Hull City 1 Newcastle Utd 1: SPRING MAY now be upon us but there is scant freshening of mood on Tyneside. Newcastle United fought well to win this point and Chris Hughton was his polite self after the match.
But United’s stand-in manager is all too conscious that, while their next two games are at St James’s Park, the visitors – Arsenal and Chelsea – are hardly welcome.
Moreover there is the uncertainty over the club’s long-term ownership, the ill-health of the temporary manager Joe Kinnear – he might not return for the Stoke game next month – and a total of 29 points which leaves Newcastle hovering above the relegation zone on goal difference. Championship football, with the financial oblivion that could visit, is a real prospect.
“We’re going to have to perform very well to get positive results against Arsenal and Chelsea,” Hughton said. “The way we’ve got to look at this is there are nine games left and a lot of points to be won.”
Geremi, who operated on the right of a largely anonymous Newcastle midfield, is one of those. How the 30-year-old must yearn for the days when he was picking up European Cup and Premier League medals with Real Madrid and Chelsea.
Still, the Cameroon veteran allowed himself a more pugnacious view than his boss.
“After coming from behind to get a point we have to be happy,” he said of Stephen Taylor’s sweetly volleyed 38th-minute strike which cancelled out Geovanni’s earlier header.
“I don’t think the fans are now expecting defeats against Chelsea and Arsenal. I really think they’re looking at those games expecting us to get something, especially when we are at home,” he said.
Brave stuff, indeed. But why not? No United fan will really blame him if the actual return is zero against leviathans now stirring from a mid-winter slumber. More realistic are the challenges of Stoke, Portsmouth, Fulham and Middlesbrough.
Newcastle’s own giant of the game comes in the shape of Michael Owen. Having come through his latest comeback unscathed – the 73 minutes against Hull were his first since January – he will go down in Toon folklore if his goals save them.
Phil Brown, meanwhile, beamed urbane sophistication after the draw. Hull have 33 points and are heading in the right direction.
The FA Cup takes Hull to the Emirates tomorrow for a quarter-final. Their next two league games are at Wigan on Sunday and Portsmouth at home, two teams in various degrees of difficulty.
Asked his priorities Brown said: “The last five of the FA Cup is big but not as big as Wigan – the cup is a pleasurable distraction.”
Turn Arsenal over and a semi-final at Wembley against Chelsea will make the old competition as enjoyable as survival for the Premier League debutants.
Guardian Service
