THRU BLACK & WHITE EYES - Brighton Rock - 28/Apr/25
Mags in third, four games to go and Champions League football within reach ...
Saturday’s win over Ipswich wasn’t unexpected, particularly difficult or at all memorable. Obviously Ipswich made life easier for us by getting a player sent-off and gifting us a penalty but its fair to say United would’ve beaten an 11-man visiting side.
There are now four games remaining, two at SJP (Chelsea and Everton) and two away (Brighton and Arsenal). If you’re like me you’ll have been stating at the fixtures of those still in the mix for Champions League football next season and with Newcastle sat in third position longing for the season to end that way. If only it was that easy.
What is a huge positive is Eddie Howe and his team have everything in their own hands to achieve Champions League qualification. We face a remaining quartet of tough games but we are a very good side and have recovered from the cuffing at Villa Park and we look in the mood.
This weekend up and coming is pivotal. We are away to Brighton (like you didn’t know) and an eye-catching fixture is newly crowned Champions, Liverpool away to Chelsea.
We have a poor record away at Brighton in the PL era. Our last win on the south coast came when Mo Diame scored that bizarre goal in the promotion season but since we’ve been in the top flight with The Seagulls it has been meagre pickings. We are yet to win at The Amex in a PL game.
That can change and it would do our efforts to get back into the Champions League the power of good. The biggest ever monkey on our back (70 years without a domestic trophy) has been removed this season with the League Cup win over Liverpool at Wembley and we can repeat the formula against Brighton this coming Sunday.
We owe Brighton too. They have been worthy opponents at St James’ Park in the PL and FA Cup this season and deserved their wins over us on our patch. Howe’s lads should be motivated by revenge for those defeats as well as Champions League qualification this weekend.
But to get three points at Brighton we will need the same intensity, commitment and drive we saw at Wembley last month. Every player will need to be at it and we can expect the away end to be as fervent as ever.
On the same weekend Liverpool travel to Chelsea. There are varying theories about Liverpool’s mindset as they plan for Stamford Bridge. In years gone by players might have picked up their medals and headed for a few days on a bender with remaining games regarded as something of a nuisance. Those days might not still be a complete thing of the past as Jack Grealish could testify after Man City’s treble. But in today’s cosmopolitan times with foreign players and coaches not wedded to British drinking culture, things should be different for a Reds team who have points targets now in mind.
Place that alongside the needle between Chelsea and Liverpool as clubs and fans then the stakes might be higher than they might seem to the casual observer. Am I convincing you yet? I’m trying my best to convince myself to be honest and there’ll be no other way to understand what’s going on in players’ heads until the teams kick-off.
Howay The Reds!
Before all of that of course we have to do the business at Brighton.
I was disappointed to see Joelinton missing on Saturday and like all of you am waiting on news about the reported knee injury and what is needed to get him back to fitness. There are few finer sights than our Brazilian tyro sending opposition players flying all over the place like skittles and there are contests remaining this season when that will be needed.
On the positives, we had Sven Botman back in a B&W shirt running out in the latter phases of the Ipswich game and that’s a massive boost.
Other positives were Antony Gordon coming back after losing his place due to suspension and the continued good form of Harvey Barnes and the Scouser looking sharp as we kicked towards the Gallowgate End. Something tells me AG has a big role to play in these last four games.
Other positives were Will Osula getting a PL goal in front of the Gallowgate End. Osula is full of energy, looks muscular and with pace. He has a youthful impetuosity and effervesence which draws your eye towards him. Whether he’s ready to be trusted to start a PL game appears to be not the case just yet though given our good run of results, it is a formidable task to break into the United first team just yet.
Like many I’ve been concerned about Callum Wilson’s reliability in the last couple of years and our No.9 has only had minutes in recent weeks. Call me overly optmistic if you like but I’ve detected an improvement in Callum’s movement in his last couple of sub appearances and his improving fitness could be useful in these last four games. Right now, no-one is a write-off for us.
While I’m on a roll with the positivity, it was great to see Eddie Howe back doing what he does best last week. The Head coach took training from Wednesday last week and was of course in the dug-out on Saturday. Howe by his own admission isn’t 100% and I think in many other occupations he’d still be away from the workplace recuperating.
We should recognise Howe’s dedication to his vocation at Newcastle United where his contribution is beyond critical.
Last Friday I was gratified to hear Eddie Howe completely bin the nonsense put out by those crap football accounts on social media about Lewis Miley. Those accounts generally regurgitate drivel they have cut and paste from elsewhere or make up their own.
Howe has stated emphatically Miley is going nowhere and is a key part of the club’s future plans. The Stanley Mag is only 18-years-old and I’ve enjoyed seeing back into the side in a season badly impacted by injury. He has some formidable team-mates to get beyond to get into the United midfield but maybe its my strange new found optimism but I see this lad coming into our midfield and a mainstay in the next two to three seasons. He may be a bit baby-faced still but he appears to have bulked up and he’ll need the additional muscle to deliver for Howe who we know likes a player with physicality. He is becoming available at just the right time of the season.
Six months ago, many of us feared Kieran Trippier’s time at United might have been coming to an end. Our ex-Atletico Madrid man had had a drop in form and maybe was looking his age. However since Lewis Hall’s injury, Kieran has stood up and been generally brilliant - his Wembley performance was outstanding. Kieran might not be captain any longer but his leadership qualities on the pitch are exceptional. We’ve seen that repeatedly over the last couple of months but I particularly liked his on-field coaching to Osula and Miley as we played out the last few moments of theIpswich game.
Is it a coincidence that both Miggy Almiron and Jacob Murphy have enjoyed their career best spells attacking down the right with Kieran Trippier behind them in the full-back berth? The lad is a class act and if we can keep him at United beyond this season as a leader on and off the park, that would make many of us very happy indeed.
There are far more positives than negatives going into these last four games but I don’t recall a bigger PL game than Brighton up next. Howe’s lads have been decent away from home this season and they have demonstrated they have the mentality to win big games away from SJP (Arsenal at The Emirates and Liverpool at Wembley in the League Cup). We need that mentality and a winning game plan as much as we did (arguably if not more) as we did to bring down Arsenal and Liverpool.
Before we get to next Sunday I’m sure loads of us will be keeping a ready eye on what’s going on with Forest at Brentford, Man City at home to Wolves through the week, Villa at home to Fulham on Saturday before we get to Brighton and the Chelsea v Liverpool game. I’ll have the evil eye trained on the opposition but seriously there are twists and turns to comer and there could be this week. By the time Sunday comes the pressure could be on …. or we will have a huge opportunity.
Howay United!
Enjoy your week.
Keep On, Keepin’ On …
Michael Martin @TFMick1892.bsky.social
Brighton are an awkward team. They never looked like beating us at SJP - until they had. We need to do the same down there.
It sure is tight, but our fate is in our hands.....