winning the next three games and that’s all we can focus on rather than how the players above us are doing at the moment. If Eddie Howe’s side actually win their next three games and United take 41 points after 25 games, European football will be back in a big way, at least in some form.
Last season, Newcastle United picked up 44 points from 25 PL matches, but in the end they picked up 27 points from the final 13 games, leaving them in 4th place with 71 points.
A big what-if…but if Newcastle were to win their next three games and pick up 27 points again from their final 13 games, NUFC would end up with 68 points and would have finished fourth last season. (Liverpool ended up in 5th place with 67 points).
They’re not yet at their best, but wins against Luton, Forest and home against Bournemouth have seen a number of players return in the near future, according to Jason Tindall on Friday, including Barnes, Wilson and Willock. It is expected. That way, late surges are not impossible.
After Arsenal’s away game (last season’s draw…), Newcastle have the final 12 games of the season, with only four remaining against clubs currently in the top nine of the table. They played three games at home against Spurs, West Ham and Brighton, and only away to Manchester United. The remaining eight of the final 12 games will be against clubs currently ranked 10th or lower.
But first, we got the three points today, then Eddie Howe will have a chance to prepare for Forest’s away game and the reunion game against former NUFC keeper Mats Sells, who Forest signed on deadline day. The first thing to do is to secure free time during the week.
As for Paul Merson’s declaration that Luton “has the smallest ground in the top flight by distance”…
His meticulous research came to the fore again.
Luton’s highest capacity this season was 11,112 against Arsenal, while Bournemouth’s highest capacity was 11,228 against Liverpool. So it appears that the smallest venue “distance-wise” is 116 seats.