Newcastle learned their fixtures for the new Premier League season this morning, and it looks like a very tricky start yet again.
Last season had a similarly difficult first few weeks, which meant we were always playing catch-up.
The season never really got going until after Christmas, and was a constant struggle against the drop.
Newcastle only accrued three points by the end of October last season, which led to the constant uphill battle.
With games against Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea before the end of October, fans will be hoping to scrape a few points from those to avoid a repeat of last year.
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If we take the opening 10 games from August to October next season – switching out Norwich, who we did not play, for Cardiff – then Newcastle picked up just seven points in the corresponding matches last season.
Those points came in an awful goalless draw at Cardiff – in which Kenedy missed a penalty with the last kick of the game – a 1-0 win against Watford at home, and a 1-0 win at Leicester on the Friday night that virtually secured the club’s survival.
If the results were replicated next term, then it would suggest that we may be in the bottom three by the end of October again, and our seemingly perennial scrap against the drop would loom large.
The team is unlikely to resemble the side that took to the pitch last season, and there are so many unknowns about who will be in the dugout and who will be in the boardroom, that fans have no idea what kind of Newcastle United they will see.
If takeover happens fans will have more optimism for next season
If the prospective takeover goes through, we could have an array of new talent, which would put a different outlook on the fixtures. Whether it will be Rafa Benitez being the tactical mastermind behind the selections, also remains to be seen.
With a much more difficult looking finish than last season, we could do with being safe long before April.
The fact that we are once again looking at the fixtures and wondering which games will see us avoid relegation, is a sign of where fans’ expectations are nowadays.
No one at the top ever seems to learn their lesson, and other than Rafa, the outlook from the people that matter within St James’ Park is one of arrogance and complacency.
Let’s just hope and pray that the takeover is successful, and we can start looking up instead of down for summers ahead.